WWII planes will fill D.C.'s restricted airspace for V-E Day
If the test run is any indication of what the real thing will be like, expect goosebumps, says pilot Walter Bowe.
On Friday, more than 50 planes from WWII will fly in formation over some of the most restricted air space in the world: the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
"Hopefully there's a lot of people down there with goosebumps, because I'm sure we're going to have the same feeling," said Bowe, who's flying a P-40E War Hawk.
The event commemorates the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), a celebration across Europe and the U.S. when word spread that Germany surrendered to the Allies the night before.
On the ground at the National WWII Memorial in Washington, hundreds of veterans will gather for a ceremony and to watch the "Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover."
Elsewhere around the Nation's Capital, the flyover – scheduled to begin at 12:10 p.m. ET – is open to anyone who can get to a viewing spot as the planes head down the Potomac River, turn inland at the Lincoln Memorial, and fly past the WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, White House and Jefferson Memorial. Planes will fly to the U.S. Capitol before heading back toward the river.
Such flyovers occurred decades ago, but anything like it is unheard of since 9/11.
To fly in such an event is "a once in a lifetime thing," said Dave McConkey, a loadmaster with the Texas Raiders, a group that flies B-17s.
The pilots and veterans gathered at two regional airports in Virginia Thursday for test flights.
"The best part really is when the veterans come to see us. And even better when we can take them up in the air," McConkey said. "That's really special."
Contributing: Jack Gruber and Jenny Leonard, Paste BN