American Airpower Museum C-47 D-Day Living History Flight Experience Returns

The American Airpower Museum (AAM) in Farmingdale, New York reintroduced their popular C-47 D-Day Living History Flight Experience on June 12th, 2021, completing four historic reenactment flights that day. Since then, demand for additional flights has been so strong that AAM has decided to hold another day-long program on Saturday, July 31st (with a rain date set for Sunday, August 1st). The museum’s Douglas C-47B Skytrain (44-76717), along with professional re-enactors, provide a spectacularly realistic recreation of what U.S. Airborne Paratroopers might have felt on their historic D-Day mission in June, 1944. Presently, three flights are planned for Saturday, July 31, 2021, taking place between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., with an optional fourth flight available to meet extra demand should it arise. Seats are allocated on a first-come first-served basis, so please call (516) 531-3950 to book your flight, or alternatively, visit the Museum’s gift shop or call (631) 454-2039, Wednesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

As already intimated, AAM’s Flight Experience is a one-of-a-kind immersive, educational program, where re-enactors take you up in the museum’s original WWII C-47 to provide participants with a sense regarding some of what paratroopers from the U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions would have experienced during their 1,200-plane airborne assault of Normandy. The re-enactors are led by Robert Scarabino, a noted WWII Living Historian who has organized AAM’s C-47 D-Day Living History Flight Experiences since the program’s inception in 2003. This unique experience includes: a mission briefing in the ready room; a chance to wear authentic military field jackets, helmets and gear; the actual sights, sounds and scents as the C-47’s engines fire up and take you off into the blue; see, hear and feel the crew operating their C-47 and paratroopers preparing for their mission; plus you’ll actually line up and attach your hook to the overhead static line. Don’t worry… no jumping is allowed!

Three WWII veterans are scheduled to attend the C-47 D-Day Flight Experience, joining Airborne Living Historians and immersing themselves in the sequence of events, including marching with guests out to the C-47 for photo ops. Veterans will share and reflect on their WWII memories. These men will include: Gene Leavy, 95, East Northport, U.S. Army 100th Infantry Division, 398th Regiment, Battle of the Bulge; Joseph Salvatore Randazzo, 95, West Babylon, U.S. Army 75th Infantry Division, 291st Regiment, shot in Germany near Dortmund; Dr. Richard Heinl, 96, Syosset, U.S. Army 94th Infantry Division, 376th Regiment. The 94th was part of Gen. George Patton’s Third Army. Having the opportunity to listen and speak to these men about their experiences will offer an extraordinary opportunity, for people of all ages, to learn more about our Greatest Generation heroes and to help carry their legacy forward. This is a family-friendly experience for all ages.

The price for the C-47 flight will be $350. The program is about 1.5 hours long, with each flight taking 25 minutes or so. Investing in a flight experience also entitles you to bring an additional person who can visit the Museum free of charge while you go up in the Skytrain. Your support, in participating in this program, will help the museum continue its mission to honor veterans and U.S. aviation history by helping preserving the aircraft and their legacy for future generations. For those not able to take part in the Flight Experience rides, July 31st will still provide excellent additional reasons to visit the AAM that day, because you will be able to both tour the museum and watch the flights as they take off and land! Museum admission is $15 for adults, $10 for Seniors & Veterans and $8 for Children 5-12. No tickets or pre-registration is necessary for regular Museum admission. For more information, please visit www.americanairpowermuseum.com