The American Airpower Museum, Farmingdale, New York, has added another date to its C-47 D-Day Living History Immersive Flight Experience program following what organizers described as strong demand for the event. The additional flights are scheduled for June 27 and will take place aboard the museum’s restored Douglas C-47 Skytrain, offering participants a chance to experience a reenactment inspired by the airborne operations carried out during the D-Day invasion in June 1944. The program is centered around the role played by American airborne forces during WWII and begins before takeoff, when living historians provide participants with a briefing modeled after those given to members of the 101st Airborne before the Normandy invasion.
Before boarding the aircraft, participants are outfitted with reproduction field jackets, replica helmets, and simulated jump harnesses similar to those used by airborne troops during the war. Once the C-47 departs Republic Airport and heads along Long Island’s south shore, reenactors walk participants through the procedures paratroopers followed before reaching their drop zones behind enemy lines. The museum said the experience is designed to place visitors closer to the atmosphere faced by airborne troops during the June 5-6, 1944 invasion, though no actual parachute jumps take place. Flights last roughly 25 minutes before returning to Republic Airport. At the end of the experience, participants receive information about the wartime paratrooper identity they portrayed during the program, followed by opportunities for photos with the aircraft, pilots, and reenactors.
Four flights are scheduled for June 27 with check-in times set for 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. A rain date has been scheduled for June 28. Seats cost $375 per person and are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Each flight participant may also bring one guest at no additional charge to watch departures and arrivals and access the museum exhibits throughout the day. Visitors who only want to tour the museum and watch flight operations can purchase regular museum admission. Adult tickets cost $18, while seniors and veterans pay $15. Admission for children aged 3 to 12 is $12, while children under age 3 enter free. Museum members and active-duty military personnel, National Guard members, and reservists receive free admission with identification. To book tickets and to support the American Airpower Museum, click on this link: www.americanairpowermuseum.com.
