Visitors survey the underside of the B-29 Superfortress on display outside of Signature Aviation at the Des Moines Airport on Saturday.
(Des Moines, IA) --- Several people are taking flights in some very historic World War II aircraft at the Des Moines Airport this weekend, including on well-preserved B-29 Superfortress.
"She's one of two that are still flying in the world," said Cheryl Hilvert, with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) B-29, B-24 Squadron. "This is the aircraft type that dropped the atomic weapons on Japan, that ended World War Two, so a lot of historical significance with this type of airplane."
Two final flights are being held for members of the public at the Des Moines airport at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Flights are being offered on smaller, historic planes visiting as well. Neils Agather, a pilot who flies the B-29, is the son of the man who spearheading in restoring it, Victor Agather, who nicknamed it "FiFi" after his wife, Neil's mother. It was manufactured by Boeing, and was completed on July 31, 1945 at the Renton plant in Washington. It was later used as a training aircraft after the war, and was not sent overseas.
Agather says it provides an idea of what World War II air vets experienced during their service, especially for family members.
"Their father, or grandfather, or elderly uncle, or something like that, they know a little bit, he was gunner, [or] he was a navigator, that's all they know" Agather said, "so they come out and spend a little time with us and get a better understanding of what their relative did."
Besides the flights, the tour is open at Signature Aviation in Des Moines until 5 p.m. this (Sunday) afternoon.
The CAF says their mission is to educate, inspire, and honor through flight and living history experiences.