Sure, it’s pretty awesome to watch our Air National Guard F-16s run touch-n-goes up at Joe Foss Field. Every regular bike-looper’s been nearly knocked off the saddle by one of these modern miracles of military engineering.
But for some real old-style aviation kicks, head up to the airport to get up-close-and-personal with a WWII B-17. These are the planes that bombed fascism back to Berlin, the kind that grandpa talked about, that made heroes of ordinary men.
America cranked out over 12,000 of these thunderous contraptions during the war, but only a few are still air-worthy today. The Sentimental Journey is one of them, and you can book a flight. True, a ride-along is a little spendy, but for $10 you can take a tour and linger as long as you want, letting your imagination do the flying for you.
Even if you don’t make it up to the airport, keep your ears open and your eyes to the skies. This guy (and a P-51 fighter) will be circling the city all weekend long.