Full Video: My Unforgettable Flight In A WWII Trainer

Now that it's been a couple of days, I can soak in the surreal experience I had getting to fly in a World War II-era plane. I had the opportunity as part of the Duluth Airshow, and man, it was something special.

I first fell in love with planes when my mom brought me to an airshow as a kid. From that point on, I was hooked. Imagine a little 6-year-old watching airplane and World War 2 documentaries. That was me! And I haven't stopped since.

I've spent thousands of hours on different flight simulators, going way back to early Microsoft Flight Sims, up to the latest. I love the realism of the simulators where you have to do everything right, just like in real life. But there is nothing that beats actually experiencing it firsthand.

I shared an edited video of my flight the other day. I got a really cool shot of the sailboats coming in under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. I put together a quick TikTok video, too.

Some of my friends wanted to see more, so I put together this full video. It's pretty raw; you can't hear much talking, but you can see the clips I was able to get of everything, including information about the plane, the pre-flight checks, the start-up, the flight, and the military-style approach and landing.

Read More: The Funniest Calls Duluth Airshow Organizers Get Every Year

This plane was mint. The BT-13 served as a training plane in World War 2. It was stationed in Greensboro, Mississippi, and trained pilots during the war effort. This plane was fully restored in 2020. At the time of my flight, it had 303 hours on the rebuilt engine.

Everything in this plane worked as it should! All the switches, the gauges, flight controls, and even the canopy operated flawlessly. It was entered in a contest recently in Oshkosh and placed 2nd for World War II planes. That's incredible. It's operated by the Commemorative Air Force, and I applaud them for their work. Incredible stuff.

So, if you're an airplane nut like myself, check out the video and see it all!