A WWII-Era B-25 Bomber plane and a P-47D Thunderbolt fly in formation, Sept. 13, over East Aurora as part of a demonstration for the upcoming Pikes Peak Regional Air Show which will be Sept. 23-24 at the Pikes Peak Airport. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel 
A look insid of the b-25 Bomber plane which was on display Sept. 13 at the Centennial Airport as part of a demonstration for the upcoming Pikes Peak Regional Air Show which will be Sept. 23-24 at the Pikes Peak Airport. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel 
A 1942 Boeing Steerman biplane flys over east Aurora on Sept. 13 as part of a demonstration for the upcoming Pikes Peak Regional Air Show which will be Sept. 23-24 at the Pikes Peak Airport. The plane is regularly used in the Teacher Flight Program, which teaches lessons in aviation and aerospace to school teachers on the weekends. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Aurora Sentinel.
AURORA | Flying has become just another mundane thing in modern life. Concerns with cramped seats, long layovers and lost luggage are what occupy most people when they step into an airplane.
There is still something in us that is amazed by flight though, even if the idea of traveling by plane fills us more with annoyance than inspiration. It wasn’t long ago, 104 years to be exact, when the thought of a human strapping themselves into a contraption with a couple of wings and soaring above the ground was the stuff of fiction and the rantings of mad men.
All it takes to rekindle that awe is a reminder that there is something special about a flightless land mammal being able to soar above the ground, like seeing a World War II era B-25 bomber flying overhead.
Aviation museum Wings Over the Rockies has partnered with the Pikes Peak Regional Air Show this year and there will be plenty of aviation inspiration on hand in Colorado Springs on Sept. 23-24 for the event. Not only will patrons be able to check out flying classics like the B-25 bomber, P-47 Thunderbolt and Wings Over the Rockies’ own 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane, but the U.S. Air Forces legendary flight team the Thunderbirds will be the main act for the two-day event.
The show produced by an all volunteer staff will benefit The National Museum of World War II Aviation, the Fort Carson 4th Infantry Division Museum and the Peterson Air and Space Museum.
One of the main reasons to go to an air show is because there’s nothing more inspiring than seeing a pilot fly a ton of metal at several hundred miles per hour through the air while performing loops that make even land bound observers queasy. But beyond that, the air show is a chance to connect with a piece of American history that usually can only be experienced through reading a textbook.
John Henry, spokesman for the air show, said the importance of having so many historical aircraft on hand (and in the air) is that it can spark an interest in learning more about events like World War II and keep that history alive.
“These are living pieces of history,” Henry said during a brief stop of several historical aircraft at the Centennial Airport on Sept. 13. “If you don’t teach the history, these lessons will be lost forever.”
Part of keeping the history of aviation alive is sparking interest in the next generation. The Pikes Peak Air Show will have a KidZone section of the event that is being done in collaboration with Wings Over the Rockies STEM program. Ben Theune, spokesman for Wings Over the Rockies, said one of the goals of the museum’s work is to help inspire the next generation of aviators to help fill the estimated 2 million aviation jobs that will be needed to be filled in the next 18-20 years.
As part of that mission, the museum works with teachers across the state in their Teacher Flight Program. The museum gives free rides to teachers, along with curriculum for classroom work, in the Boeing Stearman that is making its way down to Colorado Springs for the airshow.
For more information on the airshow, visit pprairshow.org.
For more information on Wings Over the Rockies, visit wingsmuseum.org.
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