The event, which is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hogan Field at the Butler County Airport, 2820 Airport Road East, Hamilton, is free to attend, but there is a $5 charge to tour the bomber’s cockpit and talk with the pilots, said Champaign Aircraft Museum Development Manager Jessica Henry.
“And they can crawl up under the nose and see the inner workings of the aircraft,” she said.
There is no charge to talk with museum staff or take pictures of the aircraft.
The last time the museum held a fly-in event at Hogan Field was in 2021 and featured additional planes and rides. However, because of pilot shortages and other issues, Henry said, this time, the B-25 will be on static display. Though they can’t offer rides in the plane, as they did two years ago, she said it’s still important to share the history of the plane and aviation in general.
“The mission of the Champaign Aviation Museum is touching lives by restoring history,” she said, adding the museum is restoring a B-17 bomber ― known as the Flying Fortress ― which started in 2006.
Terry Senger, a retired Marine and volunteer with the museum, said it’s important to have every opportunity to tell the stories of these old planes. Though the Champaign Gal never saw combat action, it spent its war years training the pilots that did.
Henry said the plane was later used as a water bomber to fight fires. The museum acquired the B-25 in 2008.
The Cincinnati War Birds usually hosts a handful of events annually, like the Hogan Field Fly-In and flyover events for veterans organizations. It also has a Living History Flight Experience at the museum in Batavia where and people can not only learn more about aviation and, for a few times a year, go on a flight.
Henry said it’s a “very important” mission as they are “touching lives by restoring history.”
“We want to share this history with future generations to come,” she said.
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