Historic WWII-era B-25 bomber lands at the Pocatello Airport; rides available over the weekend

POCATELLO – A piece of history has landed in Pocatello, and the public can take a tour and even a flight.

City staff and elected leaders witnessed a B-25 Mitchell, piloted by members of the Commemorative Air Force, touch down at the Pocatello Regional Airport on Monday afternoon. Community members will have the chance to get their own look at the plan, famous for its role in the Doolittle Raid, until it departs this coming Monday. And on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, people who book a ticket will be able to take flight in the plane.

“It’s a great privilege for us to have. This is … a piece of history that you just don’t get to see every day,” said airport manager Alan Evans.

This B-25 bomber, called the Maid in the Shade, took part in Doolittle’s Raid, which was the first air operation by the U.S in World War II to attack mainland Japan, after its devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Commemorative Air Force is an organization dedicated to preserving WWII-era military aircraft, as well as the history of American military aviation. Upon landing, Mayor Brian Blad and Evans greeted Col. Jerry Washburn on the tarmac.

People can see the aircraft up close on Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as Friday through Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets cost $10 per person, or $20 for a family of four.

People who want to take a flight can buy radio compartment seats for $375 per seat, or $590 per jump seat. See what flights are available here.

Col. Christopher Ostler, the flight load master, said the experience of flying in a bomber is different from flying commercially.

“This is unlike flying commercial in every form. This is an 81-year-old World War II warplane. … It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Ostler said.

Evans, the airport manager, said the flight experience “is going to be pretty rudimentary. It’s going to be loud. It’s what it really was like back in the early days of aviation. … Just a fantastic experience.”

The last day to view the plane will be Sunday, before it departs Monday afternoon.

To book tours or flights, click here.

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