The CAF Rocky Mountain Wing is offering rides in our historic WWII Aircraft on August 18. Ride in the Back Seat or the Turret Gunner's Seat of our 1945 Grumman TBM Avenger at the Grand Junction Regional Airport.

Help us keep our historic TBM Avenger torpedo bomber flying, and our WWII Aviation Heritage Museum and educational outreach programs operating by joining us at our Rides day on August 18 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The Avenger is the largest single-engine bomber built for WWII – 18,000 lbs gross weight, with a 14-cylinder, 1,900 HP engine. It took off from 800’ aircraft carriers without a catapult!

If a ride in a historically significant airplane is on your bucket list, you can check it off right here at the Grand Junction Airport. The TBM, designed by Grumman and manufactured by General Motors (!) turned the tide of the War in the Pacific, taking out thousands of tons of enemy shipping. While our TBM isn’t a combat veteran, it has a few claims to fame that are hard to beat.

• It flew Anti Submarine Warfare missions for the Royal Navy.
• It led a multiplane flyover at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation jubilee.
• It appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
• It is one of only seven Aircraft deemed worthy of listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and one of only two that still fly regularly.

Seats are limited, so book your Living History Flight Experience today. A donation of only $750 will let you check this big item off your bucket list. You’ll leave with a smile and a story that will last a lifetime!

*Participants must be 13 or older and able to enter the aircraft unassisted and under their own power. Handicapped access is not provided for this event.