CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - The AirPower History Tour has arrived at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, offering visitors a chance to experience World War II aviation history.

The event features authentic World War II aircraft, including the legendary B-29 Superfortress "FIFI," and offers open-cockpit thrill rides in planes like the AT-6 Texan and the PT-13 Stearman.

“It’s exciting!" said Todd Erskine, volunteer tour leader for the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). "You’ll smell the exhaust, you’ll feel the rumble of the engines and the Stearman, especially since it’s an open cockpit. You’ll have wind in your face and the view will be spectacular.”

Visitors can book rides in the nimble AT-6 Texan, known as the Flying Classroom, or the PT-13 Stearman, an open-cockpit trainer that taught more pilots to fly than any other aircraft during the war.

"There’s just something about airplanes from World War II and even earlier… they just had a beauty about them and an elegance about them. The curves. They weren’t purely driven by aerodynamics. I think they were driven by what people thought looked good,” Erskine said.

While flight spots for the weekend are sold out, visitors can still tour the B-29 "FIFI," exploring from the bomb bay to the cockpit. And if you decide to ride in the Stearman, you might get more than just a seat.

“What people don’t realize when they climb on this Stearman biplane with me is that I get to let them fly the airplane," said Brian Fenelon, pilot and executive officer for CAF. "It’s a World War II trainer, so it was designed to have brand new people in the front part of the airplane and learn how to fly.”

The AirPower History Tour is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sunday, with gate admission priced at $20 for adults and $10 for kids ages 11 to 17, which includes access to the B-29 tour.

“We need to honor them! Honor their history, their legacy, and the amount of sacrifice that they made during World War II in order to allow us to have the life that we have today," Fenelon said.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.