You’ll want to look to the skies on Wednesday, Sept. 2, if you live along the U.S. 23 or I-96 corridors.
A vintage World War II B-17 bomber will be flying from Ypsilanti to Grand Rapids on Wednesday as part of Greatest Generation Day – a celebration of World War II veterans. The B-17 will be joined by two other World War II planes – a C-47 and a B-25.
The date is significant: Sept. 2, 2020, is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The flight pattern of the three planes will follow the same route a car would take, heading north along U.S. 23 and west along I-96. That means the bomber will be flying directly over Whitmore Lake, Brighton, Howell and Fowlerville in Livingston County.
The planes are set to take off from Ypsilanti’s Willow Run Airport at 5:12 p.m. They should be over Brighton at 5:22 p.m. and Howell at 5:25 p.m. Here’s the entire schedule:
I live in a heavily treed area just west of US23 in south Brighton. I was at home that afternoon without knowledge the planes would be flying over but there was No denying the sound of those majestic planes and their engines roaring through the sky! Wish I could have seen them too!
I loved it !!! Thank you so much for doing this. The whole time I was watching them I kept thinking about my Dad, who was in World War II, and how much he would have enjoyed seeing the planes flying over.
Saw all three over Ore Lake!
Awesome sight AND sound.
I was not aware of this being planned – ironically my son texted me from Lansing with a photo of the plans flying over!
Went out early and someone said it had just gone over. There was still 5 minutes before it was supposed to be here… Missed it by that much…