Heavy Combat Weapons Tour

[Newk]

Thanks M2. I may take you up on that in the future.

[wCat]

This might be of interest to you....and good timing! I just ran across this in the newspaper. It's the Collins Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour. It's a fundraiser to preserve these historic airplanes. They will have walk through tours of several aircraft including a B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Flying Fortress.

And if your pockets are REALLY deep, you can make reservations to even fly one!! Wow! (and I mean REALLY REALLY deep!!)

It will be held at Stinson Municipal Airport March 16th -18th.

Here's a link to the web site: The Collings Foundation - Stow, MA

[Newk]

Nice link. One rep

[svg210]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Just to revive this thread, I responded to the OP offering to take them on Lackland for a tour of the two main air parks on base (the parade grounds and the one by the Valley Hi gate). But if anyone else is interested I would be more than happy to escort them on base on afternoon. I would prefer to do it with a group to save myself from repeating the tour several times, but now that the weather is getting nicer a few of you interested in the historical military aircraft on Lackland who aren't able to get up close to them would like the chance. If so, just post here and maybe we can arrange a pseudo-M&G on Lackland!

Cheers! M2

dont they offer tours on the bases? I mean besides a Millitary ID holder, I constantly wonder on fort sam (I have lunch there whenever I deliver material)

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by svg210

dont they offer tours on the bases? I mean besides a Millitary ID holder, I constantly wonder on fort sam (I have lunch there whenever I deliver material)

Honestly, I didn't initially think so; but before I shot off my mouth , I decided to Google it and found the following...

- General Information -

Lackland Air Force Base is commonly known as the "Gateway to the Air Force" because all enlisted members, whether active-duty, Guard or Reserve, begin their careers here at Basic Military Training.

Because of this unique mission, the base receives thousands of requests from individuals and small groups for tours each year. Lackland is no longer an open installation, so all guests must be sponsored by someone with a valid military ID card.

The 37th Training Wing Public Affairs office can sponsor groups on the base. Contact the office at (210) 671-2907 or by email at Publicaf@lackland.af.mil.

Group Tours

If you have a group interested in visiting Lackland AFB, please note these guidelines:

-- Tours are best suited for groups age 10 and older.

-- Groups must provide their own transportation. Lackland AFB does not have sufficient parking at the visitor's center to accommodate groups whose members arrive separately. Please make arrangements to gather at another location.

-- All visitors over the age of 18 must have U.S. federal or state government issued identification. As a result of security concerns, we cannot host foreign groups unless they have been cleared through their embassy.

-- There must be at least 10 people in your group. For logistical and security reasons we cannot host tours of smaller groups. Smaller groups could take part in the Monthly Public Tour program.

To request a tour, please call the 37th Training Wing Public Affairs Division at (210) 671-2907 or send an email to Publicaf@lackland.af.mil.

Monthly Base Tours

Lackland Air Force Base hosts thousands of visitors every year because of its unique training mission. Due to security requirements and manning, the base is not able to support no-notice requests or tours for small groups. Public tours are offered the second Tuesday of each month.

Dates for 2009:
13 Jan
10 Feb
10 Mar
14 Apr
12 May
9 Jun
14 Jul
11 Aug
8 Sep
13 Oct
10 Nov
8 Dec

The tour will last approximately two hours (9-11 a.m.) and consist of a driving tour of the base and a stop at the Air Park where guests can view numerous static display aircraft.

People interested in taking the tour must contact the 37th Training Wing Public Affairs office by calling (210) 671-2907 or by email at Publicaf@Lackland.af.mil at least one week prior to the tour date. You will be asked to provide a valid form of identification. (Source)

And the above information is not copyrighted as it is an official government web site!

So there is that option, if anyone wants the "official" tour. If the above schedule doesn't work for someone, and they still would like to tour the base, I am still willing to provide an "unofficial" version of the above.

Cheers! M2

[majormadmax]

And, as for Ft Sam, I couldn't find any information on formal tours but I did find a great interactive map here. A map of the entire post can be found here. We were just on Ft Sam Saturday, there is a lot of history on there and a very interesting place!

Cheers! M2