"Spirit of North Carolina" is the only operating Douglas A-26 Invader east of the Mississippi. 

A ride on "Spirit" is not only an unforgettable adventure for yourself.

It makes a perfect gift for many reasons: 

• appreciation of a veteran's service, 
• recognition event for outgoing association officer or member, 
• a thrill gift for an aviation enthusiast

The list is as long as there airplanes in the sky.

Let me describe what you can expect.

Long before you arrive at the bomber's parking spot at Wilmington International Airport, the crew arrive to pre-flight the airplane. The checklist is carefully followed - tires, fluids, physical condition. The copilot performs the cockpit pre-flight check, and the pilot oversees it all to his satisfaction.

George Lancaster is the owner/pilot, and spent his career as an airline transport pilot for Piedmont and US Airways. Jerry Tate, the copilot, has similar credentials. Fred Hensley, another copilot, was a corporate pilot and is a licensed A&P (airframe and powerplant) mechanic as well. Steve Martin is the lead mechanic, responsible for the operational airworthiness of the plane.

Most everybody else on the crew is either a pilot or ex-Air Force type, and all share a common bond - totally absorbed by all things aviation related in general, and this airplane in particular.

All volunteer their time and effort to keep this 'living museum' at work. 

George regularly takes "Spirit" to airshows in the area, and the fees collected from the airshow operator help pay for the operational expenses. As you might imagine, they are not trivial: engine maintenance, tires, fuel and oil, hydraulic fluid, annual inspection, fees - without public participation the plane might be relegated to a static display in a museum.

Military warbirds are not the most fuel-efficient airplanes, especially with 4,000 galloping horsepower on the wings. It takes about 200 gallons of aviation gas for the flight. 

Paying passengers are greatly appreciated. 

When you arrive, hopefully a few minutes early, you can chat with George and the crewmembers while the final arrangements for the flight are completed.

Bring your camera and camcorder.

You will be allowed in the cockpit to see and experience various phases of the flight - the engine start and taxi, takeoff, flight to and from the beaches, the beach tour itself, and the landing and taxi back to the ramp. You can decide among yourselves who does what and when. It will not be possible to engage the pilot/copilot in conversation - they're too busy, and it's too noisy.

You will be provided sound protection (earplugs) or if you want, bring your own headset (listen only, no mic), or pick up an inexpensive set of over-the-ear hearing protectors like you (ought to ) wear when mowing the lawn at a home supply store or lawn & garden shop.

The beach tour flight itself lasts about a half-hour, but the total time in the plane, what with startup and taxi out and back, is close to an hour.

It's not a slow plane. It was, in fact, the fastest bomber of WW-II. Much of the tour will be at 250 mph, and some parts may exceed 300 mph. The plane will go through turns and banks as it follows the coastline, but George is careful to insure positive 'G' forces so you stay comfortably in your seat.

It is exciting, from the moment the mighty Pratt & Whitneys roar to life, the rush down the runway and liftoff, the increase in speed as the gear comes up and the flaps retract, and before you know it you are all grins as the plane swoops past Wrightsville Beach along the coast to Bald Head Island and across the river, sometimes with a low pass over the Brunswick County Airport, and then back to the Wilmington Airport.

All too soon gear and flaps come down and "Spirit" settles back on the tarmac.

Often, the passengers have to be coaxed off the plane - reluctant to end the experience.

Flying on an ex-military warbird is not at all like being enclosed within the plastic cocoon of a commercial passenger aircraft ("Not that there's anything wrong with that," to quote the comedian Jerry Seinfeld.)

It's just that you are isolated, insulated from the mechanicals and environmentals, from the harshness of what goes on outside the passenger compartment on fast powerful flying machines.

It's not like that in "Spirit" at all - you're in the middle of it.

Passenger seats are in the former bomb bay that once held 32 or more 250 lb bombs, and the rear bench seat was the rear gunner's position,.

The noise, vibration, and hot engine smells, and the private memories left behind by all who flew her, on over 300 combat missions, mostly 19 and 20 year old kids, connect you with an important time in our shared experience.