Around 2 p.m this Friday, Oct. 1, the drone of a World War II era bomber may be heard in and around Sedona.
Don’t mistake it for a neighbor’s over-enthusiastic screening of Michael Bay’s “Pearl Harbor” — it’s probably the throb of two 1,500-horsepower engines on an actual World War II bomber flying in for Saturday’s Sedona Airport Day.
Organizers canceled last year’s Airport Day due to COVID-19 concerns, but this year’s event is cleared for takeoff on Saturday, Oct. 2, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
It’s still an unusual year — with COVID-19 in Yavapai County still at high transmission — but the airport has a full lineup of familiar and new attractions planned for the mostly outdoor event, including free tours of the Executive Sweet, the B-25J “Mitchell” World War II era bomber that is scheduled to fly in Friday afternoon.
This will be a special appearance for the Executive Sweet, which has flown into Sedona five times, previously, during Sedona Airport Day. This year is the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the B-25J model earned fame as the bomber used in the Doolittle Raid, the mission to bomb Tokyo four months after the Pearl Harbor attack. Executive Sweet is the same model, but this particular plane flew stateside missions during the war.
Al Comello, the local liaison for the B-25J visit, also said this year would likely be Executive Sweet’s last appearance in Sedona. The Camarillo, Calif., nonprofit that keeps the bomber in flying condition plans to donate it to an air museum in Florida in 2022.
“For the last 30 years, over 20 volunteers have toiled to care for their Executive Sweet, but the era has come to a close. By early 2022 the aircraft will have a new home at The Liberty Foundation in Florida, known for its preservation of classic World War II aircraft,” Comello said.
Due to new FAA regulations, the Executive Sweet will not be offering rides, but visitors can tour it inside and out, and it may also perform takeoffs and landings during the event.
Airport Manager Ed Rose called the Executive Sweet, “living history.”
Rose said several other retired military aircraft and civilian planes will be flying in for the day, and other interesting flying machines will be on display, including gyrocopters, hang gliders and other aircraft in the “light sport” category.
The Young Eagles program will have two planes at the event to give kids ages 8 to 17 a free flight. The mission of the program, started in 1992, is to inspire interest in aviation in young people.
There will be non-aviation attractions, too. The Sedona Car Club will present its 38th annual Classic Car Show during the event. Car Club president David Lombardi said the group has over 90 cars registered in a dozen classes. Among the categories on display will be the Jaguar E-type, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of that model’s release.
“We’re really excited about [the car show]. We missed not having one. It’s always been the main activity of our car club. We missed not being able to do it last year,” Lombardi said.
Several local food and beverage vendors are scheduled to serve food on the mesa. Rose said there will be lots of other hardware from local organizations parked at the airport for people to view, including the Sedona Fire District vehicles, Guardian Air helicopters, Jeeps and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University planes.
Parking is free for the event, and there is no charge for admission.
Rose and Comello said they are excited for the return of Airport Day, now in its 23rd year.
“Everybody’s tired of not doing things,” Comello said.
