Will Be Accompanied On Heritage Flight By Two A-10 Thunderbolts And An F-16

The Wings of the North Air Museum’s P-51D Mustang Sierra Sue II will lead the U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight over U.S. Bank Stadium at Super Bowl LII on February 4th, 2018. Sierra Sue II will be first in a diamond formation which will include two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Wings of the North is proud to support the USAF Heritage Flight Program, which presents the evolution of USAF air power by flying today’s state-of-the-art fighter aircraft in close formation with vintage fighter aircraft. The legendary warbird pilot, Steve Hinton, will fly Sierra Sue II for the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation.

Hinton has flown more than 150 aircraft types, and in 1979, he became the youngest person to set a new 3-kilometer World Speed Record for piston powered aircraft, flying the highly modified P-51D Mustang Red Baron to an astonishing 499.018 mph. A founding member of the Motion Picture Pilots Association, Hinton has served as a pilot and/or aerial coordinator for more than 60 feature-length motion pictures and made-for-TV movies, series and commercials, including chief pilot for Pearl Harbor in 2001 and as himself in Iron Man (2008).

Sierra Sue II is one of a handful of flying Mustangs that actually saw combat in World War II. The U.S. Army Air Force assigned her to the 402nd Fighter Squadron in the 370th Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force in the European Theatre of Operations during 1945. 1st Lt. Robert Bohna was her regular pilot, and he named the plane for a girl in his high school. Sierra Sue II was fully restored in 2014 by AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji, Minnesota to a stunning level of detail, replicating her 1944 factory delivery specifications. Authentic details include working World War II era radios and full armor plating.

(Image by Leonardo Correa Luna provided with Wings of the North Air Museum news release)

FMI: www.wotn.org