50 WWII Planes That Still Fly · Their Role in WWII, Their Stories, and Where to See Them Today

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Real pages from the real book. This is exactly what opens on your phone, in clear type, with a photo in every chapter.

Page 21 of the book: the B-29, the Battle of Kansas and the road to Japan — Page 21: the B-29, the “Battle of Kansas” to get her ready, and the long road over the Hump to Japan.

Page 124 of the book: inside the C-47, and why she mattered — Page 124: the benches, the red light by the door, and the C-47 that flew at the very front of the night before D-Day.

Page 137 of the book: the opening of the P-38 Lightning chapter, with a photo — Page 137: the Lightning that spent fifty years under the ice of Greenland, and flies today.

Page 656 of the book: the Plane Finder, airplanes by state — Page 656: the Plane Finder. Every airplane the book places at a home base, by state and by country.

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What's Inside

Fifty chapters, one airplane each, from the B-29 to a little trainer that taught a generation to fly. Every type in the book still flies somewhere today, and every chapter ends with a Hangar Card: where she lives, whether you can go aboard, where her sisters fly, and where to check before you go.

Start Here: the fifty at a glance. Where each one lives, whether you can go aboard, and whether you can fly in one · p. 6
The Enola Gay, and where the only two B-29s still in the air are based · p. 19
The Memphis Belle, one of the first heavy bombers to finish twenty-five missions, and the museum where she sits today · p. 44
The C-47 that led the D-Day paratroopers into Normandy, and still offers rides · p. 123
Glacier Girl: fifty years under the ice of Greenland, and back in the air · p. 137
The P-51 Mustang Sierra Sue II, and where you can buy a seat in a Mustang · p. 177
The Zero at Chino, and the other side of the war · p. 325
The Tuskegee trainer, and the field where the cadets learned to fly · p. 365
The Spitfire that fought in the Battle of Britain, and still flies · p. 444
The Lancaster that carries passengers, one of only two flying in the world · p. 579
The Plane Finder: every airplane by type, and by state and country · p. 651

And that is a fraction of it. Every chapter ends with a Hangar Card.

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(2026–2027 Edition)

50 WWII Planes That Still Fly

For anyone who wants to see one fly before they’re gone

680 pages, 50 chapters, one airplane each, a Hangar Card for every one, the Start Here map of all fifty, plus 3 annexes: the Plane Finder by type and by place, a glossary of the hangar and the sources
Instant download: PDF and EPUB, on your phone a few seconds after you pay
The 58-page printable pack: all 50 Hangar Cards, each on a page of its own, the fifty at a glance and a checklist to tick off every airplane you see, on US Letter
Free updates for life, every new edition by email
7-day money-back guarantee, and you keep the book

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A note from the author

“I wrote this so you know where they are, and go see them while they still fly.”

My name is Hank Carver. Thirty-eight years on the hangar floor as a licensed airframe and powerplant mechanic, the last twenty running my own warbird restoration shop in Kansas. Big radial engines are the work I know best. My grandfather was a crew chief on a B-17, so I come by it honestly. I don't fly them. I keep them flying.

These airplanes don’t sit still. They get sold, they go on tour, they go into the shop for the winter. An airplane that was home last spring may be three states away this weekend. And every season, somewhere, one that flew the year before stays in the hangar for good.

So I wrote down what I know about fifty of them: what each one was built to do, where she fought, how she survived when most of her kind went to the scrapyard, and where she is today. When you know what you’re looking at, these airplanes stop being exhibits. They become machines that real people trusted with their lives.

A lot of the men who flew them were teenagers. A lot of them didn’t come home. When you stand next to one of these airplanes, you’re standing next to what’s left of them.

Hank Carver

Questions, Answered Honestly

Is this a printed book you mail me?

No, and I want you to know that before you spend a dollar. It is a digital book: a PDF and an EPUB you open on your phone, your tablet or your computer the moment you pay, plus a printable pack on US Letter paper. Nothing arrives in the mail. Print any page you like and take it with you to the store.

I don't know much about airplanes. Is this too much for me?

It's written for exactly you. No engineering, no jargon you can't follow. I tell you what each airplane was built to do, where she fought, the people who flew her, and where to see her today, the way I'd tell a friend standing next to her. There's a glossary of the hangar words at the back.

I only care about one airplane. Does it still help?

Yes. Every chapter stands on its own, so you can go straight to the one you care about. Start Here, at the front, is a map of all fifty: where each one lives, whether you can go aboard, and whether you can fly in one.

I'm not in the US. Does it still work?

Thirty-three of the fifty are based in the United States and seventeen in the UK, Canada and Australia. The Plane Finder at the back lists every airplane by state and by country, so you can see what's near you.

Are ticket and ride prices in the book?

No, on purpose. What a ticket, a tour or a ride costs depends on where you are, and it changes. Every Hangar Card ends with the official website to check, and that's the only number worth trusting.

Airplanes move. Is it up to date?

Every location, schedule and flying status was checked for this edition, and the book is updated once a year. Every update is yours, free, for as long as you own it, by email. Always check the operator's own website the week you travel.

Is this a subscription? Will you charge my card again?

No. One payment, one time. No membership, no monthly anything, no free trial that turns into a bill. And every new edition comes to your email free, for life.

What if I lose the file?

Your download link lives in your email, so that's the thing to keep. If you can't find it, write to me here with the email you bought with (or your receipt), and I'll send it again.

What if I don't like it?

Write to me within seven days at support@hankplanes.com, or through the form below, and I’ll give you your money back. You keep the book. I'd rather lose the sale than have you feel let down.

Where are the real warbirds of World War II now?

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“I wrote this so you know where they are, and go see them while they still fly.”

Questions, Answered Honestly

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