The folks at the Booksin Walkathon have put together one of the most impressive silent auction collections ever, and you won’t want to miss it this Saturday afternoon.

They’ve got some awesome stuff, including hotel stays, cool electronics, sports collectibles, tickets, certificates, dinner parties, and two once-in-a-lifetime airborne opportunities:

One Hour Ride in Vintage WWII plane: Here is your chance to indulge your Walter Mitty fighter pilot fantasies. Up for auction is a 45-minute flight in one of the few remaining BT-13s left in the world. (Approximately 35 airworthy BT-13s remain of the 11,537 that were made at the time of the war.) You will be flying with a highly experienced airline pilot and flight instructor who has approximately 25,000 hours of flight time.

Helicopter Flight Over San Jose with SJPD: Bid to fly over San Jose in a once-in-a-lifetime helicopter ride in the Police Department’s patrol helicopter!

You can bid even if you aren’t normally part of the Booksin community. Just stop by this Saturday!

This WWII plane is the real deal!

Similar flight experiences in more common single-engine World War II aircraft such as the AT-6 trainer are typically valued at approximately $300, and rides in P-51 fighters range from $950 (20 minutes) to $2,200 (1 hour). The operating cost for this flight, including the pilot, exceeds $200. The aircraft is based at the San Martin Airport, which is located off of Highway 101 between Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and the highest bidder must have some flexibility with respect to scheduling of the flight as weather and pilot availability are factors.

About the BT-13: Army Air Corps pilots received their initial flight training in “primary” trainers such as the Stearman PT-13 biplane or the Fairchild PT-19 monoplane. After mastering the primary trainers, Air Corps Cadets moved up to the “basic” trainer aircraft. The Vultee BT-13 was the “basic” trainer that was flown by virtually all of the American pilots during this phase of their flight training. The BT-13 had a more powerful 450 horsepower radial engine, a variable pitch propeller and was faster and heavier than the primary trainers. In the BT-13, the student pilot learned two way radio communications and formation and instrument flying skills. Following basic training, cadets moved on to the “advanced” trainers such as the AT-6 and AT-11. From these aircraft, the next step was into frontline fighters and bombers such as the P-51 and the B-17.

About this particular aircraft: This particular aircraft is unique in that it was built in October, 1941, approximately 6 weeks prior to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. It is also unique in that it retains much of the original World War II equipment that was often stripped out of military aircraft as they began to fly in civilian life. During WWII, this aircraft trained cadets at Greenville Army Air Base in Greenville Mississippi. Following WWII this airplane was sold surplus at government auction and went through a series of owners who flew it during the 1950’s. The logbooks indicate that this aircraft was not flown during the 60’s and 70’s; however, in the late 80’s it was returned to the air and flown intermittently during that and the following decade. The current owners purchased the aircraft in February, 2004, and maintain it in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. As time and finances permit, the owners plan to strip the aircraft of the existing faded gray paint and return it to the blue and yellow colors it wore when it rolled out of the factory and into history.