Aloft, the old-fashioned way

Want a blast from the past? How about a tail wind?

Two vintage aircraft trips, designed for World War II buffs and for golfers, are available from a tour company and the posh Four Seasons Resort Aviara in northern San Diego County.

The more expensive of the two, the Sentimental Journey, costs $370 per couple -- but what a way to wow a date. (You’ll have some company; the plane can hold nine passengers.)

At McClellan-Palomar Airport, just north of San Diego, you board a World War II C-45 VIP military transport plane (it carried wartime generals), piloted by Biplane, Air Combat & Warbird Adventures, a 10-year-old Carlsbad-based tour company.

Serenaded by big-band music played through headphones at your seat, you soar over the Pacific. Via intercom, you can monitor recordings of WWII cockpit chatter between Allied fighters and gunners as the plane is “attacked.”

After about 30 minutes, you’re back on the ground for a three-course dinner at the resort’s restaurant. The price includes the flight, dinner and tips.

If golf is your game, you can try the Aviara Dapper Duffer Aerial Golf Tour. At $129 per couple, it’s cheaper than some greens fees.

For this flight, you board an open-cockpit biplane for a bird’s-eye view of the region’s golf courses, more than 20 in all. This may be your only chance to see the exclusive Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe course -- unless you’re lucky enough to know a member (greens fees are $110 per guest) or can ante up $300,000 ($325,000, as of Thursday) to join.

For considerably less than a Bridges membership, you can combine a night at the Four Seasons with two rounds of golf per room at the resort’s course. The price is $295 per room per night for the Ultimate Golf Package, good Sunday through Thursday only through June 30, subject to availability.

For tour reservations, contact Biplane, Air Combat & Warbird Adventures, (800) 759-5667, www.barnstorming.com, which offers a variety of other vintage aerial tours. For information about the resort’s golf packages, contact the Four Seasons, (800) 332-3442, www.fourseasons.com/aviara.