Seven veterans from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras were honored last July with flights over Decatur, IL in a 1940s-vintage Stearman training aircraft. The flights were provided by Dream Flights, a non-profit organization that was founded as the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation by the Fisher Family in 2011. The first Dream Flight was made that year as the first Stearman was ferried from Cleveland, MS to the west coast following its restoration. The 1,000th Dream Flight was given in May of 2015, and the program has grown due to national tours in recent years. The fascinating story of the origin of Dream Flights can be found in the November 2016 issue of Stearman Flying Wire magazine.
The Aero Experience coverage includes the initial meeting of the veterans in the Gaitros Aviation FBO and a selection of photos and video from the flights. Pilot Jeff Klosky and crew chief Allyssa VanMeter (aka Fly Allyssa) worked together with two representatives from sponsor Sport Clips to make each passenger transition quick and easy. The 1943 Boeing Stearman E75N1 N11125 is similar to the over 10,000 used to train U.S. and Canadian military service pilots during World War II. They were later used by civilian pilot training schools and became a standard crop-dusting platform for decades. The vertical tail surface of the aircraft is immortalized with the signatures of the World War II veterans flown in the aircraft. Special thanks to Gini Smith for being a great advocate for these veterans and coordinating their participation in this and previous veteran events in Central Illinois.
15 окт 2024
