Well, last week the Collings Foundation's "Wings of Freedom Tour" stopped in my hometown of Valparaiso, IN whch also happens to be the founders hometown. Valpo was also the hometown for a few of the original crew members on Nine-o-Nine.
I handle local marketing for the Valpo stop and although we had great press leading up to the event, I was still apprehensive as to how many people would show up due to the economy. However, when I arrived in Valpo aboard the B-24 and saw the parking area full of cars I knew it was going to be a fun few days.
Over the course of the stay numerous WWII veterans made their way out to the airport to see the planes. One of them was a ball turret gunner on B-17's. He actually cancelled his doctor’s appointment in order to see the B-17 depart on Wednesday, July 29. Having the opportunity to meet so many of the greatest generation is quite an honor.
By the end of the visit hundreds of local residents visited the aircraft and quite a few took advantage of the flight experience program. We had a total of 6 B-17 flights, 3 B-24 flights and 5 P-51 flights. A few crew members noted Valparaiso seemed stronger in terms of visitors than West Chicago which is a weekend stop.
I didn’t take any photos but I did take video which you can find below:
B-24 Climb out from Du Page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQXAEp4_ ... re=channel
Bombardier Window
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22NeNo4IpqQ
B-17 Takeoff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-0cwDd ... re=channel
B-24 Takeoff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-0cwDd ... re=channel
B-17 & B-24 Fly-over
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLIrcH_Ti2s
P-51 Takeoff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=endZ-ZnY ... re=channel
P-51 Fly-by
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=endZ-ZnY ... re=channel