rickenbacker air show

by Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs

9/26/2007 - COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Government officials from Ohio continue to honor the Air Force as part of Air Force Heritage Week activities here.

The latest occurred Sept. 25 when Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman joined Lt. Gen. John L. Hudson, commander of Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in speaking about Air Force heritage to nearly 2,000 people who attended a free Air Force Band of Flight concert. The event took place inside the Franklin County Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Columbus.

The mayor's attendance at the concert followed Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher proclaiming Sept. 24 to 30 as "Air Force Heritage Week" during a ceremony at Rickenbacker Regional Airport Sept. 24.

Speaking to an audience of about 120 Air National Guard members and civilians, the lieutenant governor thanked Ohio's men and women currently serving in the Air Force, and extended his appreciation to all who serve or have served in the military to protect the nation.

The vice commander of Air Force Materiel Command, Lt. Gen. Terry L. Gabreski, added that the purpose of Air Force Heritage Week is to recognize the accomplishments of past and present Airmen, reinforce pride in those who serve, and generate excitement for the promising future of the Air Force. The headquarters for AFMC is at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio.

"The citizens of Columbus, Ohio, and of this great nation, share in our Air Force's heritage," General Gabreski said. "You show your love and support in war and peace and deserve our utmost gratitude and promise that we will continue to keep you and your loved ones secure and free."

As for upcoming events, the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends will feature an air show celebrating Air Force Heritage past and present Sept. 27-30 at Rickenbacker International Airport. World War II fighters that flew with and against each other such as the P-40 Warhawk, P-63 Kingcobra, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-38 Lightning, German Messerschmitt, ME-109, German Focke-Wulf, FW-190, and British Supermarine Spitfire are expected to be in attendance along with some of the country's top air show performers.

The Air Force Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, will perform at Rickenbacker International Airport Sept. 29-30.

Of the more than 500,000 men and women who serve in the Air Force as either uniformed members or civilian employees, more than 25,000 are assigned to Ohio's Air Force installations, including Guard and Reserve bases. About 65 percent of these employees are assigned in the Miami Valley-Dayton area, home to Wright-Patterson AFB, the largest single-site employer in Ohio.
COLUMBUS - The last time Bill Pattillo saw his P-51 Mustang fighter plane, it was a heap of wrecked metal, and he had just been shot down over a farmer's field in Germany.

Held as a POW for a short while before Germany surrendered, the World War II fighter pilot never learned what happened to the plane he referred to as "my baby."

This weekend, he'll pay a visit to more than 100 of the P-51 Mustangs that survived.

Now collectors' items that bring an average $1.5 million price tag, the iconic propeller-driven planes will be flown by war plane enthusiasts from around the country into Rickenbacker International Airport for a three-day Gathering of Mustangs & Legends air show.

Mustang owners and former Mustang fighter pilots agree the air show is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion because of the rarity of the single-seat planes and of the men who flew the planes over the skies of Europe and the Pacific.

"Seeing the other pilots, to me, is the most important thing," said Donald Strait, 89, a retired Air Force general now living in Jackson Springs, N.C., who shot down 13? German planes during 122 World War II missions. "We're scattered all over the country. We're all getting up there in age. It will only be a couple of years, and we'll all be gone."

The P-51 Mustangs that remain - there are only about 160 worldwide - have drawn more attention over the past few decades, in part due to the increased interest in the preservation of military aircraft. Pattillo said he's not surprised.

"It really was like a Cadillac," he said from his Harrisonburg, Va., home. "You just felt like when you got in the plane, that you wrapped it around you. It was a powerful aircraft."

Some owners spend thousands of dollars maintaining and restoring P-51 Mustangs to historical accuracy, insisting on 1940s-era radios, wiring and hydraulics, as well as external markings that match what pilots painted on their planes during the war, said Jim Thompson, a Birmingham, Ala., lawyer who bought his Mustang a year ago.

"They're like a Picasso or a Mona Lisa," he said. "They're a highly prized piece of artwork, and they are very expensive. Before you know it, you could have $2 million tied up in one of these."

The Mustangs have come a long way from the end of World War II, when the military turned to jets and quickly forgot about the P-51s. Many now believe that the highly maneuverable aircraft, which flew up to 500 mph as it escorted Allied bombers, turned the tide in Europe.

But most of the 15,500 Mustangs built at a frantic pace by U.S. factories during the war were sent to scrap heaps in England, or were pushed off aircraft carriers.

Others were used in the Korean War and by National Guard units into the 1950s. Some were sold to less developed countries, like Bolivia, Indonesia and El Salvador, which used Mustangs in its air force into the 1980s.

"You could have bought one of these, full of fuel, for $2,500 in 1950," said Lee Lauderback, who has spent the last two years organizing the Rickenbacker event from his Kissimmee, Fla.-based Stallion 51 Corp., which is devoted to the maintenance and operation of P-51s.

Interest and demand grew in the 1970s after the formation of the Warbirds of America, a nonprofit that works to preserve former military aircraft. By the early 1980s, collectors were willing to spend $100,000 or $200,000 for a P-51, and that shot up near the $1 million mark after the 1990s economic boom, Thompson said.

A lot of the remaining Mustangs were brought back to the U.S. from South America by collectors in the last 20 or 30 years, and many of those planes needed extensive structural restoration, said Tom Patten, a Nashville, Tenn., owner.

Specialized mechanics who rebuild P-51 frames and their Rolls Royce-Merlin engines and sometimes manufacture duplicate parts, have sprung up across the country, Thompson said.

Potential owners often have to wait several years for a P-51 to be completed. But the quality has greatly improved in the last five years with experts like NASCAR racing owner and engineer Jack Roush getting involved, Lauderback said.

"It's an industry out there," Thompson said. "You don't just buy one and stick it in a garage, like a Volkswagen. It's a work in progress, constantly."

It's going to be big, but it almost didn't happen.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all 50 states and a couple of dozen countries are expected in central Ohio starting Thursday for the four-day Gathering of Mustangs and Legends. The air show, at Rickenbacker Airport, will feature more than 100 original World War II P-51 Mustang fighter planes and many of the pilots who flew them -- the "legends" of the event's title.

Ohio, famous for aviation pioneers such as Wilbur and Orville Wright, came close to losing the once-in-a-lifetime show to Colorado. Jim Hagedorn, a pilot and owner of one of those historic Mustangs who also happens to be chairman and CEO of Marysville-based Scotts Miracle-Gro, played a big role in keeping the event in Ohio.

Hagedorn recently had purchased the P-51 known as Old Crow and was doing flight training at Stallion 51, the Kissimmee, Fla., organization behind the Gathering event. During the training, he heard the group was leaning toward Colorado.

"I said, 'What's the matter with you?' " recalled the famously plain-spoken Hagedorn. "Ohio's in the middle of the country, easily accessible by a lot of people. It's the birthplace of aviation. The Tuskegee Airmen (a pioneering group of black military aviators) were based here."

Hagedorn offered to personally fly event organizer Angela West to Columbus, and he also guaranteed that Scotts would be the major corporate backer of the event.

"I had never been to Columbus before," West said. "I've really fallen in love with it. The airport, the hotels and local businesses have all been very helpful. But what really sealed it is the huge amount of assistance we're getting from the people of Columbus."

In return for its sponsorship -- the cost of which is not being disclosed -- Scotts will have signs and banners throughout the grounds and will host one of several corporate hospitality tents around the tarmac. Nationwide and John Deere are among the other sponsors.

Hagedorn will be the only CEO of a sponsoring company flying in the show, however. His plane has been featured in a World War II documentary on the History Channel and is well-known to enthusiasts.

With the show days away, thousands of workers and volunteers have been gearing up to welcome a crowd of up to 200,000.

"This is actually the first air show in Columbus in more than 10 years, and it's a big one," said Rod Borden, chief operating officer of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. "They're billing this as 'the final roundup.' It's a gathering of World War II planes and pilots that hasn't happened since the war and probably will never happen again."

Experience Columbus, Columbus' convention and visitors bureau, is estimating an economic benefit to the community at between $25 million and $50 million, depending on factors such as how many people attend and where they come from. For example, those coming from far away will spend more, on things such as hotel rooms, than those living close to Columbus. Even if the figure is at the low end of that range, the event easily will be one of the top events in Columbus this year based on visitor spending.

Unlike business conventions or recurring events such as the All American Quarter Horse Congress, attendance for this air show is much more difficult to estimate. Weather will be a key variable.

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority helped amass 750 volunteers for the event and will spend $147,000 on law enforcement and security. In all, Borden said his agency will be laying out about $225,000 to host the event.

The Air National Guard unit at Rickenbacker also is helping with the show. Lt. Colonel Kathy Lowrey, spokeswoman for the 121st Air Refueling Wing, said they'll be lending a hand with everything from transportation, storage for planes and security support.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds alone, scheduled to perform both Saturday and Sunday, have an extensive list of requirements that any host facility has to meet.

"This is the biggest event we've ever been involved with," Lowrey said. "This is also U.S. Air Force Heritage Week, and it's the 65th anniversary of the Rickenbacker area, so there are several major things happening at once. We're honored to be helping with this historic event."