By Tamas Mondovics
Thanks to the generosity of the Collings Foundation, Tampa Bay area residents enjoyed a unique display of some of the rarest treasures of WWII aviation history. The annual nationwide 110-city Wings of Freedom Tour, allowed visitors to get up-close-and-personal with several WWII vintage airplanes for the enjoyment of local veterans, the admiration of aviation enthusiasts and a new generation of dreamers.
Original Story printed Feb 2017
Honoring the Country’s WWII Veterans, Collings Foundation has once again scheduled to land and display some of the rarest treasures of WWII aviation history in Tampa this month.
This is part of a nationwide 110-city tour appropriately named, Wings of Freedom Tour, which allows visitors to get up-close-and-personal with the WWII Vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, North American B-25 Mitchell and P-51 Mustang.
The airplanes are scheduled to fly into the Tampa Executive Airport, (formerly known as Vandenberg Airport located at Skyport Aviation, 6530 Tampa Executive Airport Rd.), on Monday, February 13, and fly on to their next destination on Thursday, February 16.
“The short visit will give residents a rare opportunity to visit, explore, and learn more about these unique, fully restored WWII bomber and fighter aircraft,” said Hunter Chaney, with Collings Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit educational foundation devoted to organizing “living history” events.
Chaney emphasized that the tour is in a fact a “flying tribute to the flight crews who flew them, the ground crews who maintained them, the workers who built them, the soldiers, sailors and airmen they helped protect, and the citizens and families that share the freedom that they help protect.
“Touring through and flying in these amazing aircraft is an experience in WWII history you will never forget,” Chaney said.
Aviation enthusiasts and visitors can learn more by visiting www.collingsfoundation.org. For reservations, call 800-568-8924.
