Potomac Flight, “An Historic Flight Over Washington D.C. Honoring Our Nation’s Veterans”

Culpeper Star Exponent

BUSINESS MONDAY

AUGUST 11, 2014

Jim Charapich

 

The 15^th Annual Culpeper Air Fest is only two months away!  Kicking off this year’s “Best Little Airshow in the East” on the day prior to the airshow is the ground-breaking Potomac Flight-“ An Historic Flight Over Washington D.C. Honoring Our Nation’s Veterans” on Friday-October 10^th.  

 

This once-in-a-lifetime flight will feature the North American T-6 Texans - a 2 seat aircraft used as the advanced trainer for World War II pilots. Designed by North American Aviation, Inc., and first flown in 1938, the “Texan” quickly became the most popular trainer aircraft for the U.S. Military in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

 

In its day, the Texan represented the cutting edge of aviation technology, a mere 35 years after the Wright brothers' first flight on a North Carolina beach. Over 15,000 “Texans” were built between 1938 and 1947, and approximately 400 are still flying today.  On October 10 close to twenty-five of these “Texans” will launch from Culpeper Regional Airport and will soar in formation down the Potomac River.

 

The flyover in the skies over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery will be in honor of Disabled American Veterans as a visible and fitting tribute to the services and sacrifices veterans have made for our freedom.  This ceremonial formation flight will soar at around 1,500 feet and will be visible from Alexandria, Arlington and Rosslyn, VA at approximately 12:30PM.

 

An extremely limited number of opportunities to fly in the formation as a backseat passenger for a unique view of Washington DC and be part of living history in a World War II formation that will provide you with lifetime memories of a great experience are still available to event sponsors.  B-25 “Panchito” and a T-28 will serve as photo and videoships in order to capture footage from this special event.

 

The idea for the flight started during a brainstorming session of a way for T-6 owners to commemorate the 75^th Anniversary for the T-6 Texan in 2013.  Doctor Tom Malone (T-6 owner) suggested the monumental idea of flying over the Pentagon.  Potomac Flight Lead and organizer, Mike Ginter and his team worked diligently for three months with the FAA and TSA who he states have been extremely supportive and eager to assist.

 

Skilled T-6 Texan formation pilots will be coming together from across North America to support the Potomac Flight which will culminate with the 15^th annual Culpeper AirFest free airshow on Saturday, Oct 11, 2014.  This is sure to be one for the books!

 

The Culpeper Air Fest is funded by the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation - a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization chartered to promote aviation education, awareness and support in Culpeper. It is our goal to help you celebrate with us a great aviation heritage and experience. The show is locally produced, free to the public and draws top performers from around the nation.

 

The 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, represents this nation’s disabled veterans. It is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. More information about DAV can be found atwww.DAV.org.

 

 

For more information about the Culpeper Air Fest and the Potomac Flight please visit www.CulpeperAirFest.com.  If your organization would like to gain strategic prominence at the event, the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation is accepting sponsorship commitments. For the latest updates and news be sure to follow Culpeper Air Fest 2014 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with hashtag  

#CulpeperAirFest and #PotomacFlight. (Contributed on behalf of the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation).