The Cavanaugh Flight Museum (“CFM”) and the Commemorative Air Force (“CAF”) announced today a Cooperative Agreement that will put the world’s only airworthy B-29 back in the air. Jim Cavanaugh has pledged $1.2 million sponsorship for the re-engine project of FIFI, the CAF’s world famous B-29.
Josephine “Fifi” O’Connor Agather, namesake of the Commemorative Air Force’s (CAF) B-29 FIFI, passed away Sept. 22, 2007. The B-29 is the last airworthy B-29 Superfortress in the world.
Stephan C. Brown has been named president and chief executive officer of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). A former Army aviator and private pilot with more than 1,800 hours logged in military and civilian aircraft, Brown will assume his new post on Oct. 17, 2007.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) was notified Sept. 19, 2007, that the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio has set venue in Dayton, Ohio, for the court case concerning ownership of the CAF’s P-82. The venue decision is the result of a suit filed in April 2006 to affirm ownership of the rare P-82 fighter.
The Commemorative Air Force and Alon USA will honor those brave men and women who have answered our nation’s call to duty during the upcoming FINA-CAF AIRSHO 2007, scheduled for Sept. 29-30, 2007, at Midland International Airport in Midland, Texas.
Alon USA Energy, Inc. (NYSE: ALJ) (“Alon”) will celebrate its 11th year as title sponsor of the FINA-CAF AIRSHO in Midland, Texas, as part of its long-standing association with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) September 29-30. This year, the annual attraction celebrates its 50th anniversary as the nation’s largest flying collection of classic warbirds.
The landscape at the Commemorative Air Force has changed with the addition of two new buildings, the World War II Ground Transportation Vehicles Hangar and the Robert E. Reiss Memorial Holy Family Chapel.
Three veterans will be signing copies of their books during FINA-CAF AIRSHO 2007. Col Jim Davis and Capt. Norman J. “Dusty” Kleiss are being inducted into the 2007 American Combat Airman Hall of Fame, and Glen Brown is a Vietnam-era helicopter pilot. All will be in the museum lobby at various times during AIRSHO.
Seven American veterans and a combat unit will be inducted into the Commemorative Air Force’s (CAF’s) American Combat Airman Hall of Fame, Friday, Sept. 28, 2007, at the Midland Center in Midland, Texas.
Representatives from the FINA-CAF AIRSHO® 2007 will host a press conference at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, in the Commemorative Air Force hangar to kick off the annual airshow. Special guests at the press conference will include Jan Collmer, pilot of the FINA EXTRA 300L; AIRSHO Chairman Bill Coombes and Misses AIRSHO Hailee and Heather Frederick.
In 2006, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) introduced a Vietnam-era reenactment into its Airpower Demonstration during FINA-CAF AIRSHO® 2006. The segment was so popular that it will be brought back and expanded during FINA-CAF AIRSHO 2007, scheduled to take place Sept. 29 and 30, 2007, adjacent to Midland International Airport, midway between Midland and Odessa, Texas.
MIDLAND, TEXAS (Sept. 20, 2007) – The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and what’s a birthday without a cake? So, earlier this summer the call went out, and four local bakeries responded, volunteering cakes.
As a prelude to the FINA-CAF AIRSHO® 2007, the Commemorative Air Force will host a Midland and Odessa Joint Chamber Mixer, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007, at the CAF Hangar at Midland International Airport.
Capt. Kristen Zebrowski, chief of aircrew training for the 86th Aero Medical Squadron, Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, will be honored as the Commemorative Air Force’s 2007 Dolly Vinsant Flight Nurse of the Year award winner. CAF Col Gordon Stevenson, CAF chief of staff, will present Zebrowski with this prestigious award at the CAF’s General Membership Meeting 3 p.m., Friday, Sept. 28, 2007, in the CAF Hangar in Midland, Texas.
Complementing the historic aircraft of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) at the FINA-CAF AIRSHO® 2007 on Sept. 29-30, 2007, will be many popular examples of modern military aircraft including the F-16, CH-47 Chinook helicopter, the F-15 Strike Eagle Demonstration Team and the F/A-18 East Coast Rhino Demo Team. In addition, as has become tradition, AIRSHO will feature the Air Force Heritage Flight and the Navy Tailhook Legacy Flight, pairing modern jets with classic warbirds.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF) and the American Airpower Heritage Museum (AAHM) will host the annual “Save the Girls” luncheon Sept. 28, 2007, on the Friday preceding AIRSHO® 2007. The luncheon, which is a fundraising event for the museum’s Nose Art® collection, is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. in the CAF main hangar. Special guests will be the inductees into the American Combat Airman Hall of Fame (ACAHOF).
TRADESHO is the Permian Basin’s exciting aviation and business expo held in the main CAF hangar in conjunction with FINA-CAF AIRSHO 2007, scheduled for Sept. 29-30, 2007. Title sponsors are West Texas Radio and Signature Remodeling. This is the third year for West Texas Radio as title sponsor. Executive sponsor for the second year is General Motors West Texas Chevy Dealers, the official car of AIRSHO.
MIDLAND, TEXAS – The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) will bring its message of service and volunteerism in support of our nation’s combat-wounded men and women to FINA-CAF AIRSHO 2007 on Sept. 29 and 30, 2007
A one-of-a-kind tribute motorcycle dedicated to the Commemorative Air Force’s (CAF) 50th anniversary will be on display in the main CAF hangar during the FINA-CAF AIRSHO 2007, Sept. 29-30, 2007.
MIDLAND, TEXAS (Sept. 20, 2007) – Featured act will be the Trojan Horsemen – a team of six T-28 aircraft performing precision aerobactics. The routine is a patriotic tribute to the United States Armed Forces, with music and narration and includes a stirring Missing Man formation pass. The T-28 is a large, crowd-pleasing fast and loud Warbird with a 1,425 horsepower radial engine, and the Trojan Horsemen are the only T-28 demo team in the country. The planes have smoke systems and sport authentic Air Force and Navy paint schemes to compliment the patriotic theme.
Clyde Zellars will perform a series of aerobatic maneuvers choreographed to patriotic music in his 64-year-old SNJ-Texan during FINA-CAF AIRSO 2007 adjacent to the Midland (MAF) airport Sept. 29 and 30, 2007.
On June 15, 2007, Commemorative Air Force member Virgil “Sandy” Sansing of New Braunfels, Texas, will receive the Légion d’Honneur in the Musée de l’Air et de L’Espace (Air Museum) in Le Bourget, France, for his actions to free France during World War II. The award will be presented by the French air Force (Armée de l’Air) General P. Marbach, commander of an Air division.
The Commemorative Air Force’s traditional Memorial Day ceremony will be presented in the Memorial Garden at CAF Headquarters on Monday, May 28, 2007, as the fifth regularly-scheduled program in the 2007 Remembrance of War Seminar Series. Admittance to the American Airpower Heritage Museum and all events on Memorial Day, except lunch, will be free.
The Commemorative Air Force has learned that the discounted room rate of $139 at Caesars Palace for the National Patriotic Rally is only available to those who make their room reservations BY OR BEFORE JUNE 17.
In honor of Armed Forces Day, May 19, 2007, the American Airpower Heritage Museum, located at CAF Headquarters between Midland and Odessa, welcomes all active military with free admission and a commemorative gift.
The B-29/B-24 Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force has launched the B-29 Endowment Program, where private individuals can actually obtain flight instruction in the world’s only flyable B-29, FIFI.
The "new and improved" version of the CAF's B-24 will be unveiled at 10 a.m. during The Gathering of Twin Tails Fly-in set for Saturday, May 12, 2007, at the main CAF hangar in Midland. Two World War II B-24 crewmembers will speak at 1 p.m. about their experiences.
Joe Galloway – the author of “We Were Soldiers Once…and Young” which was made into a major motion picture starring Mel Gibson, has joined the rank of nationally-known speakers scheduled to appear at the Commemorative Air Force’s 50th anniversary National Patriotic Rally July 9-11, 2007, in Las Vegas.
Eight of the remaining members of the famous Doolittle Raid will gather for their reunion in San Antonio. The reunion is hosted by the Yellow Rose Squadron of the CAF.
The Commemorative Air Force's annual Open Cockpit Day is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 7, 2007, at CAF Headquarters at Midland International Airport.
The American Airpower Heritage Museum, located at Commemorative Air Force Headquarters at Midland International Airport, has announced new hours of operation.
The B-29/B-24 Squadron of the CAF will host a Twin Tails Fly-In May 12, 2007, to unveil modifications to the CAF's B-24A, formerly known as "Diamond Lil."
MIDLAND, TEXAS – (July 10, 2006) – The Commemorative Air Force’s B-29 Fifi – the world’s only flyable B-29 – has been temporarily grounded by engine problems. To return the rare airplane to flight, the B-29/B-24 Squadron (the group within the CAF tasked with the responsibility and privilege of maintaining and flying the plane) needs to raise...
MIDLAND, TEXAS – (July 3, 2006) – Michelle Harrison, an art student at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and Odessa resident, has been selected as the winner of the Commemorative Air Force’s first poster competition...
MIDLAND, TEXAS – (July 5, 2006) – The Commemorative Air Force’s first Aviation Heritage Cadet Academy, sponsored by HEB Supermarket of Midland, will begin Thursday, July 6, 2006, at the international headquarters of the Commemorative Air Force at Midland International Airport...
Midland, Texas (Dec. 12, 2005) - For almost 50 years, the Commemorative Air Force's mission has been to preserve and fly World War II vintage aircraft in tribute to the men and women who flew, maintained or built these planes during World War II. However, in October 2005, the membership voted by a margin of 91.97 percent to expand the...
Midland, Texas (Nov. 28, 2005) - A mystery for more than four decades at the American Airpower Heritage Museum, located at CAF Headquarters in Midland, Texas, has been solved. In the mid-1960s, a number of World War II bombers were being scrapped. The owner of the scrap yard salvaged the paintings on the noses of many of these bombers. These panels, dubbed Nose Art? by the American Airpower Heritage Museum...
Midland, Texas (Jan. 9, 2006) - The earth is moving at the Commemorative Air Force, as foundation work has begun on the new World War II Ground Transportation Vehicles Museum, located at CAF Headquarters in Midland, Texas. The museum is the result of a $2.35 million Texas Department of Transportation grant to construct and establish a unique transportation museum and historic aircraft display...
Midland, Texas (Dec. 12, 2005) - For almost 50 years, the Commemorative Air Force's mission has been to preserve and fly World War II vintage aircraft in tribute to the men and women who flew, maintained or built these planes during World War II. However, in October 2005, the membership voted by a margin of 91.97 percent to expand the organization's focus to include combat aircraft flown by all branches of the U.S. military during...
Midland, Texas (Nov. 28, 2005) - A mystery for more than four decades at the American Airpower Heritage Museum, located at CAF Headquarters in Midland, Texas, has been solved. In the mid-1960s, a number of World War II bombers were being scrapped. The owner of the scrap yard salvaged the paintings on the noses of many of these bombers. These panels, dubbed Nose Art? by the American Airpower Heritage Museum...
Midland, Texas (Nov. 22, 2005) - The American Airpower Heritage Museum, located at Commemorative Air Force headquarters in Midland, Texas, has again achieved the highest recognition for a museum ? accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Initially accredited in 1997, the museum must undergo a subsequent review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status.
Midland, Texas (Sept. 8, 2005) - Mirroring the humanitarian efforts of the Berlin Airlift in 1948, three vintage World War II era planes owned by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) joined the effort to get supplies into areas of Louisiana ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. On Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, a C-47 cargo plane, an R4D (Navy version of a C-47) and an A-26 landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to begin loading supplies. The R4D and C-47 were military transports during World War II
