The 46th Annual Stearman Fly-In is making its landing on September 4th through the 9th at the Galesburg Municipal Airport.
Eight Galesburg residents ranging from ages 68-94 will be taking flights in a 1942 biplane during the event. In the past six years, over 1,900 Dream Flights to U.S. military veterans living in long-term care facilities have been provided by Ageless Aviation Foundation. The flights will last 15-20 minutes and will take off during the Fly-In at 9:00am on Thursday September 7th. Diane Stickel, President of the Stearman Fly-In tells WGIL more about Ageless Aviation Dreams: “They go to various locations, they go to air shows…and they see this as a way to honor senior citizens and veterans. They focus primarily on World War II – several who served in World War II actually trained in Stearmans, so it’s kind of like taking them back to their youth.” During World War II more pilots were trained in Stearman plans than any other aircraft. Galesburg residents expected to take flight include: Ray Kreig, Paul Haynes, J.D. Stone, Dennis Stone, Ray Maddox, Chuck Basham, Sandy Benson, and Jeanne Murray.
