Montgomery County residents will get to marvel at vintage warbirds

CONROE, TX – The Gulf Coast wing of the Commemorative Air Force has announced that it will introduce a newly restored warbird to Montgomery County aviation enthusiasts on Saturday, May 16 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Conroe – North Houston Regional Airport, 5260 Central Parkway in Conroe.

Four vintage warbirds will be on display at the event, including a new arrival: Spooky, a Vietnam-era gunship. Warbird fans can get up close for the first time to the side-firing gunship, nicknamed ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ in Vietnam for its roaring engines and red tracer fire.

Families can tour Spooky and the three other vintage warbirds both inside and out, meeting the pilots and crews and even taking a flight aboard one of them, allowing visitors to imagine taking off in the very airplane that flew naval aviators during World War II.

The Commemorative Air Force’s mission is to educate, inspire, and honor through flight and living history experiences. Its objectives are to acquire, restore and preserve in flying condition a complete collection of combat aircraft which were flown by all military services of the United States and selected aircraft of other nations for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations of Americans. Additionally, its mission is to provide museum buildings for the permanent protection and display of these aircraft as a tribute to the thousands of men and women who built, serviced and flew them and to perpetuate in the memory and in the hearts of all Americans the spirit in which these great planes were flown in the defense of our nation.

Warbird flights range from $150 in a Navy VIP transport to $450 on a B-25 bomber to $1,295 on a Helldiver dive-bomber. Admission is $10 for adults and teens, $5 for children, or $20 for a family of two adults and up to three children.

To learn more, check out the event listing at www.woodlandsonline.com/evps/evitem.cfm?evid=204994.