AirFest to Showcase Unique WWII Aircraft and Helicopters

August 31, 2022 Vintage Aviation News Aviation Museum News 0


PRESS RELEASE

Cape May Airport, Lower Township, NJ – Naval Air Station Wildwood (NASW) Aviation Museum will be celebrating the 26th-anniversary AirFest over Labor Day weekend. AirFest returns to a four-day format, September 2-5, 10 AM to 4 PM daily. This year’s event will feature aircraft from the Military Aviation Museum (MAM) & Fighter Factory in Virginia Beach, VA. The Military Aviation Museum is home to one of the largest private collections of World War I and World War II era military aircraft in the world. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these aircraft in Cape May County.

MAM Aircraft attending this year’s event include a PBY Catalina, B-25J Mitchell, and a Skyraider. Another exciting addition is Lou Horschel’s FG-1D Corsair which participated in a Legacy Flight alongside a Super Hornet at this year’s Atlantic City Air Show. Horschel’s Corsair arrived on 8/25 and is available for museum guests to see through AirFest. Additional aircraft include an SNJ Trainer, a United States Coast Guard helicopter, AtlantiCare’s Medevac helicopter, and one of the New Jersey State Police helicopters. The Aero Club of Pennsylvania will also be flying in to showcase some of their beautiful vintage aircraft.

NASW is also excited to announce the return of Tuskegee Airman Dr. Eugene Richardson Jr. Dr. Richardson will discuss his time training and the role of the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII. His presentation will take place at 11 am on Saturday and Sunday. Another presentation you will not want to miss is “The Golden Age of Naval Aviation.. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat” conducted by members of the F-14 Tomcat Radio Show/Podcast. The F-14 Tomcat Radio Show/Podcast production team is made up of former Pilots, Plane Captains, and other roles that worked with F-14s.

Visitors also have a chance to explore NASW’s collection of over 27 planes and helicopters. Additional entertainment includes classic cars, a visit by the 501st Legion Northeast Remnant (Star Wars), vendors, exhibitors, live music, food trucks, a beer garden, and even free face painting & caricatures! By visiting, you will also help NASW work toward its mission of memorializing the 42 men who perished training at the site, restoring Hangar #1, and educating the public.

About the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum

Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum is located inside historic Hangar #1 at the Cape May Airport. The site was formerly Naval Air Station Wildwood, which served as a World War II dive-bomber training center.  The museum is dedicated to the 42 airmen who perished while training at Naval Air Station Wildwood between 1943 and 1945. Current museum hours are 10am-4pm, 7 days a week.  For more information about AirFest or NASW, or for the event’s agenda, visit www.usnasw.org or call (609) 886-8787.

Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat Bu.66237 on an outdoor foray at NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum. This ultra-rare, early variant of the Hellcat arrived on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida during April, 2019. Originally assigned to VF-20 at NAS San Diego, it was lost off the Pacific coast on a training sortie in January 1944. VF-20 went on to serve with distinction in the Pacific Theatre aboard the carrier USS Enterprise. Thought lost forever, a U.S. Navy submersible recovered the almost completely intact fighter from its watery grave, 3,400′ down in the Pacific Ocean, during a training exercise in October, 1970. After many years of neglect in outdoor storage, she finally received a restoration to pristine condition during the early 1990s. She is presented here in the markings of the ace, Lt.JG Arthur Ray Hawkins, who served with VF-31 aboard USS Cabot. (image via NASWAM)

 

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