The 50th Stearman Fly-in is taking place this week at the Galesburg Municipal Airport.
Board member Diane Stickle shares some background on this national event, and how it got started in Knox County.
“There was a local man named Jim Leahy, and he had a Stearman,” Stickle said. “A friend of his, Tom Lowe, knew each other from various fly-ins they had attended.
“They decided it would be fun to get a group of Stearman pilots together in Galesburg. They sent out letters inviting Stearman owners, and the first one was in 1972. It’s grown since then.”
This evening at 6 p.m. the featured speaker at the Fly-in will be (Ret.) Colonel Mark W. Tillman.
Colonel Tillman served as pilot and commander of Air Force One from 2001 through 2009 — including September 11, 2001, following the terrorist attacks when President George W. Bush was aboard the lone aircraft in flight.
For more information about the Stearman Fly-in and the rest of this week’s activities, visit its website at www.stearmanflyin.com.
