By Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Vintage WWII aircraft may buzz the skies over Bridgeport, Fairmont and Clarksburg next year.
Peter Ballard, Warbird Rides Coordinator of the Capital Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, stopped by Tuesday’s meeting of the Bridgeport Airport Authority. He pitched the airport’s board members on bringing the Capital Wing’s collection of five aircraft to the airport for a recurring event in the near future.
“Our mission is to keep the World War II warbirds flying,” Ballard said. “There’s nothing wrong with having them in a museum and letting people see them and get close to them, but we think it’s educational to the public for them to actually see and hear these aircraft the way they were designed in World War II.”
Ballard said the Bridgeport Airport was an attractive location because it’s close to the Capital Wing’s home base in Culpeper, Virginia. With population centers up and down the I-79 corridor, there’s a market large enough to make an aviation show successful at the airport. Most importantly, this market probably hasn’t seen any WWII aircraft for quite some time, Ballard said. The uniqueness of the attraction would bring lots of interest from residents.
The five aircraft the Capital Wing could bring are a 1943 Stinson OY-1 Sentinel, a Fairchild UC-61 Fowarder, two WWII trainer aircraft, a Vultee BT-13 Valiant and North American T-6 Texan. The group’s crown jewel is a TBM Avenger torpedo bomber. The organization also has an example of the world’s first jet-powered helicopter.
