Driving into town with the restorer, we could see the Huey flying over town south of the airport and restoration shop.
The museum’s founder and along with another museum pilot flew up with a Cobra and Huey from his collection to give helicopter rides as part of a volunteer appreciation day.
As the main museum is in Texas, when those affiliated with the main location are in town it is a time of collaboration and catching up while sharing the love and appreciation for the aircraft that have drawn everyone together.
During this year’s Airventure in Oshkosh, the founder stayed part of the week letting people sit in his aircraft within Warbirds with then help of the other restorers two teenagers.
While the restorer and other restorer have known the founder for some time, this Oshkosh was really the first time I got to interact with him.
Enthusiastic about aviation history, the founder gravitates to aircraft with a story of significance. Several airplanes within the collection were survivors of Pearl Harbor.
Sharing the story of these living relics of past eras is a part of the museum’s purpose.
One of the volunteers flew Cobras and Huey’s in the army. Watching as the volunteer did his pre-flight walk around before getting in the right seat of the aircraft and the founder in the left, he was seeing and inspecting as he had done many times before. Looking closely at the aft boom and tail rotor continuing his visual inspection glancing at specific parts as he returned to the front of the aircraft.
A new volunteer came with his mom and sister – he’s 11 and his sister is a bit younger at nine. His questions about aircraft and aviation were thoughtful and beyond his years. As the day rolled on, his first time in an aircraft ended up being in a Huey with the veteran volunteer joining the founder in the front of the helicopter.
As the temperatures became hotter in the late afternoon, activities moved into the relative cool of the restoration shop for dinner and conversation.
The other restorer thanked everyone for coming and the founder gave some updates on aircraft within the collection along with events later in the year at the museum in Texas.
Another volunteer and her husband flew into Urbana for the appreciation day, after hearing about the enthusiastic young volunteer at dinner, they approached his mom about giving him and his sister a ride in their early model 172.
Mom said yes, and watched with the volunteer as her husband showed the kids around the airplane and settled them into the cabin.
They were soon taxing out as the Huey and Cobra resumed flights after dinner.
After the 172 shut down at the end of the flight, the young volunteer was happily talking about how the instruments worked and what the pilot was doing during the flight.
Some days at the restoration shop, moments create memories to last a lifetime.