LAS CRUCES – Numerous aircraft and classic vehicles will be on display at Las Cruces International Airport on Saturday – including a World War II B-25J – during the second Wings n Wheels Fest, a free event open to the public.
Wings n Wheels is hosted by the local section of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is a fundraiser for their youth flying scholarship. It’s also a way for the organization to reach out to young people from the region and get them interested in aviation, said event coordinator Brett Hahn. Children aged 8-18 can sign up for a flight with Young Eagles Pilots.
The chapter reports that they have given first flights to over 3,700 teenagers in southern New Mexico.
Saturday participants can also buy tickets to ride the B-25J Mitchell Maid in the Shade – a WWII warplane. This B-25J was built in 1944, one of approximately 10,000 built during World War II. Hahn stated that a squadron of these planes was being formed to bomb Japan after the US officially entered the war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Many of the planes were used to fight air fires or spray insecticides after the war ended in 1945, said pilot Jordan Brown. Maid in the Shade is one of only 34 B-25Js flying today. The station of the decommissioned aircraft in Las Cruces is the last stop on the Commemorative Air Force’s “Flying Legends of Victory Tour”.
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Two veterans are honored with a flight on “Maid in the Shade” Friday by the Honor Flight of Southern New Mexico and El Paso. This local non-profit raises funds to transport local WWII, Korean, and Vietnam War veterans to Washington DC to visit war memorials. The organization reportedly has nearly 100 veterans on a waiting list for this honor flight.
WWII veteran Tom House, 97, and Korean War veteran Kirby Prickett, 87, both from Las Cruces, will take to the skies on Friday morning. House served in the U.S. Navy while Prickett served in the U.S. Air Force.
Several female pilots from the southwest will also be present on Saturday.
Anita Gale of the National Space Society, Blackhawk pilot Stacy Roberts, Karen Cain, flight maintenance instructor at Eastern New Mexico University, and Emma Fuchs, a New Mexico State University graduate at Lockheed Martin, will all be on hand to answer questions and answer any questions the influence of women on aviation.
Food trucks and family-friendly activities are offered on Saturday between the planes, helicopters, vintage cars and hot rods. The event will take place on September 25th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Las Cruces International Airport, 8990 Zia Blvd.
Leah Romero is the trend reporter for Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached on Twitter at 575-418-3442, [email protected] or @rromero_leah.
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