Back in September I visited one of our local parks. I have meant to post the pictures before now, but just haven't. Since I haven't been out with the camera lately to capture any shadows or birds, I thought I would share this wonderful park with you.
The first plane to be displayed at the park was a U.S. Air Force F4D Phantom II in honor of Brigadier General Dan Cherry of Bowling Green.
The T-33 is in honor of Glasgow native and Western Kentucky University graduate, General Russell Dougherty, who flew a T-33 plane from Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb., to Washington, D.C., while he served as commander of the Strategic Air Command. Dougherty served 35 years in the military and retired a four-star General.
A month or so ago there was an event at the Park and the planes were opened. You could actually climb inside the cockpit of the planes and have your photo taken. I wish I could have gotten out there for that event!
The park is still growing, with plans to not only add more planes but to also have an indoor facility.
A General Dynamics F-111, the “Aardvark”, has been rescued from storage in the Arizona desert, and following restoration, will take its place in the Park. In October the plane was disassembled, loaded on flatbed trailers and shipped from Tuscan to Bowling Green.“This is the largest aircraft we've ever restored,” said Aviation Heritage Park President Arnie Franklin. “It’s over 73 feet long, with a wingspan of 32 feet when the wings are fully swept".
In 1986 Park President Franklin, then Lt. Colonel Franklin, piloted the lead plane in Operation Eldorado Canyon, in Libya. The actual aircraft that Franklin was flying that day is on display at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton Ohio. The aircraft that is being brought to Aviation Heritage Park was flying on his wing.
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