It is almost time for Wings, Strings and & Other Classics! On Saturday, May 26, 2012, Wings Over Mia

Join us for an exciting 7 hours of Bluegrass and old time country music! Our musical partners, South Florida Bluegrass Association is bringing out their hottest bands to entertain us! The music starts at 1:00 pm and continues into the evening. The gates open at 11 am. Come early and see the warbirds fly!

South Florida Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America members are invited to showcase their cars right next to our wonderful aircraft. We are looking towards a Day of Remembrance, of great music and beautiful classic planes and cars!

Please be sure to bring a lawn chair so you can you sit awhile and listen to the great music! We don’t let a little moisture dampen our spirits. So, if you have any doubts about the weather, look on our website or Facebook for updates!

Tickets can be purchased at the door or online. Online tickets will be picked up the day of the event at Will Call. Veterans and current military with proper IDs are guests of the museum.

If you go:

Saturday, May 26, 2012 -
Gates open 11 am – Music starts at 1 pm & goes till 9 pm
Wings Over Miami Air Museum
Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport
14710 S. W. 128 Street
Miami, Florida 33196

If you would like to contact the museum about this event, please click here and fill in the form.

Tickets may be purchased in advance by using our secure PayPal link. Please click here.

Vendor Information here.

Fly-in or drive to Wings Over Miami for a Memorial Day weekend salute to our Veterans! Set aside your Saturday for a fun-filled day of Bluegrass music and classic planes!

The gates open at 11 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012. The music starts at 1:00 pm and runs into the evening. Bring your comfortable lawn chairs and your favorite veteran!

Check back for additional information about the event. Event partners will be offering hotel and car rental discounts.

If you would like to contact the museum about this event, please click here and fill in the form.

Tickets may be purchased in advance by using our secure PayPal link. Please click here.

Barry’s road to the museum was long and scary. He was in Afghanistan serving in the Army and feeling ill, but the doctors wrote it off as stress. During this time, Barry and his unit were involved in a vehicle accident coming back from a security mission which resulted Barry’s back being fractured.

This accident would eventually save Barry’s life. He was sent from the front to Germany for further examination and it was there that the doctors found that Barry had stage 4 stage Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Six years later Barry is in remission and in good health.

Coming home was to Miami was important to Barry’s amazing healing process.  After many years of therapeutic care and soul searching, Barry became involved with The Wounded Warriors and another wonderful organization called The Mission Continues.

It is through The Mission Continues that Barry’s path led to Wings Over Miami.  The Mission Continues is the only national nonprofit challenging post-9/11 veterans to rebuild a sense of purpose through community service. Barry received a fellowship to work with Wings Over Miami and has become a devoted volunteer bringing us energy and creativity.

Barry is giving of himself and gaining self-confidence along the way. Recently, while speaking of some experiences from his fellowship position, he shared that his role of interacting with our museum guests “is extremely important to me because after coming home from the military I found it hard to talk to people”. He also felt that he could bring to the museum his sense of teamwork and mission that his Army experience instilled in him.

Having earned his private pilot’s license, Barry is now pursuing a commercial pilot’s license and hopes to find a new career in aviation. We hope that Barry finds continued good health, the aviation career of his dreams and an unrelenting love for the museum. Wings Over Miami needs dedicated people like Barry who have a passion for aircraft and a heart for the community. Hooah, Barry!

You have only a day and half left to visit the museum and the Collings Foundation Bombers.  Take advantage of the admission discount and get to see both Wings Over Miami and tour the bombers for one low entry fee. The cost for both activities is $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for children.  This visit is a fund raiser for both the Collings Foundation and the Museum.

These planes will not fly forever. These are the last B-24 and B-17 flying — your next opportunity to see them may be only in a museum.  Come on out and support the mission. Help keep the planes flying!

We have extended Museum hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The aircraft visiting will include, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine” WWII Heavy Bomber, Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft” WWII Heavy Bomber and a P-51 Mustang.

This is a rare opportunity to visit, explore, and learn more about these unique and rare treasures of aviation history. The B-17 is one of only 10 in flying condition in the United States, the B-24J and Full Dual Control P-51C Mustang are the sole remaining examples of their type flying in the World.

The Wings of Freedom Tour will arrive at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport at 2:00 p.m. on January 31 and will be on display at Wings Over Miami Air Museum at Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport until the aircraft departs February 3 at 12:00 p.m.

Hours of aircraft ground tours and display are:

• 2:00 p.m. through 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31st
• 9:00 a.m. through 5:00  p.m. on Wednesday, February 1st
• 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 2nd
• 9:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. on Friday, February 3rd

The 30-minute flight experiences are normally scheduled before and after the ground tour times listed.

Please note that the cost for interior tours of the planes are separate from the museum entry fees.

Click here to go to the Collings Foundation website for more information about the aircraft and costs of flights and tours.

This original B-1 Brown Racer NR83Y was donated to our museum courtesy of the Louis G. Russo Estate.

Manufactured in 1933, this aircraft, in addition other racing accomplishments, won the 1934 Miami All American Air Races,  held at the old Miami Municipal Airport.  This little aircraft was piloted by famous race pilot Ralph Bushey.

If you look at the plane, the area for the pilot to sit is extremely narrow. In fact, a pilot needed to be jockey-sized to fit in the seat and even then there was little room to spare.

Lawrence Brown, of Santa Monica, California, experimented and designed a number of highly regarded race planes in the 1020′s and 30′s. His best known racers were the Brown racers designated as the B-1, B-2, and B-3.

While the plane’s serial number, 88-12821, is still the original, the airplane took on a new look as a 1949 LTA-6G. Accomplishing this task of being true to design required a momentous amount of research and study by Walt, Vinny Tirado and crew chief Harry Adams. All the detailed documentation for the restoration project has resulted in the compilation of the most thorough information and documents around on this type of aircraft.

This aircraft is as true as it can be to the original. In spite of a few parts being re-manufactured because they just did not exist any longer and the adding of other items, such as the GPS, that were a common sense addition, being authentic was Orth’s goal. They did the research, and then searched high and low for the genuine pieces to make the aircraft true to the original design. Many of the armament details are the real thing. The rocket launcher rails are from the Korean War and many of the other machine gun parts are genuine as well.

The armaments include an aircraft gun and rocket cameras installed in the left wing and gun sights in the cockpit including a realistic and functioning armament panel.  Also display ed are two .30 cal gun pods with original .30 cal gun barrels under each wing as well as four bomb racks with fairings and rocket rails, each holding three rockets for a total of twelve rockets, six of the HE (high explosive type) and six of the WP (white phosphorous) type. These ordinance stores are all authentic Korean War collectibles.

The rockets are recent fabrications and are not real. Attention was paid to the rockets to make sure that they are a very accurate representation of how they looked.

This aircraft was restored very accurately to represent the LTA-6G Korean War aircraft as attached to the famous Mosquito Squadrons of the United States Fifth Air Force. T6G aircraft arose from earlier model AT6 aircraft (A - F models) that were re-manufactured post WWII by North American or in the field. They were used as liaison (surveillance) and ground attack aircraft during the Korean War.  These aircraft were assigned to the 6147 and 6148th TAC (Tactical Control Groups) attached to the 5th Air Force in Korea.

Duty Stations for Night Rider:

• Taegu AB, South Korea, (August – October 1950)
• Kimpo AB, South Korea (October 1950)
• Seoul Afld, South Korea, (October 1950)
• Pyongyang East Adrm, North Korea, (October – November 1950)
• Taegu AB, South Korea, (November 1950 – March 1951)
• Pyongtaek Adrm, South Korea, (March 1951 – April 1952)
• Chunchon, South Korea, (April 1952 – July 1953)

The beautiful aircraft was a labor of love for the restoration team. It represents a dream accomplished for Walt Orth, a work of art for restorer Vinny Tirado and a bittersweet moment for Korean War veteran, Harry Adams, who as a Marine was wounded during the war that birthed the aircraft design.

What a great achievement for everyone involved in this restoration!