The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 58

2 THE PANTAGRAPH, Sunday, Aug. 22, 1 993 Norm Wingler proved 31D9 By MELINDA ZEHR Pantagraph staff It all started with one man Norm Wingler. He was the person who in 1981 had visions of an aviation museum in Bloomington-Normal. "I didn't have ideas for just a small club," Wingler, of Bloomington, said recently. "I had thoughts of a real live hands-on museum." Now, 12 years later, those are no longer just ideas.

The Prairie Aviation Museum has grown from just one man to 220 members strong, and hoping for more. It has three airplanes and two more on the way. It has a starter building and plans for a much bigger hangar-display building that would be built in five to 10 years. And it hosts a show that has grown from a four-hour open house to a two-day, full-fledged air show, known this year as Prairie Air Show '93 and billed as the "biggest little air show in the Midwest" "I am surprised that it has grown so rapidly in such a short period of time," Wingler said. airliners used to be built" In 1988, Prairie Aviation members decided the plane needed a home and began construction of a small museum building just north of the main building at Bloomington-Normal Airport Many aviation-related donations -including uniforms, airplane radios, Teletype machines, old airline food trays, books and videos were being stored in members' basements and unused areas of the airport.

The building would provide an area to store and display those donations, Wingler said. "The 35-by-70-foot building is finished, but its displays and exhibits are not all in place. Still, Wingler said people interested in viewing some of the aviation materials and aircraft collected by the museum may do so by appointment. It is hoped that in the near future, the museum will have a set schedule during which it will be open. Since the DC-3 was acquired, two additional airplanes have been donated to the museum first an A-7A Corsair II attack bomber and then an Air Force T-38 training airplane.

In September the museum will begin working to move a T-33 jet here from Champaign's Willard Airport. Also, before Dec. 1, a Cessna 310B, sim- ilar to one featured in the television series "Sky King," will come here from the Gibson City Airport. Most recently, the Prairie Aviation Museum has been selected to become home to the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame. Until a larger facility is built for the museum, plaques honoring a variety of Illinois' flying greats will be displayed in the Bloomington-Normal Airport passenger terminal.

Wingler said he and other members of the Prairie Aviation Museum have discovered during its lifetime that building a museum from the ground up takes time. But based on the progress made so far, the group appears to be on its way to fulfilling all the ideas Wingler had in 1981. But he's quick to point out that the credit goes to a number of people. "It is the direct result of teamwork, dedication and sacrifice," Wingler said. "It pleases me that the people have responded to make it happen." Wingler had just completed a 16-year stint as a member of the Illinois Air National Guard's 183rd Tactical Fighter Group in Springfield when plans were being made in 1980 to start an aviation museum in that community.

He became a member of that young museum group and then had the idea to establish a chapter of the museum in Bloomington-Normal. The local group was known as the Gooney Bird chapter, after the nickname given the C-47. "But when the mother group in Springfield ran into financial and legal difficulties, the 125-member local chapter decided in 1983 to cut ties with Springfield and go out on its own. That's when the Prairie Aviation Museum officially began. The purpose of the museum, according to Wingler, is to preserve and educate.

It is hoped the museum will remind people of aviation's past and encourage future generations to become involved in the aviation industry. A year after its formation, the group felt comfortable enough with its future that it began shopping for an airplane the members could restore. The result was a 40-year-old Douglas DC-3, which it purchased for $28,000. Since the purchase, Prairie Aviation members have been working, when they have time and money, to restore the aircraft. Wingler hopes the DC-3 will be fully restored by next year's air show.

"A lot of these things are disappearing and we want to preserve that her-: itage," Wingler said, adding that "it's like the DC-3 you know what it looks like, it sits on its tail. The young kids who come out here and go into that DC-3, they start up the slope and they stumble because you do climb an incline to go up to your seat," he added. "They just don't realize that was the way the Above: Of great help to the Prairie Aviation Museum has been Ralph Hafley, left, owner of Hafley Truck Road Service. He talked to board member John Percy in front of the museum's A-10 fighter display. To the rear are museum members Jack Langhof, left, Bloomington, and Jim Ondeck, rural Normal.

Right: Ondeck, left, and Langhof, background, prepared the museum's A-10 for display at the Bloomington-Normal Airport. The PantagraphSTEVE SMEDLEY Air show's fare has plenty to please hitch. Even Mother Nature cooperated, providing a blue sky and mid-80-degree temperatures. "Things are going phenomenally well," said Mike La Pier, manager of Bloomington-Normal Airport "It's a well-organized event People are extra cooperative; we've had no serious incidents at all." What they did have were attractions with a wide range of appeal. Thirteen-year-old Ryan Engle of Bloomington made his third visit to the air show to see the Stealth fighter.

"For the last five years, all I've wanted to do is fly jets," he said. "The first time I saw a jet I knew I wanted to fly one." Newcomer Christine Waters, accompanied by her two children and her nephew, also enjoyed the Stealth. "I've never been to an air show before," said the Bloomington woman. "I like it a lot My kids are having a good time." And participants gave the show high marks for its organization. "Your volunteer group is outstanding they're what makes the air show," said pilot Charlie Wells of Springfield, who has flown for 49 years and attended each of the previous eight air shows.

"Every year it gets better. It's gonna be one of the greatest air shows in the United States in about three years." "The facility is excellent; the proximity of the crowd to the airport runway is excellent," agreed Les Shockley, who pilots the jet-powered truck called the Shockwave. 'Today's events begin at noon with a flag jump by the Golden Knights and conclude at 4:30 p.m. with an F-15 tactical flight demonstration. AfxA A 2 ETSNk ii.iej.ni..

ilf i i I. rki" By KAREN HANSEN Pantagraph staff If you are interested in big, there is the B-1B Bomber. For those intrigued by something on a smaller scale, there is the Bud Light Micro Jet No matter what your interest, the Prairie Air Show '93 has something for everyone. About 25,000 people attended the opening day of the show, now in its ninth year, with another 15,000 people peeking at events from nearby yards and parking lots, Air Show co-chairman Dave Keim said yesterday. "We've got a heck of a crowd," Keim said, adding he is expecting a larger crowd today because Sunday generally is the busiest day for an air show.

Yesterday's events, which will be duplicated today as the show concludes, went off without a Air shows a blast for Rockford pair By KURT ERICKSON Pantagraph staff It doesn't surprise Rich Gibson that he spends a lot of time blowing things up. "Ever since I was a little kid I liked things that go the Rockford resident said yesterday as he turned a field of grass at Bloomington-Normal Airport into, quite literally, a minefield. Gibson is a pyrotechnician, traveling to air shows like Prairie Air Show '93 around North America and adding an explosive effect to the already loud and exciting performances of the warbirds. Yesterday, during Prairie Air Show, Gibson and his wife, Dee, brought in loads of dynamite and kerosene that detonated as if the fliers were actually shooting at targets on the grounds. For this show, the display was aimed at the capabilities of World War II vintage planes, but Gibson says his work can be applied to myriad types of aircraft "We sometimes work with the U.S.

military to set up special simulations for training purposes," said Gibson, who operates an air taxi business in Rockford when he's not setting up explosions. Mrs. Gibson is a teacher who says she never imagined spending her summer vacations traveling around the country providing air show fans with spectacular pyrotechnic displays. "We did an air show in Rockford and one of my students saw me," she said. "He yelled, 'Hey, that's my They all think it's pretty cool." The two met when Gibson was operating a skydiving business in Wisconsin.

Rather than continue to pay for jumps, Dee said she simply married Rich. The PantagraphSTEVE SMEDLEY Marine 1st Lt. Wade Reinthaler, right, watched the Golden Knights parachute team perform yesterday afternoon with his grandparents, Bloomington residents Bob and Martha Reinthaler. The 29-year-old aviator, who learned to fly at Bloomington-Normal Airport when he was just 1 5, Is well on his way to his dream of becoming a fighter jet pilot. n.J Mn.

nr II KlCn blbson and his wife. Dee. wired inn nounris of riunamltft In nronaratinn tnr yesieraay warDiras ana pyrotechnic display. Their dog kept them company. parents, Bill and Bernice, also are volunteering their time at the show.

For Reinthaler, 29, the drive to become a fighter pilot started in his teens. But he has to push much of what he learned in those days out of his mind when he sits be- hind the complicated control panel of his fighter. "I've always wanted to do this. I want to fly and bomb things and shoot things up," said Reinthaler, who was accompanied on the trip by his instructor. DREAM From Page On from explaining the aircraft to the throngs attending the show.

"This is really great" A focused man, Reinthaler has spent 11 years working toward becoming a fighter pilot On Friday the Marine will earn his wings, which eventually will allow him to be stationed on an aircraft carrier. "I've still got a lot of work ahead of me," admits Reinthaler, whose "But we've never injured anvbodv. whether it's "It was cheaper," she quipped. one of our workers or someone in the audi- ence." The duo, who will participate in about 17 shows this year, is among three teams in the nation working on pyrotechnic displays. i "We're the best, though," the Vietnam veteran' said.

"Everybody else is trying to catch us." So how does Gibson decide whether a particular explosion will look and sound just right? There are certain basics he always sticks with, but he "tweaks" some of those with additional fuel or dynamite. "There's a lot of trial and error," he said..