Soaring to New Heights

Liberty Heights residents fly Terrell skies in restored war plane

(ROCKWALL, TX – June 23, 2016) Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation recently provided a group of seven Rockwall senior citizens with the thrill of a lifetime that left them on cloud nine – literally.

Liberty Heights Gracious Retirement Living residents Bob McKinney, Dorie Stanley, Kevin Wall, Bob Macguire, Mary Kymes, Olis Lewis and Lila Seida were in for an unforgettable experience as the Foundation treated each of them to a short “Dream Flight” in its two-seater Boeing-Stearman airplane at Terrell Airport (200 Silent Wings Blvd) last month.

Ageless Aviation Foundation members Mike and Diane Winterboer and volunteers with Sport Clips Haircuts of Longview welcomed the residents and thanked the war veterans in the group for their service and sacrifice.

“Our mission is to give back to those who have given,” Mike said. “Through your work, sacrifice and service to our country, you have made our country what it is today. You’re the reason this foundation exists and the reason we are here.”

Mike flew each resident over the surrounding area and even let those residents who had experience flying planes take a turn at piloting the aircraft. For Korean war veterans Bob McKinney and Bob Macguire, piloting the Stearman brought back old memories of their time in the service.

Fighter pilot Bob McKinney served in the Air Force for four years during the Korean War but never had to serve abroad. He did, however, experience an inverted spin in his F100 which resulted in a crash landing over south Texas. Bob was miraculously unhurt.

“This was a memorable and unique event,” Bob said of his Dream Flight experience. “I’m glad that others will have the opportunity to experience what I had during my years of service.”

“Seeing that plane brought back great memories of when I was in the service,” said Bob Maguire, who played the tenor sax in the 314th Army Band in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, for local towns and military celebrations during the Korean War. “I’ve never been in a small plane like that before. I’m grateful for the wonderful experience!”

Perhaps none of the residents found the Dream Flight experience more moving and more fulfilling than Olis Lewis, who last had the opportunity to pilot an aircraft nearly 60 years ago. Olis worked to lay steel for the Florida railroads, and later worked for a company that contracted with the Navy for power supply, with Collins Radio for airplane radios that served in Vietnam, with TRW and later his own company. He knows how to fly and also loves to golf.

As he situated himself inside the Stearman and prepared for liftoff, tears of joy filled the veteran pilot’s eyes.

“Prior to this, the last recording in my flight log book was 58 years ago,” Olis said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity I had to fly again. I’ll never forget this experience.”

Like several of the Liberty Heights residents who saw their dreams take flight at Terrell Airport, William Fisher and son Darryl realized their lifelong dream when they founded the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation in the Spring of 2011. They traveled throughout the United States, giving war veterans and seniors in long-term care communities an opportunity to fly in a newly restored Boeing Stearman aircraft. Darryl and his wife, Carol, were so moved by the positive feedback and emotions they experienced during the trip that they decided to establish the nonprofit organization – Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation – to honor seniors and war veterans throughout the country.

William Fisher’s parents, William L. and Dorothy Fisher, started the family’s aviation heritage in 1940, which has since transcended through four generations of pilots. William L. bought (and later sold) a Stearman for $1,200. The Fisher family has since relocated and repurchased that Stearman in 1965, William and Dorothy opened a senior health care facility in Roseburg, Oregon, beginning a lifetime commitment to aviation, senior care and service spanning three generations of the Fisher family.

The Foundation owns three Stearman airplanes, each manufactured for the Army by the Boeing company in Wichita, Kansas, and each having its own unique history. The aircraft which the Liberty Heights residents had the honor of flying was built in 1944 and was stationed at Ogden, Utah, as well as five different locations across California: Sequoia Field (between Vilisa & Dinuba), Tulare, Lancaster, Bakersfield, and Sacramento. Bill Fisher purchased the plane in 1982 after it was used as a spray plane for a family-operated business in California called “Meek Dusters.” After the Fishers restored the aircraft, it gave the Foundation’s very first Dream Flight on March 29, 2011 in Oxford, Mississippi.

Ageless Aviation provides its Dream Flights free of charge to seniors and war veterans, thanks to generous donations from a multitude of organizations: SportClips Haircuts, Matrixcare, Direct Supply, Alliance Insurance Group, Creative Media Group, Oregon Health Care Association, Florida Health Care Association, Air Choice One, Oregon Aero, and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

“We are so grateful for this wonderful opportunity!” wrote Liberty Heights Events and Activities Coordinator Julie Claudio on the Foundation’s Facebook page. “A HUGE thank you to Mike and Diane Winterboer for the countless hours spent for volunteering their time and talents and to Sport Clips for making this dream come true for our residents! Gail and Joyce from Sport Clips were soooo awesome! We will never forget this special day!”

For more information on Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation visit agelessaviationdreams.org.

Story and photos by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News editor. Enjoy Austin’s full photo gallery below.