CAF's P51-C Red Tail MustangEden Prairie, MN — If you have never heard stories from a World War II-era aviator before, this year’s Air Expo at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie may be the time to do so.
 
More than 50 veterans from that era to the present (and one former space shuttle commander) are scheduled to appear at this year’s July 13-14 show.
 
Aircraft at the expo will include a rare P-51C Mustang, a B-17 Flying Fortress, a Grumman Avenger torpedo bomber and several T-6 Texan trainers, among others.
 
Rides will be available on several of the aircraft for varying costs. The nonprofit group Wings of the North has produced the show since 2000.
In the nearly 70 years since World War II ended, both the aircraft and the people that flew them have gotten older.
 
The vintage planes are meticulously maintained, but Wings of the North President Bob Jasperson says that even the youngest World War II veteran is approaching 90 years old.
 
“Even though some of them are in decent health, it’s coming to where they can’t spend a weekend with us anymore,” he said. “So if you have never heard their stories or shaken their hands before, this is the time to do it.”
 
Among those veterans is Dick Cole, a 92-year-old who flew as Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot during the famous raid on Tokyo in 1942. He comes up from San Antonio every year for the show, Jasperson said, and hasn’t missed a single one.
 
Another veteran from that era is Tuskegee Airman Hiram Mann, who is coming up from Florida. Mann was among the first African-American aviators that broke through the color barrier to fly combat missions during World War II.
 
Mann is one of six scheduled speakers at this year’s Evening with the Eagles dinner at the Minneapolis Marriot Southwest Hotel, 5801 Opus Parkway, Minnetonka. Other scheduled speakers include
Vince Parker, a World War II B-17 tail gunner; Liz Strohfus, a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP); Chuck DeBellevue, a top U.S. ace in Vietnam; Bryan Green, an Army National Guard helicopter pilot; and Curt Brown, NASA Space Shuttle commander.
 
Tickets to this event are $47.50 per person, and can be purchased online at http://www.airexpo-mn.org
 
History takes flight at this year’s Air Expo in Eden Prairie, MN