By JIM ROBERTS
On June 15, 2019, more than 700 aviation enthusiasts gathered at Bowling Green Warren County Regional Airport (KBWG) in Kentucky. Their mission: Honor an early aviation pioneer while raising funds for the Bowling Green Aviation Heritage Park (AHP).
Guests at the 13th annual AHP “Hangar Party” enjoyed a barbecue dinner, live entertainment, and a meaningful history lesson, all set against a backdrop of beautiful vintage and experimental aircraft.
The AHP honors noteworthy Kentucky pilots by displaying beautifully restored aircraft representative of those they flew. One impressive example, a McDonnell Douglas F-4D “Phantom,” is the actual plane retired Air Force Brigadier General Dan Cherry was flying when he shot down a North Vietnamese MiG 21 in 1972.
The park features seven aircraft, the newest a bright yellow Piper J-3 Cub that was unveiled at the open house. The Cub is similar to those flown by Kentucky native Willa Brown Chappell, the first African-American woman in the US to earn a commercial pilot’s certificate.
In the late 1930s she co-founded and operated the Cornelius Coffee School of Aeronautics which, by 1941, had trained hundreds of aviators, many who became members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
This year’s guest of honor, Retired Air Force General Lloyd “Fig” Newton, spoke prior to the Cub’s unveiling. Newton, a veteran of 269 combat missions in Southeast Asia, was also the first African-American member of the elite USAF Thunderbirds.
When interrupted during his speech by an aircraft engine’s roar, he drew laughter by exclaiming, “Don’t worry about that engine. That’s the sound of freedom!”
Before the event, attendees enjoyed a display of several Globe GC-1B Swifts, numerous Van’s RVs, a Boeing Stearman, and the DC-3 “Flagship Detroit,” which offered flights to enthusiastic passengers.
Also on display was a mothballed Sikorsky SH-3 helicopter, which will be restored in honor of presidential helicopter pilot USMC Colonel (retired) Arthur “Mac” Reynolds. Look for its unveiling at the 2020 Hangar Party.
Paul Mercandetti in his 1947 Globe GC-1B Swift enroute to Bowling Green. 
Former American Airlines DC-3 “Flagship Detroit” waits for her next load of passengers. Built in 1937 and owned and operated by the Flagship Detroit Foundation, she is the oldest DC-3 still flying. 
Tennessee pilots Paul Mercandetti (left) and Art Jacobs visit the Aviation Heritage Park to reunite with a Bell UH-1 “Huey,” similar to the ones they flew in Vietnam. 
Two friends help James Cummings (right) spruce up his beautiful 1941 Boeing Stearman. It’s a hopeful sign for aviation’s future that all three are enrolled in the Aerospace program at Middle Tennessee State University.