Hangar Party 2023
Summer fun is back! Tickets are on sale for Aviation Heritage Park’s Hangar Party, the hottest event of the year. Join us at the Bowling Green-Warren County Airport on June 17, 5pm-10pm. Tickets are $40/adults, $15/children six-12, five and under are free. The price of admission is all-inclusive and covers the outdoor event, a BBQ meal, beverages (including beer), flyovers, displays, and music. Visit HangarPartyTickets.com for info and to buy online.
This year AHP welcomes The Sidewinders to the stage from 8pm-10pm for your listening and dancing pleasure. This special group of performers frequently appears with Bowling Green’s Orchestra Kentucky, performing as The Rewinders and the Retro Singers. We know you will enjoy vocalists Billy Duvall and Lisa Oliver Grey, Bhrett Puckett and John McCracken on guitar, Dave Allen on bass, Adrian Heil on keyboard and Webb Hendrix on drums.
Party gates open at 5pm. Tickets are on sale now. Use a credit card or Paypal to buy tickets at HangarPartyTickets.com. (Your name will be on the Will-Call list at the party gate.) Cash purchases (only) are available locally at Ford’s Furniture, Nat’s Outdoor Sports, Chuck’s Liquor on Three Springs Road, and Barbara Stewart Interiors.
The Hangar Party is a fun evening full of things to see and do. The ramp of the airport will be filled with static displays of beautiful private aircraft. Factory Ten Aerospace Composites will have an exhibit. This year’s event will feature a flyover by a team of highly skilled Swift pilots. The pilots are Don Abbott, Jerry Kirby, Jim Roberts, and Paul Mercandetti. These guys have over 68,000 flight hours and 212 years’ experience amongst them.
Be sure to visit the Men of Steel, a group of Patton Museum Leadership Volunteers based out of Ft. Knox, Kentucky. They will host a display of uniforms, headgear, insignia, field gear, small arms and photos from several eras.
At this year’s Hangar Party, 10 distinguished aviators will be added to the roster of honorees at the park. You can read those heroes’ stories on the Aviation Heritage Park website under the “Distinguished Aviators” menu tab. Read and be inspired by the fascinating stories of honored aviators like Brig. Gen. Ken Fleenor, a Bowling Green native who became an F4 pilot and endured five years as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton; Lt. Col. Gerald Roark, a Scottsville native, who created and trained the Air Wing of the US Central Command; local resident Col. Tim Vaughan flew 88 combat missions throughout four different campaigns in the Middle East; Capt. Jacob Vaughan (a South Warren High School and WKU graduate) is currently serving in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and following in his father Tim’s footsteps. Capt. Vaughan is already a Top Gun. Gen. Joseph Ralston started life as a Hopkinsville farm kid and became the Supreme Allied Commander NATO. He is the highest-ranking airman Kentucky has ever produced. Col. Pete Sullivan joined the Marines after graduating from BGHS in 1950 and flew 136 combat missions in SE Asia. Bowling Green native Lt. Col. Bobbie Pedigo started his military career as a Kentucky National Guardsman in 1951 and devoted over 50 years of service to our country. Lt. Earl Wassom flew the B-24 for 35 missions during WW2 and came back with every man in his crew. Lt. Charles Moran, from Horse Cave, served during WW2 and then is credited with the first aerial kill of the Korean War. He tragically died just 40 days later. These heroes are our neighbors, and their stories will be remembered at AHP.
AHP’s mission has been simple – to honor the aviators of South Central Kentucky who made significant contributions to aviation history. Today, Aviation Heritage Park serves as a community asset with an expanded mission: to preserve the rich and significant history of aviation in South Central Kentucky and to inspire future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math using STEM and STEAM curriculum standards.
In 2021, AHP’s dream of an aviation museum became reality as an 11,000-square-foot facility took shape. The museum will not only be home to new exhibits, bringing more distinguished aviators’ stories to life, but will also house a workshop, archive and artifact storage, as well as an education center.
Adding to the museum progress during 2021, the Red River Valley Association (RRVA) formally joined with AHP to build the museum. The RRVA is a nationwide group of combat pilots past and present who have thrown their hats into the AHP ring, bringing their special energy and national recognition. They have announced Bowling Green as the location for their 2023 week-long convention, which typically sees upwards of 500 attendees. Aviation Heritage Park is in the final phase of construction before the museum can officially open, and you can be a part of it. Visit aviationheritgepark.com to learn more.
-submitted by Cara Beth Pitchford
