Attendees were held to the edge of their seats recently with acrobatic acts, battle dramatizations, and the thunder of vintage and modern military demonstrations for the 14th consecutive year at “Wings Over Houston,” the official airshow for the City of Houston.
According to Bill Roach, chairman of the Wings Over Houston executive committee, “With the help of the thousands of volunteers, spectacular flying demonstrations and static displays, Wings Over Houston has become a premier family event.” He went on to say, “From educational displays to breathtaking aerial demonstrations, airshow visitors [can] experience the fun of a festival while keeping our aviation heritage preserved.”
Regardless of the uncooperative weather, the recent event was a resounding success, and the crowd witnessed the usual exciting mix of aviation history and today’s technology-advanced aerial marvels.
Additionally, ground festivities included one of the largest displays of vintage World War II warbirds in the country, along with modern-day military aircraft. The static displays included a P-3C Orion subhunter, a 8-18 bomber, a KC-135 tanker and many other military aircraft. Fat Albert, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels’ C-130 support aircraft wowed the crowd with a JATO rocket takeoff.
A distinguished group of Latin American civil and military aviation officials had the opportunity also to attend the airshow. It is anticipated that the Latin American connection for this event will expand in the future. Moreover, the City of Houston, and area businesses, including corporations, are very receptive to expanding the scope of the airshow to include aviation trade and business development opportunities with Latin America.
When W.O.H. honored the Tuskegee Airmen and Brig. Gen. David Lee “Tex” Hill, airshow-goers witnessed a small piece of aviation history. As history notes, Tuskegee Airmen were organized in January 1941 in Tuskegee, Ala. Airmen flew P-39 Aerocobras, P-40 Warbirds, P-4 7 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. Four hundred and fifty Tuskegee pilots flew 15,553 sorties, and completed 1,578 combat missions, earning an unequaled record for never having lost a single bomber under its escort cover. Their success played a major role in the formal acceptance of African-Americans into the armed forces.
Brig. Gen. David Lee “Tex” Hill, a decorated pilot and member of the original Flying Tigers, was awarded the 1998 Loyd P. Nolan Lifetime Achievement Award.
Source: Houston Airport System News, 3rd Quarter 1998
