Our Hangar
And History
of the
Lone Star Wing
Col.Hunton and Shinneman burning the note
Replica P-51 we have in the hanger, this airplane is trailerable and is for STATIC ONLY , it is available for display at your event for a donation,contact any one of the staff officers or email us for more information
Nose art Painted on a DC-3 panel by RT Foster hanging up for display in our hanger
Replica Hitler Youth Glider built AND FLOWN by one of our members Hugh Hunton, this plane is hanging in our hanger
History
Lone Star Wing Fall Fly-In 2005
History of the Commemorative Air Force's Lone Star Wing
The Lone Star Wing was chartered April 30, 1982 with headquarters in Tyler. It was originally formed as the Lone Star Squadron earlier in 1982 with a group of interested men in Tyler led by Robert Layton Jr. and David Saller, with Saller serving as Unit Leader the first two years.
The unit promptly set about to solicit sponsorships for a PBY-6A aircraft that was available for unit assignment. So from April to July 1982 several members went to Lakeland, FL to prepare the airplane for flight to Pounds Field Once at Pounds Field more work followed: fabric work, obtaining parts, disassembly of extraneous equipment. Finally, a test flight was made in time for trips to area air shows as well as to Harlingen for AirSho '83.
The next year flights were made to air shows at Denton and Little Rock. In September the PBY was flown to Mena, AR for its tri-color paint job. Just in time for AirSho '84. During a low level photo pass above the water the airplane was lost in Laguna Madre. The crash was fatal for five Wing members and 2 other CAF colonels.
The Wing recovered from this tragic loss of members and the PBY but with the assistance of the DFW Wing conducted a successful Memorial Air Show at Pounds Field in April of 1985. By 1986 the Wing's membership had grown to 72.
In 1987 the Longview Squadron was formed to promote the growth of membership in the Longview area. The squadron number grew to 26 during the first year of its activity, as it acquired a PT-17 from the Oklahoma Wing. 1987, 1988 and 1989 found the Wing members putting on successful air shows at Gregg County Airport (now East Texas Regional Airport). Both the B-29 "Fifi" and B-24 "Diamond Lil", attended in 1987. Many current military aircraft attended these shows as well as CAF and privately owned WWII warbirds.
The Headquarters of the Lone Star Wing was moved to Longview in 1990 with the election of Col Doug Beggerly as Leader. While in Longview the Wing opened the World War II Victory Museum on October 1, 1993, enjoyed good attendance by the general public on Saturdays, and opened on special occasions for school groups and veteran reunions. The museum closed in March, 1995 so artifacts were moved to a leased hangar facility at Gregg County Airport where the Stearman was hangared.
In 1995 A hangar was found and purchased by the Lone Star wing in Marshall and the wing raised money in a hard working drive to pay off the note.Stearman # 23 was found -unassembled and with some negotiation was able to pursuade the owner to donate the unfinished project to the wing, we were able to put all our resources together and get 23 back in the air.
In 2001 a self-financed addition was made to the office area to provide a meeting or ready room for members to gather. Semi-annual successful fly-ins have been conducted since our relocation to Marshall and Wing personnel have attended a number of area air shows. The Stearman has carried out its assigned rotation schedule for display purposes at Midland. We now have about 30 members and we are looking for new recruits interested in our aims and objectives.
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