June 22, 2021 Summertime Fun

The Liberty Gazette

June 22, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

AT-6 "Texan"

The fly-in and car show at the Beaumont Municipal Airport was a great choice to start off the summer. The event was a fundraiser for the Commemorative Air Force, Houston Wing. Wing leader, Denise
Walker, expressed her thanks to airport manager Chris Meauw, who invited them to fly rides in their WWII-era aircraft, an AT-6 (“Texan”), while he collected entry fees for the car show, where owners could opt to compete in the judging, and sold hot lunches cooked onsite, with and all proceeds going to the Houston Wing. 

The Houston Wing also owns and maintains a PT-19 and a C-60 large transport, both from the WWII era, and an L-17 Navion, a Vietnam-era aircraft. These fundraisers are important because they help defray the costs of maintaining the aircraft. The “Texan” they brought to the fly-in costs $800-$1000 per hour to operate.

Denise and her crew are based at the West Houston airport off I-10 in Katy, but theirs is a flying museum, bringing living history to the public, to educate, honor, and inspire. If you were an 18-year-old cadet joining the Army Air Corps flight training program back then, you would have started training in the N3N or PT-19, the primary trainers. If you mastered those, you would have moved up to basic aircraft, and then to advanced trainers like the AT-6, which is fully aerobatic. After training, you would have had a choice to fly a multi-engine aircraft (a bomber), or a fighter, such as the P51 Mustang or the Helldiver. 

“In this way,” says Denise, “we also honor our greatest generation. People can see and touch the airplanes and talk to pilots who fly them now and immerse themselves in the history. Not to mention that noise that goes right through you when they start up!” 

Manuel Cachutt is part of the crew, too. He is going to school to be an aviation mechanic, but on weekends, he works to restore and preserve these airplanes. 

Aerial view of Beaumont Municipal Airport Fly-In

“These are pieces of history,” Manuel explains. “All of the aviation mechanic schools, they don’t teach this. They don’t teach radial engines or fabric covered airplane parts. They’re mostly focused on the airlines. So, the CAF, we work on aircraft that are hard to find just anywhere. These are historical
artifacts. It’s a testament to the guys who fought, bled…blood, sweat and tears, for these aircraft, the memory of World War Two, because the sad part is, we’re running out of people who remember World War Two, and the role these aircraft played. And not just in wartime, but in industry and in the hearts of the blue collar American everywhere. And it’s a great honor to be a part of this.” 

Now that you know, you’ll surely want to go see for yourself, and you’re in luck. They have a museum and working hangar there at West Houston, and everyone is welcome. Plan a visit, meet Manuel, Denise, and the crew. See https://www.houstonwing.org/, or call or email them at 281-579-2131 or info@houstonwing.org.

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