By Connor Madison, EAA Staff Photographer
Every year, as winter settles into Wisconsin I find myself missing the flying that warm weather allows. This year, my solution was to travel to the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas to visit my good friend Dan Linn, EAA 319613. The DFW area provides both warmer weather and more airplanes! Since Dan has lived in the area for most of his life, I asked him to put together an itinerary that highlighted the cool aviation spots in the area. His list included the Vintage Flying Museum, Frontiers of Flight Museum, Cavanaugh Flight Museum, DFW Airport, Propwash Airport, Northwest Regional Airport, and Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
First Stop – Vintage Flying Museum
Housed in a World War II-era B-29 hangar, the Vintage Flying Museum is located at Meacham International Airport in Fort Worth. In addition to the several warbirds and vintage aircraft in the museum’s collection, it’s the winter home of several Commemorative Air Force aircraft including their B-29, B-24, and A-26 Night Mission. It’s also where the Greatest Generation Aircraft foundation hangars their newly-restored A-26K Counter Invader Special Kay and C-47 Southern Cross.
Second Stop – Frontiers of Flight Museum – Dallas Love Field
A neat collection of warbirds, vintage aircraft, and space artifacts. It’s highlighted by a group of Vought Aircraft that were restored by the Vought Aircraft Heritage foundation.
Third Stop – Cavanaugh Flight Museum – Addison Airport
Jim Cavanaugh’s collection of WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Civilian aircraft. The unique aspect of this museum is that many of the aircraft are airworthy and customers can purchase rides in 10 different airplanes.
Fourth Stop – Dallas Fort Worth Airport Founders Plaza
The plaza is located on the north end of the airport and provides an unobstructed view of airport operations. DFW sees a lot of the bigger airliners, so we were hoping to catch a 747 or A380.
Fifth Stop – Northwest Regional Airport (52F)
This is where Dan based his airplanes out of for 23 years. At one point there were as many as 500 airplanes based here. It has a great spot for the public to watch takeoffs and landings.
Sixth Stop – Fort Worth Alliance Airport
Alliance airport was on the way home from 52F, and Dan noted that there are frequent visits from military aircraft, so why not stop, right? It turned out to be a great idea as there were four F/A-18 Hornets with open canopies sitting on the ramp.
