Collings Foundation January eNews!

Above photos by Mark Goldman Collings Foundation Home Schedules Membership Sponsorship PX Catalog 1/16-1/19 Ocala, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Ocala Intl. Airport 1/19-1/21 Zephyrhills, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Zephyrhills Municipal Airport 1/21-1/23 Venice, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Venice Municipal Airport 1/23-1/26 Clearwater, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: St. Petersburg - Clearwater Intl. 1/26-1/28 Fort Myers, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Page Field Airport 1/28-2/1 Boca Raton, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Boca Raton Airport 2/2-2/4 Vero Beach, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Vero Beach Municipal 2/4-2/6 Pompano Beach (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Pompano Beach Airpark 2/6-2/8 Fort Lauderdale, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Fort Lauderdale Executive 2/20-2/23 Keystone Heights, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Keystone Airpark 2/23-2/25 Panama City, FL (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Panama City - Bay County Intl. 2/25-2/27 Hattiesburg, MS (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Bobby L. Chain Municipal 2/27-3/2 New Orleans, LA (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Lakefront Airport 3/2-3/4 New Iberia, LA (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Acadiana Regional Airport 3/4-3/6 Lake Charles, LA (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Chennault Intl. Airport 3/6-3/9 Sugarland, TX (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Sugarland Regional Airport 3/9-3/11 Beaumont, TX (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Beaumont Municipal Airport 3/11-3/13 Houston, TX - South (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Ellington Field 3/13-3/16 Tomball, TX (B-17, B-24, & P-51) 3/16-3/18 TBT (B-17, B-24, & P-51) 3/18-3/20 San Marcos, TX (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: San Marcos Municipal Airport 3/20-3/23 Austin, TX (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Austin-Bergstrom Intl. 3/23-3/25 TBT (B-17, B-24, & P-51) 3/25-3/27 TBT (B-17, B-24, & P-51) 3/27-3/30 Tyler, TX (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Tyler Regional Airport Historic Aviation Memorial Museum 3/30-4/2 TBT (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Ocala Intl. Airport 4/3-4/12 Dallas, TX* (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Dallas Love Field Frontiers of Flight Museum 4/15-4/17 Santa Teresa, NM * (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Dona Ana County Airport War Eagles Museum 4/17-4/20 Tucson, AZ* (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Marana Regional Airport 4/24-4/27 Scottsdale, AZ* (B-17, B-24, & P-51)   Airport: Scottsdale Airport CHECK OUR WEB SITE FOR MORE STOP DATES! *We anticipate the Me 262 to join the national tour around April. Dates and locations subject to change. Check our schedule online for most up-to-date information. 2/8-2/20 Aircraft will be in maintenance.

Friday January 16th, 2008 Wings of Freedom Tour Celebrating 20 years The Collings Foundation is starting its 20th national Wings of Freedom Tour! You make the national Wings of Freedom tour possible. Over the course of the last twenty years the Wings of Freedom tour has made 2,278 stops across the country. This tour would not be possible without the participation, dedication and hard work from people all around the United States. A congratulation goes to all involved! The importance of honoring our WWII Veterans and providing a truly memorable experience in history continues! The B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator and P-51 Mustang start the 2009 tour today in Ocala, Florida. We will spend January and February visiting 11 cities in the state then heading off across the rest of the country. The B-25 is getting some work done and will not be on national tour this year. Once B-25 maintenance is completed "Tondelayo" will be available for flight training and air shows (call us if interested in either). We anticipate the Messerschmitt Me 262 to join the national tour sometime late April to mid May. That would put us somewhere in TX, NM or AZ. If all goes according to plan, the 262 will remain on national tour for the rest of the year. The stressful economic situation has made it hard on everyone. Certainly, we are really feeling the pinch! We need your continued support and suggestions to help keep these aircraft and programs flying. We are utilizing traditional and progressive marketing methods in an effort to bring folks out to the Wings of Freedom tour. With all the print, web, tv, radio and social networking programs we have in place, our most effective means is by word of mouth. We are all on this planet for a short time. Before leaving this blue marble in space, you have to fly in a WWII bomber or fighter! The experience is humbling and absolutely amazing. Tell your family members, friends and work partners to come out and give the aircraft a visit! Who knows how long we will be able to experience something like this. You can help spread the word. Send your friends the minute long Wings of Freedom tour promo clip (see clip posted below), have folks look us up on the web, check out our schedule of events, give us a call. Your participation is what counts! Every year we have an advertising tag line incorporated into our tour materials. Last year we used: "The B's are Back" (a suggestion from the brilliant marketing mastermind Farris Rookstool in Dallas). This year we are using: "Collings Foundation - Living History Nation" - kinda has that snappy "yo yo - come see the bombers when we are in yo town" feel. I am looking for new "catchy" one-liner once the Me 262 joins the tour. Please send your suggestion to: hchaney@collingsfoundation.org. Keep it to just the one line. We will send you an honorary cap and tee-shirt, if your phrase/logo/suggestion is chosen. ___________________________________________________________________ The "goings on" over at TSA.. A quick recap: The Transportation Security Administration is trying to enact a piece of legislation that would require all private aircraft operators (that have aircraft 12,500 lbs. and heavier) to adhere to new security protocols. This legislation is called TSA 2008-0021, Large Aircraft Security Program, Other, Aircraft Operator Security Program and Airport Operator Security Program. Part of this legislation states that all aircraft operators with aircraft 12,500 lbs. and heavier would have to submit their passenger manifest through the governments "no fly list". This would be detrimental to the Wings of Freedom tour and programs similar. A large portion of the people who take a flight experience on our bombers sign up on the day of the flight. If we had to submit a list before accepting passengers, we would not be able to offer flights at location. A good resource for more information click here. The TSA has been conducting public response forums at select locations. For a list of locations and times click here. Bob Collings attended the hearing in New York. It was standing room only. All attendees seem to agree that this legislation is not reasonable, enforceable or effective. At this time, it is unknown what impact public comments will have on the government's formulation of this legislation. We still suggest you attend these hearing and voice your concerns. To post your comments regarding this legislation click here. Regardless of the absurdity and violations of rights, most government heads will let this pass in one form or another since they don't want to give the perception they are weak "fighting national security". Deadline for public comments is February 28th. We will keep you posted as information comes in. ___________________________________________________________________ Make a difference! Looking for Wings of Freedom volunteers. Help us spread the word the aircraft are coming to town! Being a Wings of Freedom volunteer is a lot of fun and makes a positive impact in your community. Your help make all the difference! Looking for help at any stop on the national tour and (particularly right now) in: New Iberia, LA Lake Charles, LA Sugarland, TX Beaumont, TX Tomball, TX Glendale, AZ Be a part of Collings Foundation's "Living History Nation"! If interested please call Director of Marketing, Hunter Chaney at 800.568.8924 or directly reply to this eNewsletter. ___________________________________________________________________ Wings of Freedom DVD now available We are proud to announce the debut of the Wings of Freedom DVD. Excellent DVD featuring the B-24 Liberator, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-25 Mitchell and P-51 as part of the Wings of Freedom Tour. Stunning visuals and sound! Bonus footage, pictures and promo video. Produced by our good friends at Inversion Productions. If you are interested in picking one up click here. ___________________________________________________________________ Collings Foundation Houston Campus - Ready for a busy 2009 schedule - First of all, the editor of the Collings Foundation's winter magazine missed the mention of some folks who helped the Houston crew and foundation as a whole. A big thanks goes to Rick Sharpe who flew the Mustang, B-25 and Huey while in Texas. Ryan Harris spent a good month keeping the P-51 gleaming. Christopher George spent at least the same amount of time on the Mustang. Thanks to our Huey pilots Harold Powell and Les Smith. The foundation's Huey helicopter starts the 2009 season with a stop in Fulshear, Texas 1/23 and 1/24. This is in conjunction with the Homes for Our Troops fundraiser. We hope you will attend, fly in the Huey and show your support for this important cause. For more information click here. The Huey will join the Wings of Freedom tour in New Iberia, LA 3/2 to 3/4, Lake Charles, LA 3/4 to 3/6, Sugarland, TX 3/6 to 3/9, Beaumont, TX 3/9 to 3/11, Houston south, TX 3/11 to 3/13 and Tomball, TX 3/13 to 3/16. More dates will be posted once confirmed. We are accepting reservations for TA-4J Skyhawk flight training for 2009. An absolutely incredible experience! For more information on our jet training program click here. The F-4 engine is still in maintenance and hope to have it back in the aircraft and ready to go by mid summer. We will post updated F-4 information as it comes in. ____________________________________________________________________ WWII Crew Fantasy Camp Space still available! First group: May 26th and 27th, Stockton CA Have you ever dreamed of becoming part of a bomber crew and flying your very own mission? The Collings Foundation will be offering a very unique two-day training program in which you train for and fly a simulated WWII bombing mission aboard the B-24 Liberator "Witchcraft". No doubt, this will be one of the most amazing things you will ever experience. We have pilots confirmed to fly in the P-51 Mustang and Me 262 during the first mission. We are all looking forward to this flight! Mustang will be flying escort and the Me 262 will be flying intercept. For more information click here or call us at 800.568.8924 NICE SHIRTS, GIFTS AND ALL THE COOL STUFF. We keep adding new aviation related products on our online PX Store. Shopping is very easy and secure. Looking for the ultimate gift for "the person that has everything"? Flight Certificates are a unique and exciting present for anyone. The Wings of Freedom tour visits over 110 cities all over the United States. Once your certificate arrives just check our stop schedule to see when the bombers are near you- then call us to reserve a seat. Check our web site for confirmed schedule and locations). Flight Certificates are a tax deductible donation! We also have a great selection of books, videos, DVD's, T-shirts, polos, toys, calendars, hats and much more. Have to mention the prints we are selling from Aviation Artist - Robert Brun. Hand signed and numbered prints that will look great on any wall! Excellent stuff for anyone interested in WWII and Vietnam era aircraft and history. Your purchase helps the Collings Foundation! B-24 Liberator "Witchcraft" Mug and B-24 Calendar _______________________________________________________________ Help us "Keep E'm Flying" for Future Generations Your contributions are only way we are able to continue our programs. Make your tax-deductible donation before the year is over. Our new annual membership program lets you "Join the Ranks" and help "Keep 'em Flying"! Regular Membership ($70 annual contribution) includes a member card, free admission to The Wings of Freedom Tour and the annual Collings Foundation Open House in Stow, MA, a 10% PX discount with the member card, a subscription to the Collings Foundation Newsletter, and a Collings Foundation window decal. The Participating Membership ($100 annual contribution) includes all the same benefits as the Regular Member and adds free admission to The Wings of Freedom Tour and the CF Open House for one extra guest as well as a one-time $50 discount on a flight experience in the B-17, B-24, or B-25. Distinguished Flying Command Members ($1500 one time contribution) includes the gets his or her name on either the B-17 or B-24 and two between cities flights in addition to the Regular Membership benefits. Plane Sponsors ($5000 one time contribution) includes a lifetime subscription to the Collings Foundation newsletter, honored name on the Plane Sponsor section of either the B-17 or B-24, a leather flight jacket and life time between cities flight privileges for sponsor and guest. There are many ways one can help support Collings Foundation. We can receive donations in the form of IRA contributions, bequests, stock, fine art, aircraft, rare automobiles, real estate and much more. In-kind or monitory corporate sponsorships are also greatly appreciated. We can work closely with your company to help promote each other’s goals and services. Of course, flying in the planes is a great way to donate! We do not receive any funding from the Federal Government! Your support is essential. Please call 800-568-8924 with any questions. For more information on how to become a Collings Foundation member, please go to our Membership section on the website. Picture above: B-17 Flying Fortress "Nine 0 Nine" on a fly-by.