INTO THE WILD BLUE

Addison’s remarkable Cavanaugh Flight Museum, a cultural institution dedicated to promoting education, research, and preservation of America’s aviation heritage, began in a nondescript hanger at nearby Addison Airport and grew out of founder Jim Cavanaugh’s love for airplanes, particularly warbirds. Today, the museums world-class collection of vintage aircraft, almost all still in optimal flying condition and in the air on a regularly basis, can be seen at the museum as well as in air shows throughout the country. The museum’s aircraft include World War II bombers, fighters, trainers, and transports; Korean War era fighters, medical, utility, trainers, and transports; and Vietnam War era fighters, including a Bell Helicopter Sea Cobra attacker. The museum also sponsors a performance of air show-worthy craft, called the “Warbirds”, for Addison’s annual Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza known as “Kaboom Town!” Vintage armored vehicles are a feature of the museum’s collection as well, including military trucks, a Sherman tank, and period civilian cars. But perhaps the most thrilling aspect of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum is its program offering flights over north Dallas in one of several vintage warbirds. See the world from the seat of a Boeing Stearman N2S-4 Kaydet, nicknamed the “Yellow Peril” for the trainer’s tricky ground handling characteristics, or join a seasoned pilot in the cockpit of a North American P-51D Mustang, a sleek aircraft considered the fighter pilot’s dream and perhaps the best known fighter plane in history. The Mustang has a maximum air speed of 445 miles-per-hour so you might want to double check your seatbelt before take-off.