Aviation Day to showcase Berlin Airlift cargo plane
Tim Chopp, an Amwell Township native, flies the Spirit of Freedom C-54E skymaster around the world. Chopp, a 1962 Trinity High School graduate who lives in New Jersey, will fly the plane at Greene County Aviation Day Saturday and do a candy drop at 5:00 p.m. at Greene County Airport. For more photos, visit www.observer-reporter.com.
Jonathan Chopp,13, of Washington, looks out the window on the flight in a C-54E with his grandfather Tim Chopp as pilot. Jonathan and his brother Joseph Chopp, 16, have flown with their grandfather a handful of times on the Spirit of Freedom.
Tim Chopp, front row, second from left, stands with his crew – his grandsons and co-pilot along with the Carmichaels VFW honor guard after flying the C-54E from Washington County Airport to Greene County Airport Monday. The Cold War-era cargo plane will be on display at Greene County Airport this week leading up to Greene County Aviation Day Saturday.
Scott Szuhay and Tim Chopp affix the staircase to allow people to board the C-54E for a look around the plane after flying it into the Greene County Airport Monday.
The Spirit of Freedom C-54E sits before taking off at Washington County Airport.
The inside of the C-54E includes display cases of memorabilia to display the history of the Cold War-era cargo planes.
The C-54E Spirt of Freedom plane flies over Washington and Greene Counties as it makes its way to Greene County Airport Monday.
WAYNESBURG – Anticipation grew Monday morning at Greene County Airport as a behemoth C-54E Skymaster cargo plane, an aircraft used during the famous Berlin Airlift, appeared over the horizon on its approach to the tiny airstrip.
“This is exciting,” Max Loughman said as he and a small crowd watched the cargo plane circle the airport and prepare to land.
Pilot Timothy Chopp, an Amwell Township native who has flown the airplane at numerous shows and demonstrations for 21 years, hit his mark perfectly and guided the aircraft down the 3,500-foot runway.
“I was one knot too fast,” Chopp said of his otherwise flawless landing.
The Cold War-era cargo plane is the largest aircraft to ever land at Greene County Airport and will be parked at the airstrip all week before being showcased Saturday during Aviation Day in Waynesburg.
Chopp and his flight crew, including grandsons Joseph and Jonathan Chopp, both of Washington, were greeted with a welcoming committee that included the Carmichaels VFW honor guard.
“It’s an honor,” Chopp said after deplaning. “I’m so excited about this, after a lifetime of flying, to come back here with this aircraft.”
The “Spirit of Freedom” flying museum was brought for the fifth annual Aviation Day with the help of a grant from Community Foundation of Greene County, along with coordination from the county’s tourism department. Loughman, president of the Save Our Aviation Resources organization, or SOAR, said the cargo plane will be one of many exhibits during Aviation Day that showcases the importance of the county airport near Route 21 in Franklin Township.
“We believe these county airports, these small facilities, are very important to the community,” Lougman said. “It exposes kids to new things. This airport gives people so many options.”
Aviation Day begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with a parachute jump from a professional skydiving group and will offer free airplane rides to children. The C-54 cargo plane will be on display for tours and the show will culminate with a “candy airdrop” at 5 p.m. when Hershey bars are dropped from the airplane in parachutes to simulate what American crewmen did for children in Berlin, which was surrounded by Soviet troops, during the airlift in 1948 and 1949.
Chopp, 71, who now lives in New Jersey, performed the demonstration for more than two decades with the cargo plane that is just one of three still operating in the United States.
The short flight Monday from Washington County Airport into Waynesburg was special for him. He learned to fly at Waynesburg and performed his first solo flight at the airport in 1962, just after graduating from Trinity High School.
Before the candy drop, Chopp will explain to people gathered at Aviation Day how the Berlin Airlift circumvented the Soviet blockade. The cabin of the plane is filled with photos and other memorabilia explaining its history and role in the airlift that brought much-needed food and supplies to the people of Berlin.
The Hershey bars falling from the sky were an added bonus and meant to be a goodwill gesture for children living in Berlin.
“It’s good for the folks to see what was done so many years ago,” Chopp said.
Chopp showed off the plane and cockpit to visitors just moments after landing and said he’s looking forward to meeting more people Saturday.
Meanwhile, Loughman, who is a commercial airline pilot, marveled at Chopp’s skill and ability to land the cargo plane “right on the numbers.”
“It was special for him to come back to his home airport and it was special for us,” Loughman said. “To watch that airplane land here, it was just amazing.”