‘Candy Bomber’ returns to Greene County for Aviation Days
Pilot Tim Chopp, an Amwell Township native now living in New Jersey, talks with Max Loughman, president of Support Our Aviation Resources, after landing at the airport Thursday morning.
Tim Chopp, who brought the “Spirit of Freedom” to Greene County last year, returned once again to showcase the cargo plane at Aviation Days planned for Aug. 13 and 14 at the airport.
The aircraft’s arrival shortly before noon Thursday attracted a crowd to watch the landing on the 3,500-foot airstrip and taxi to the spot where the plane will be parked for the next week.
WAYNESBURG – The C-54E Skymaster “Spirit of Freedom” flying museum returned to Greene County Airport to once again be the centerpiece attraction for Aviation Days later this month.
Pilot Tim Chopp, an Amwell Township native living in New Jersey, was greeted by Max Loughman, a fellow pilot and president of Greene County’s Support Our Aviation Resources, after landing at the airport Thursday morning.
Chopp, who brought the “Spirit of Freedom” to Greene County last year, returned once again to showcase the cargo plane at Aviation Days planned for Aug. 13 and 14 at the airport. This is the first time in several years that SOAR has held the annual air show over two days, Loughman said.
“Having the ‘Spirit of Freedom’ here, we thought two days would maximize the community’s enjoyment of the aircraft,” Loughman said.
The aircraft’s arrival shortly before noon Thursday attracted a crowd to watch the landing on the 3,500-foot airstrip and taxi to the spot where the plane will be parked for the next week.
Chopp and his crew will give tours of the aircraft and drop candy bars with parachutes to children below during one of the aerial demonstrations to recreate what an American pilot called the “candy bomber” did for children in Berlin, which was surrounded by Soviet troops, during the airlift in 1948 and 1949.
Go to www.observer-reporter.com/videos to watch the “Spirit of Freedom” land at the airstrip.