CIRCLEVILLE – Two 1,700-hp Wright Cyclone supercharged 14-cylinder radial engines buzzed over Downtown Circleville in the early morning of Saturday, September 18th. As people looked up they saw a historic WW2 B-25 bomber flying overhead.
The Bombers destination, Pickaway County Airport for a free fly-in event that hasn’t happened for over twenty years.
Nick Courtright, part of the Airport Authority said that a lot of talk around a fly-in happened for some years after they discontinued decades ago, but this year they made it happen.
“We had a wonderful turnout today, we were pleasantly surprised, said Courtright, “The Historic B-25 Champaign Gal a WW2 bomber that is in full operation was a big hit for the show, so was the Ohio State Highway Patrol Helicopter that joined the show.”
Courtright said that throughout the day at least 30 planes flew into Pickaway Airport, and when they weren’t flying kids could get a close-up view of the planes from so many different eras.
“We had over 500 cars come to the location, some even had never been to the local airport in Pickaway county before.”
The highlight of the event was the B-25 Champaign Gal a WW2 bomber, this particular Bomber is said to be the only B-25 named for an individual. By the end of its production nearly 10,000 B-25s, in numerous models had been built. These included a few limited variations. Only about 45 of these bombers are still airworthy.
“Things went off without any issues, we were happy with the event, so many kids smiling and we even had a 96-year-old WW2 veteran mechanic on B-25s during the war come out to the event to just remember and share stories with the crew of the bomber. The crew said it was an honor, and the highlight of their year, they took photos with him, shared stories, and took photos together.”
Courtright told Sciotopost that the airport authority is already buzzing for next year’s event.
