Warbird Information Exchange

Has anyone heard any news about the progress of Fighter Factory's new airport they are building in Virginia Beach as shown here:

http://www.fighterfactory.net/airport/index.php

It looks like a lot of progress had been made as of last Fall and I am wondering how close they are to completion and what the plans are once done. Will it be a museum? Will it be open to the public? Will regular folks be able to land there and visit?

If all the questions above are answered with a "yes", what a great place it will be! With a resurrected WWII Airbase Control tower, a real Luftwaffe hangar, and new-build hangars in the 40's motif, I'd say Fantasy of Flight will get a run for its money!

While we are on the subject of airbases, Jim "Neon" Harley just posted some neat shots of old 15th AF Italian bases at Toretta (461st BG), San Giovanni (454th BG), and Pantenella (465th BG) as they stand today when the Collings Foundation crew made a tour to Italy a few weeks ago. Look under "Italy 2006" at: http://community.webshots.com/user/jfharley

Ryan Keough
Associate Editor, Warbirds Resource Group

I actually drove out to the Fighter Factory's new facility last week. The main buildings look near completion on the outside and they were starting to work on the inside. The German hanger actually is still in crates on the opposite side of the runway. I did not see the control tower and the guy I talked to did not know anything about it. The runway still is not usable but they are hoping to start using it this summer. Also I do not know if private individuals will be able to use the runway. The guys out there were telling me that it will be a regular museum but unfortunately as it stands right now Jerry's collection is too big to fit in these 2 hangers.

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Col Craig Duck
Life Member CAF
Life Member YAF
Life Member EAA

Last time I saw the tower, it was a pile of bricks in a bean silo! It is really incredible the size of his collection... it will be nice to at least see most of it in one hangar as compared to the 3-4 hangars at Suffolk.

Ryan Keough
Associate Editor, Warbirds Resource Group

Italy turned out to be pretty incredible. We toured the airfields around Foggia and Cerignola without any real idea of where to find specific bases. We ended up stopping and asking locals if they knew where the former 15th AF bases were located. They were very helpful and most were suprised to see a huge tour bus full of Americans rolling up to sleepy farm houses. Not a whole lot is left but what remains is very evocative. We had photos of most bases as they were in the 40's and it wasn't hard to match them with what remains now. Along with the airfields we visited Monte Cassino, Anzio, Salerno, and the Gustav Line. Pretty incredible to visit these battlefields and I encourage any history buff to do so.

Jim