From The Denver Post
Airports in dogfight to host heroes
A historic gathering of P-51 Mustangs, the planes that helped win World War II, could draw huge crowds.
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Denver Post Staff Writer
With a model WWII Mustang overhead, Front Range Airport aviation director Dennis Heap makes a pitch Wednesday to host a horde of the real planes in 2007. (Post / Jerry Cleveland)
Local aviation and business leaders are jockeying for the chance to host a historic gathering of P-51 Mustang fighter planes and pilots, an attraction that could draw as many as 50,000 spectators a day over four days.
In the running are two Colorado sites - Front Range and Jefferson County airports. They're on a short list competing against Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, for a so-called "Warbird Woodstock."
P-51 Mustangs were escort planes that protected American bombers from German fighters during World War II.
The planned Gathering of Mustangs in the summer of 2007 would be the last such gathering of Mustang planes and pilots.
"There aren't many pilots left from World War II that flew them," said Walt Barbo, president of the Fantasy of Flight Foundation.
On Wednesday, Front Range Airport, 19 miles east of Denver, put its best foot forward, hosting a three-person site selection committee at a luncheon with local officials, pilots, and economic development and aviation leaders.
Aviation director Dennis Heap bragged about everything from Colorado's weather to the Rocky Mountain scenery and the space available at the rural facility east of Denver International Airport and about 45 minutes from downtown Denver.
"I hope we were able to show just overwhelming enthusiasm of the whole community to come together," Heap said after the pitch.
Stallion 51 Corp., a P-51 Mustang flight operation based in Kissimmee, Fla., is planning the four-day event.
"It will be one of the premier aviation events in the United States," Heap said. "It would absolutely put us on the map."
The Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau predicts the convention could have a direct economic impact of at least $15 million.
"We're certainly doing anything we can to have them come here," convention bureau spokesman Rich Grant said. "It's a major event, and we're always looking for new dollars."
Today, Jefferson County Airport in Broomfield will have a chance to tout its site.
"It's fantastic that two Colorado airports are on the finalist list," Jefferson County Airport Manager Kenny Maenpa said. "I think Colorado is much more appealing" than Columbus.
The site selection committee hopes to announce in April which airport will host the event.
The last such gathering was in Kissimmee, Fla., in 1999 and drew 65 Mustangs and 12 aces. Organizers hope the 2007 event will bring 100 Mustangs and 51 aces, the largest group since Mustangs flew together in Europe more than 60 years ago.
The planes have a potent historic pull.
"We called them 'the little friends"' for escorting bombers on missions, said Wayne Whitlock of Lakewood, who was a B-17 and C-47 pilot during World War II. "They shot down aircraft, saved a lot of B-17s and B-24s."
Event organizers want to include a 51-plane Mustang flight.
"You'd have a formation flying over Denver that the whole city would be running outside to look at," Heap said.
It's unclear how big an audience the event could draw, but organizers say they expect as many as 75,000 to 200,000.
"There's such a network of aviation enthusiasts throughout the country and the world," said Jim Rice, president of the 8th Air Force Historical Society Colorado chapter.
Joseph Thibodeau, a Denver lawyer who owns and flies a Mustang, said the plane generates such awe because "it changed the war in Europe. It really did change history."
Before the Mustang came along, "we were losing 30 percent of every B-17 raid that was launched," or as many as 200 aircraft and 2,000 men in one raid, he said.
The Mustang "has a mystique about it," he said. "When it shows up on a ramp somewhere, even people who don't appreciate aircraft or have much interest are drawn to them like a magnet."
If the Mustang gathering is held in the Denver area, "it will be such a huge coup," Thibodeau said.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-820-1488 or
kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
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I thought this was gonna be in Reno?
Robbie
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And I wonder what Thunder will bring?
) I guess I coulda' just said it would be easier for Mrs. Mudge and me to get to. I'll admit it, I'm a selfish cur-MUGDE-on. 
