It’s one thing to learn history, but experiencing it can take you to a whole other world. That’s the opportunity ACTS Aviation is bringing to neighbors at the War Birds Over South Texas event on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16 and 17.
Warbirds Over South Texas showcases about a dozen or more historic planes to the community and teaches what kinds of career opportunities there are in aviation.
“These airplanes are really special because they aren’t seen every day. A lot of the kids we’ve talked to have gone to the U.S.S Lexington and seen these airplanes as static displays, and we know those airplanes will never fly again. But they come out to Rockport once a year and those same models of aircraft are flying around in pattern. The sounds and what they look like, it just transports you back to what it was like in 1945,” ACTS Aviation owner Cody Stewart said.
Stewart fell in love with aviation in a similar way.
“I was one of those kids. I took my first airplane ride when I was ten in Rockport when they had the airshows in the early 90’s. If I could do that for another kid, let’s do that every year,” Stewart said.
That passion is something others share, like 12-year-old Jackson Kline.
“So I collect a lot of World War II history items and hang them up all over my room,” Kline said.
Kline said he especially loves historic planes.
“I fell in love with planes. I’d like to be a pilot one day. I’d like to know when these planes were brought into its war, when it was decommissioned, when it was taken out of the battle and then what battles did it fight in,” Kline said.
Kline and others can plan on learning more about historic planes this weekend, but that’s not all. Even though the event is a blast from the past, it’s still looking towards the future.
“They’ll also learn what aviation career fields exist in the Coastal Bend, whether that be flight training, a mechanics program for aviation, air traffic controllers, FAA regulators, even airport managers and linemen to fuel airplanes,” Stewart said.
And when neighbors look to the sky this weekend, they’ll see a reminder of their country.
“You can’t help but be patriotic when you see the war birds fly over, when you see the American flag, when you see the pilots step out of their plane and they’re in their jumpsuits and sharing their stories. It really spreads the patriotism at the event,” Jackson’s mom Mitzi Kline, said.
The event is free and starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Aransas County Airport.
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