The
Collings Foundation is a non-profit, Educational
Foundation (501-C3), founded in 1979. The purpose
of the Foundation is to organize and support
"living history" events that enable
Americans to learn more about their heritage
through direct participation. The original focus
of the Foundation was transportation-related
events such as antique  car
rallies, hill climbs, carriage and sleigh rides,
along with a winter ice-cutting festival. During
the mid-eighties, these activities were broadened
to include aviation-related events such as air
shows, barnstorming, historical reunions, and
joint museum displays.
Since
1989, a major focus of the Foundation has
been the Veterans' "Wings of Freedom
Tour." This tour showcases a fully restored
WWII Consolidated B-24J Liberator, originally
named "All American" in tribute
to a B-24J that flew in the European Theater.
In 1999, it was re-painted as "Dragon
and His Tail" to honor our Pacific Theater
veterans. The tour also features the Boeing
B-17G Flying Fortress "Nine-O-Nine",
the companion of the B-24 in thousands of
wartime, bombing, and reconnaissance missions.
The "Wings of Freedom Tour" has
two goals: to honor our veterans--letting
them know they have not been forgotten; and
to educate the visitors, especially younger
Americans, about the planes and World War
II. The Foundation encourages people to tour
the planes, talk to the veterans who come
to visit the aircraft, and participate in
a "flight experience". In 18
years, the tour has made more than 2,172 stops
at cities and towns across the lower United
States and Alaska. While the exact number
of visitors welcomed each year is difficult
to gauge, it is estimated that between 3 and
4 million people see these warbirds annually.
The
Foundation also operates additional historic
aircraft that have made joint appearances
with the B-24 and B-17, in addition to solo
appearances. These include a 1909 Bleriot
XI, Fokker DR-1 Triplane, Boeing PT-17 Stearman,
North American AT-6 Texan, Grumman TBM Avenger,
Fiesler FI-156 Storch, Cessna UC-78 Bobcat,
Chance-Vought F4U-5NL Corsair, Douglas A-26C
Invader, North American B-25J Mitchell, Lockheed
T-33 Shooting Star, Bell UH-IE "Huey,"
Douglas TA-4JF, and a Grumman S2-F Tracker.
The Foundation continually seeks projects
to expand its collection of fully restored
and flying aircraft.
 The
Foundation has restored a McDonnell
F-4D Phantom II which appears at air shows
and special events as the "Vietnam Memorial
Flight". The recently restored Douglas TA-4J will join the F-4D in 2006. A Bell UH-IE helicopter, a veteran of
Vietnam, and the Grumman S2-F, will join the F-4D and TA-4 in the future.
From our headquarters in Stow, MA, the Foundation
coordinates the "Wings of Freedom"
and "Vietnam Memorial" flights,
acts as a clearinghouse of information on
issues of both aviation and history, along
with overseeing the operation of our other
aircraft and projects. The Foundation also
publishes a newsletter that is sent to more than
46,000 contributors.
The
Stow facilities include an aviation museum
and a vintage automobile collection, which
are open for groups throughout the year. On
average, twenty events are hosted annually,
many of them fundraising events for non-profit
groups. The vintage car collection includes
over sixty-six American-built automobiles
and vehicles from the first half of the century.
Included in the collection are midget, sprint
and "Indy" race cars, Frank Duesenberg's
personal Duesenberg, along with a Cadillac
owned by Al Capone. The aviation museum is
home to a number of the Foundation's smaller
aircraft, including an original Bleriot XI
(1909), 1911 Wright "Vin Fiz" (replica),
Fokker DR-1 Triplane (replica), PT-17 Stearman
(1942), AT-6 Texan (1945), UC-78 Bobcat (1943),
TBM Avenger (1945), Fiesler FI-156 Storch
(1943), and a T-33 Shooting Star (1948).
The
Foundation also sponsors off-site educational/restoration
workshops. Currently, these projects include
the restoration of an A-36 Apache, and an A-26C Invader. The
New Smyrna Beach, Florida location attends to the
B-17's, B-24'sB-25's , and F4U's annual maintenance and has undertaken
the total restoration of an A-36 dive-bomber.
In Houston, TX
the F-4D Phantom, TA-4J Skyhawk and UH-1E Huey are maintained. In Uvalde, Texas,
an A-26 Invader is being restored. These workshops
provide the Foundation with valuable services
and expertise, and the volunteers and veterans
provide countless hours of labor--and enthusiasm.
The volunteers who support the Foundation's
efforts by hosting the aircraft in their towns,
maintaining and restoring the planes, educating
the American public about the heritage the
planes represent, and financially supporting
the Foundation's efforts cannot be underestimated.
The Foundation's efforts have caught the attention
of people of all ages and backgrounds (the
youngest volunteer started at age 12). The
Foundation also relies upon the volunteer
services of a number of pilots, most of whom
work for major US-based airlines, who have
been certified in the operation of our aircraft.
The
Foundation depends solely upon private funding--receiving
donations from individual members, as well
as the people who visit the aircraft in each
city and town. In addition, the Foundation
receives on-going corporate support from Aeroquip,
Aviation Propeller, Bose Corporation, Champion
Spark Plug, General Electric Engine Division,
Goodyear, Martin-Baker, OEA Aerospace, Texstars,
Gentex, Houston Aircraft Instruments, Wheelen
Enginering, and Lockheed Martin. Tax-deductible
donations may be sent to the Collings Foundation,
Box 248, Stow, MA 01775 and earmarked for
any of the above-mentioned aircraft or for
the general fund. If there are any questions
you'd like answered, please call us at 978-568-8924
or email at info@collingsfoundation.org
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