Tulsa Regional Fly-In

A number of World War II veterans were on hand Saturday for the 50th annual 'Tulsa Regional Fly-In being held in Bartlesville. Organizers hope they'll bring the love of flying to a new generation.

Sunday, September 24th 2006, 6:58 am

By: News On 6

A number of World War II veterans were on hand Saturday for the 50th annual 'Tulsa Regional Fly-In being held in Bartlesville. Organizers hope they'll bring the love of flying to a new generation.

News on 6 reporter Chris Wright says the Tulsa Regional Fly-In is one of the longest running air shows in the nation and hundreds of new and vintage aircraft were on display for the 50th edition. Antique, experimental, war bird, bi-planes and other types of aircraft took the skies over Bartlesvilleâ€™s airport.

Besides showing off for the crowd, pilots hoped to attract more young people to aviation. They say heightened airport security has made it more difficult for kids who are interested to get close to planes. Steve Buss with the Young Eagles: "it's harder for kids and pilots to get together and share that common experience, and for a lot of us in aviation today, someone took us to the airport and gave us a ride and inspired us to reach for the sky."

There were also some special guests on hand, including Retired Brigadier General David Lee 'Tex' Hill, a renowned World War II pilot.

The News on 6 spoke with some of the younger pilots and they say these vintage planes take an incredible amount of skill to fly and they have a lot of admiration for the men who flew them more than 60 years ago.