Mad River Air

ECLIPSE AT GRIMES!

Grimes Field (I74) will be welcoming any and all spectators for the historic solar eclipse on April 8th. Bring your lawn chairs!

The Grimes Flying Lab Museum will be open for the first time this year allowing a walkthrough of the hangar from the ramp. They will be selling snacks as well as museum and eclipse glasses/merchandise.

The Airport Cafe will be open for business from 7am to 8pm.

If you are flying into I74 for this historic event, please remember that it will be self-parking in the grass with a $10 per plane parking fee (CASH ONLY). Your "ticket" will be a custom Grimes Field sticker.

If you are driving to Grimes Field for the event. Parking in the parking lots will be free. Tickets will be sold at the airport gate for $2 per person and $5 per family (CASH ONLY).

The main ramp will be closed to aircraft traffic and coned off for pedestrians to enjoy!

For questions about the eclipse at Grimes Field. Please contact the airport manager at [email protected]

Recently, our B-25 Champaign Gal was found to have metal shavings in its right engine oil system. This occurred suddenly and the aircraft is stuck, sitting on an airport ramp in Indiana, away from home. The fix requires the right engine to be removed and replaced with a good engine. The market to purchase an overhauled engine for a B-25 is a very small one, and is expensive. We were able to find an engine, but the cost is $135,000. That is only the cost for the engine, it doesn’t include the installation cost. This is a huge expense for a museum like ours and we need your help. We know you value keeping WWII airplanes like the B-25 flying. Please consider a special donation to our B-25 engine fund to bring Champaign Gal home: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=XBP2HYAZ4L9T8

This week we will again be welcoming the Moving Vietnam Wall to Champaign County.

On Thursday we will gather at the Champaign County Community Center, 1512 S U.S. 68, Urbana at 8:30 a.m. to es**rt the Moving Wall Truck north through town on Rt 68 to the old Armory, now Mid America Flight Museum of Texas (North) at 1412 N U.S. 68. The planned launch from the Community Center is 9:00 am and planned travel time is 15 to 20 minutes. Urbana police dept will be on hand to help with traffic control.

We have invited 12 different veteran vehicle clubs (car and motorcycle) to participate, so don't know what / how many to expect. The 'es**rt' will be led by the Grimes Flying Lab 1947 Red/White/Blue Willy's Jeep with Grand Marshall Carl Angles as passenger. Carl served in the Navy from 1960 to 1964 as a sonar technician on the USS John Paul Jones, DD932. He received the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service on the Cuban Missile Blockade.

We invite, request, ask any available assets join us in the es**rt. When we arrive at the armory the Moving Wall Truck will divert off on the Armory driveway while the rest of the procession will continue up the road and turn in at the middle Airport entrance then proceed down the airport lane to the armory. A brief blessing is planned before we begin unloading and setting up the Wall.

THANK YOU for your time and attention and thoughts of those we are honoring! The Wall will be on display until Monday the 25th when at 9:00 am we begin the demolition.

A public ceremony will be held Saturday, Sept 23 at 10:00 am at the wall. The wall may be visited 24/7 while here.

ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND!

B-17G Champaign Lady – Restoration Update – Summer 2023 B-17G Champaign Lady – Restoration Update – Summer 2023 August 21, 2023 Vintage Aviation News Warbird Restorations 0 By Scott Thompson of Aero Vintage The restoration of B-17G 44-85813, otherwise known as Champaign Lady, continues to make solid progress at Urbana, Ohio. The decades-long effort b...