Mayor Ken McClure | City of Springfield
Mayor Ken McClure | City of Springfield
The Birthplace of Route 66 Festival will feature an aerial display this year, with two Stearman Formation Pilots set to kick off the event on Thursday. Two vintage World War II biplanes are scheduled to fly over the festival at approximately 6:45 p.m.
Pilot Rod Hightower connected with festival organizer Cora Scott after learning about Springfield’s efforts to celebrate Route 66 through its largest annual festival. Hightower and a fellow Stearman pilot will also participate in the parade on Friday night.
“For parades, they usually do several passes above the route using a race-track pattern with defined entry and exit points,” Hightower explained. The parade route follows Route 66 (College/St. Louis) from Grant to National.
Hightower, who serves as CEO of OE Airports in St. Louis, acquired his first Stearman in 1988 and began its restoration in 1990, completing it seven and a half years later. “It has been a fabulous journey for our entire family. Some of our children have grown up around that airplane as it was being restored,” he told Smithsonian Magazine in 2012.
During an aviation program called AirAdventure, Hightower met film director George Lucas, who produced "Red Tails," a feature film about the Tuskegee Airmen.
Hightower's goal with these flyovers is to inspire people to engage with aviation by flying, building, restoring aircraft, volunteering, and supporting their community’s aviation efforts.
“The historic significance of these WWII era aircraft is a great addition to the draw of this growing festival,” said David Schaumburg, Assistant Aviation Director. “They will help visitors take that journey back to a transformative time in our nation’s transportation development.”
The Stearman flyovers are scheduled for:
- 6:45 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 8
- 6 p.m., Friday, Aug. 9
For more information, contact Cora Scott at 417-380-3352 or [email protected].
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