4/24/13 - Itâs the stuff that dreams are made of: Two Brighton Township aviation enthusiasts will embark on the recovery and restoration mission of a WWII-era plane nicknamed âSandbar Mitchellâ after the fire suppression bomber crashed along a sandbar near Fairbanks, Alaska in 1969. Itâs one of the few WWII-era warbirds yet to be rescued from her abandoned crash site although various sections have been removed over the years. The center portion remains intact on the sandbar today and has basically been preserved by the Alaskan elements. Legend of Aces Aviation founder Patrick Mihalek and Todd Trainor, director of the Aeronca Aircraft History Museum, and a support team head to Alaska in June after obtaining ownership of the aircraft and recovery permits. An open house about the mission was held Tuesday night in Brighton where Mihalek told WHMI heâs had a lot of lucky breaks along his journey to make âSandbar Mitchellâ fly again. He says they'll rescue what remains and then use parts from another salvaged B-25 to re-build her to a flying piece of WWII history through his âWarbirds of Gloryâ Museum. Mihalek says the big push right now is fundraising to bring the piece of history back to Brighton and once that happens, he hopes to have the formal non-profit status for his âWarbirds of Gloryâ museum and they can begin raising money to actually rebuild the plane. Complete details about the recovery mission and fundraising efforts along with another open house scheduled for next Tuesday can be found through the link below. Pictured is Trainor and Mihalek on their first trip to see Sandbar Mitchell earlier this month. (JM)
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