Exhibit and Mustang on display. Photo courtesy Scott Slocum
The CAF Red Tail Squadron spends nine months out of each year crisscrossing the country to educate audiences everywhere about the history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. You may relate our marvelous P-51C Mustangs to air shows, mesmerizing audiences with aerobatics and the purr of a Merlin engine. It’s a great place to share this important legacy with aviation enthusiasts of all walks. Kids and adults can see our original movie “Rise Above” and be inspired by these great Americans, all in the comfort of our RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit.
Our air show audiences are great! We love the folks we meet and how we are able to inspire, not just doing rolls and dives for the crowd in the Mustang, but also in our panoramic theater. But what we do is not limited to the air show ramp. In fact, our participation in air shows across the country is only one piston in our engine, so to speak!
With each new town we roll in to, the CAF Red Tail Squadron staff is hard at work behind the scenes working with each community to ensure that local schools and community groups have the opportunity to see the P-51C Mustang and the RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit in their town BEFORE the air show begins. Typically, we arrive and set up at a school or community venue 3-4 days prior to the start of the show. These days are focused on one of our greatest driving objectives – to carry the lessons of the Tuskegee Airmen into every classroom in America – as envisioned by our founder, the late Don Hinz.
Our dedication to pre-air show community outreach sets us apart from many air show acts, and is one of the leading components of our educational outreach initiative. The attention that we get from the local media at these special events is fantastic. By showing their interest, the news coverage we get further helping us spread our very important and inspirational message. We are working hard and doing our best to make sure that with each air show and each community we visit, as many people as possible get the opportunity to hear about the Tuskegee Airmen, and how their strength of character, courage and ability to triumph over adversity serves as a means to inspire others to RISE ABOVE obstacles in their own lives and achieve their goals.
In addition to the folks that come to see us at our scheduled flagship events, we have brought in over an additional 100,000 school children to learn from the CAF Red Tail Squadron. By investing the time to roll off the tarmac and out into the community, we are reaching a very important group who are ripe for the message and will be the ones to carry the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen on to the next generation. It’s a privilege and an honor that we take very seriously.
Interested in bringing the P-51C Mustang and the RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit to your community? Contact Kristi Younkin at logistics@redtail.org or (479) 228-45200 to learn how you can work with the CAF Red Tail Squadron to be a Hometown Hero!
The CAF Red Tail Squadron is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to educating audiences across the country about the history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first black military pilots and their support personnel. Learn more at www.redtail.org.
