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Airshow celebrates aviation contributionsTexas Air Museum holds fly-in, festival during this weekendSpecial to the StarRIO HONDO - When Dean Ivan Lamb and Phil Rader fired shots at one another from their planes over the Mexican border in 1913, they probably didn’t know they were opening a new chapter in aviation history.The two mercenaries — one flying for rebel Pancho Villa and the other for the Mexican federal government, the opposing sides in the Mexican Revolution — were the first pilots to use aircraft in military combat.This Friday through Sunday, a festival and fly-in to the Rio Grande Valley will celebrate theHispanic contribution to aviation history, as well as other lesser-known milestones in early aviation.The event will take place at the Texas Air Museum, next to the Texas Dusting Service, just off FM 106 east of Rio Hondo. Adult tickets are $4. Those ages 12-16 pay $2, and children under 12 can get in free with a paying adult.This week, the museum is taking delivery on a flyable Christof-ferson, one of the two airplanes involved in the history-making first aerial dogfight.A life-size replica of the other aircraft, a Curtiss Pusher biplane, is already on display at the museum.These two aircraft, along with a 1912 truck and other artifacts from the period, form the Pancho Villa Exhibit.It commemorates the foresight of both the Mexican government federates and the rebel Villa for being the first to recognize the usefulness of airplanes in military action.The Texas Air Museum, Director John Houston said, is one of the few museums in the nation to focus on early aviation history.“Some 40 museums in Texas alone feature World War II aviation,” he said. “Our focus is on the lesser-known aspects of aviation history, particularly as it relates to Texas and our neighbors to the south.”Much of aviation history was, in fact, made in Texas, Houston said. The Texas Air Museum aspires to become the air museum of Texas, with locations around the state, he said.The museum strives to acquireartifacts that serve as visual aids in telling the story of aviation history. One of the latest acquisitions, a Bleriot, will be used to commemorate the exploits of the Stinsons, the flying family for which Stinson Field in San Antonio is named.Sisters Katherine and Maijorie Stinson were among the nation’s first female flying instructors.With more than 50 planes in the collection, the Texas Air Museum is now the third largest aviation museum in the state, Houston estimated.In 1994, some 58,000 people visited the facility. Of those, Houston said a large percentage were from outside the United States.This article was submitted by the Texas Air Museum.
Newspaper Details
Valley Morning Star
Harlingen, Texas, US
Thu, Nov 30, 1995
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Blake W.
NA, 09 Aug 2023
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Valley Morning Star
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Harlingen Rio Grande Farmer
Harlingen Valley Weekly Star
