Historic biplane circles Waupaca
By James Card
On July 15, an open-cockpit biplane flew into the Waupaca Municipal Airport. It was late. A cold summer rain delayed the Dream Flights of seven local veterans. By mid-morning the weather cleared and the flights were back on schedule by lunchtime at Brunner Hanger.
The biplane was a 1940 Boeing Stearman. It was used in WWII as a training plane. The Dream Flights are exactly 20 minutes. According to Jared Jesenski, the crew chief, the adrenaline kick is so intense that after 20 minutes the flight can become a negative experience for some passengers.
They are easy-going flights – no acrobatics – and pilot Darryl Fisher ranges about five miles out and swings around a lake or two. If the passengers are from the Wisconsin Veterans Home, they make a loop around there.
Cold War experience
One veteran anticipating the flight was Dave Firkus, 81, of Custer. He served on an oil tanker in the Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was part of the blockade that prevented Soviet nuclear warheads from entering the Western Hemisphere. He was onboard when a Russian trawler tried ramming them.
They manned their stations, guns ready. The captain decided not to fire. President Kennedy called the captain and said he made the right decision. World War III was averted.
Other than a helicopter, Firkus hasn’t spent much time in aircraft but biplanes have always held a fascination for him. Five years ago, he built a model of a double-winged airplane the size of a table as an outside decoration.
“I’ve always liked double-wingers. I’ve always said if I won the Powerball, I’d buy one like that,” said Firkus.
He doesn’t know how to fly a plane. He doesn’t have a pilot license and he deals with acrophobia.
“I was always afraid of heights – I still am. I get kind of leery,” he said.
Firkus said he’d park his Powerball biplane next to his house. “I’d just look at it. I’d sit in there and maybe turn on the motor,” said Firkus.
“This is the first time in a double-winged plane,” he said. “This is my dream and if I’m scared of something, I’m going to try and conquer it.”
Other veterans that took their Dream Flights were Al Firminhac (King), Larry Cavanugh (King), Maurice Dupus (Iola), Charles Paterson (Waupaca), Clyde Nollenburg (Waupaca) and Robert Johnson (Waupaca).
The main organizer of the event was the Waupaca County Caregivers Coalition and they partnered with the Ageless Aviation Dream Foundation, a nonprofit that performs these Dream Flights across the country. Once it gets cold, the same biplane that the vets flew in will make its way down to Texas for the winter.
“The Dream Flights were one of those little events that we wanted to be involved with as coalition to give back the veterans in the community,” said Deb Brunner.
This event was the fifth year of hosting Dream Flights, minus one for COVID.