World War II fighter plane to visit Bradford County Airport

TOWANDA — Families will have lots to see and do Saturday if they stop by the Bradford County Airport, as the facility will be hosting a fly-in pancake breakfast following by a Touch-a-Truck event.

While there will be lots of ground vehicles such as fire trucks, police cars, tractors, cranes and more for adults and kids to check out, there will also be medical and police helicopters, among other aviation machinery.

However, the event is also expecting a special guest — weather permitting, of course.

Andrew McKenna, who lives in Virginia but has family ties to the Valley in Bradford County, is set to be amongst those flying in to the airport Saturday with his World War II P-51 Mustang fighter plane.

McKenna is one of just 10 members of the United States Air Force Heritage Flight team — a group of veteran and civilian pilots who perform heritage air shows in honor of Air Force members.

“I’ve been doing it for five years, but it still gives me goosebumps,” he said. “It’s an absolute honor to be a part of the program.”

McKenna noted that he also considered it an honor to fly into Bradford County with his P-51, which is one of only 175 flyable models in the world today.

“The Bradford County community has been very good to me,” he said. “My wife is from the Athens area, and every time I visit I’m just grateful and impressed by the strong veteran community there. I’m actually honored to be able to bring the P-51 to Bradford County, because there’s no better community to share it with.”

McKenna explained that he has owned the P-51 since 2013 after owning a T-6 Texan since 2008, and that the purchase of the P-51 was a natural progression for his passion for flying.

“It was made during World War II when there was a need for long-range fighter planes to escort bomber planes across Europe,” he said. “The prototype of the P-51 was made in just 180 days. Then, on a whim, they put a Rolls Royce engine into the frame to give it a bit more power.

“It’s still one of the fastest single-engine pistol aircraft in the world today,” McKenna continued. “Which is absolutely incredible considering it was designed and built in just 180 days. It’s become an iconic fighter plane, and it’s an amazing piece of history.”

The fly-in pancake breakfast will take place from 8 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the touch-a-truck event immediately following from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Breakfast will be $10 for adults, $5 for kids under 12, and kids under five are free. The touch-a-truck event will be free to the community.