Rare WWII fighter plane stops at Delaware Coastal Airport
Anyone lucky enough to be at Delaware Coastal Airport on the morning of Aug. 23 was in for a unexpected treat.
Thom Richard stopped there to prepare his rare, 1942 Curtiss P-40N two-seat, dual-control fighter plane, named American Dream, for the next leg of a journey that started in South Carolina.
Richard was heading for another fuel stop in Waterville, Maine, then on to an air show in Nova Scotia, Canada.
He had arrived in Sussex County the night before from the town of Ninety Six, S.C., where the airport is called, appropriately enough, American Dream. Richard is an instructor pilot for a company called Warbird Adventures, which is based at the small, grass-strip airfield.
He chose Georgetown for an overnight stop because he has a friend in the area.
As he put fuel and oil in the 81-year-old airplane, he talked about its history. “It has two confirmed kills. Those are real kills,” he said, pointing to the Japanese flags painted near the cockpit. “It shot down a Zero and a Betty in New Guinea.” Zeros and Bettys were names the Allies gave to two types of Japanese planes used in World War II.
His bill for topping off the tank at Delaware Coastal was $456. “My last stop was $900,” he said.
Curtiss built more than 13,000 P-40s at its factory in Buffalo, N.Y. Richard’s is one of the few examples still flying.
When his preflight check was complete, Richard strapped in, fired up the Allison V-12 engine, took off on runway four and headed north, definitely living the American Dream.
For more information on Richard’s P-40N, go to warbirdadventures.com.
