Ray Fagen Memorial Air Show – June 20th, 2015

Fagen Fighters WWII Museum will be holding their air show on Saturday, June 20th, 2015 at their home field Lenzen-Roe Memorial Airport in Granite Falls, Minnesota. The event has a promising lineup of more than forty WWII-era aircraft, including the crown jewels of the Fagen Fighters collection, their B-25J Mitchell “Paper Doll”, P-40 Warhawks “Aleutian Tiger” and “Desert Shark”, P-51D Mustangs “Twilight Tear” and “Sweet Revenge”, not to mention their P-38 Lightning “Ruff Stuff” amongst others.

Dubbed the Ray Fagen Memorial Airshow, the event is in part a celebration of the museum’s patriarch, Ray Fagen, a WWII D-Day veteran. WarbirdsNews recently talked with Ray’s grandson, Evan, and this is what he had to say about his late grandfather, “Ray Fagen was my grandpa and he was on the first wave at Normandy on Utah beach. He was involved with the liberation of Paris and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He was shot on Utah beach and in the Battle of the Bulge. He also got shrapnel wounds in the Battle of the Bulge which took him out of the battle. He never talked about the war but inspired us to start the museum to honor the greatest generation and to remember there sacrifices. While he never flew during the war, he learned to fly when he got home as a civilian in a stearman under the GI bill. He flew for almost 60 years.”

The show will feature WWII-only themed subjects and in addition to the aircraft, military re-enactors along with several ground vehicles will perform mock combat situations for the crowd. According to the museum, “the commitment from the Warbird Community has been overwhelming… In addition to our own collection, we will host the Experimental Aircraft Association’s B-17G Aluminum Overcast which will be available for tours, the Commemorative Air Force Arizona Wing’s B-25J Maid in the Shade will give tours and rides before and after air show, B-25J Lady Luck will be on hand along with a PV-2 Harpoon. In the fighter group, we have P-51 Mustangs Old Crow, Petie 2nd and Sierra Sue, a Bell P-63 Kingcobra, two FM-2 Wildcats, an F4U Corsair and a Japanese Zero. We also have the CAF Sioux Falls’ Wing Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft. Trainers will include two Stearman PT-17s, and thirteen T-6s, including the fabulous AeroShell Aerobatic Team, and the Fagen Fighters trainers including the BT-13, PT-19, PT-26 and PT-22. Several other warbird owners are still arranging schedules. Due to our very limited ramp space and our desire to accommodate all warbird participants and static displays, the airport will be closed to general aviation for the day. We are routing all general aviation traffic to Southwest Minnesota Regional Airport in Marshall, Minnesota, just 30 miles south of Granite Falls. Shuttles to and from Granite Falls will run throughout the day.”

Following the daytime air show, country music artist Craig Morgan will entertain the crowd. After Morgan’s concert, the AeroShell Team will perform their famous night time aerobatics routine, which is bound to impress the audience. All-in-all, the Ray Fagen Memorial Airshow is shaping up to be a spectacular event!