The Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative Air Force is a United States historical air display organization which formerly included two sub-groups that participate in the display of vintage aircraft and public military history education about military aviation during World War II and beyond.
The Commemorative Air Force’s Gulf Coast Wing encompassed the "Texas Raiders" group, who maintained and operated the Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (former U.S. Navy PB-1W) named Texas Raiders , which crashed on November 12th, 2022. It was based at the Conroe Regional Airport, located in Conroe, Texas. (Formerly based at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport in Tomball, Texas.)
Midland International Air and Space Port is in the city limits of Midland, Texas, United States, about midway between Downtown Midland and Downtown Odessa, owned and operated by the City of Midland. In September 2014, it was licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to serve commercial spaceflight.
Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to preserving and showing historical aircraft at airshows primarily throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of the BT-13 in USAAC/USAAF service was known as the BT-15 Valiant, while an identical version for the US Navy was known as the SNV and was used to train naval aviators for the US Navy and its sister services, the US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard.
Hurlburt Field is a United States Air Force installation located in Okaloosa County, Florida, immediately west of the town of Mary Esther. It is part of the greater Eglin Air Force Base reservation and is home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the 1st Special Operations Wing (1 SOW), the USAF Special Operations School (USAFSOS) and the Air Combat Command's (ACC) 505th Command and Control Wing. It was named for First Lieutenant Donald Wilson Hurlburt, who died in a crash at Eglin. The installation is nearly 6,700 acres (27 km2) and employs nearly 8,000 military personnel.
Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located approximately 7 miles (11 km) southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and approximately 150 miles (240 km) west of Fort Worth, Texas.
Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Pope Air Force Base, the facility is now operated by the U.S. Air Force via a memorandum of agreement (MOA), and an inter-services support agreement (ISSA) with the U.S Army as part of Fort Bragg.
Altus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east-northeast of Altus, Oklahoma.
Air Education and Training Command (AETC) is one of the nine Major Commands (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force (USAF), reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force. It was established 1 July 1993, with the realignment of Air Training Command and Air University.
Hunter Army Airfield, located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia.
David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport is a public-use airport located near the city of Tomball in unincorporated Harris County, Texas. It is 23 miles (37 km) northwest of the central business district of Houston. It is the busiest general aviation airport in Texas and one of the busiest general aviation airports in the United States. The airport is privately owned by Jag Gill.
Camarillo Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Camarillo, a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The airport has one runway and serves privately operated general aviation and executive aircraft with no scheduled commercial service. A separate airfield in the southwest quadrant of the airport is for exclusive use of light-sport aircraft and ultralights. The airport is the site for an annual air show "Wings Over Camarillo", organized by the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.
Duke Field, also known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field #3, is a military airport located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Crestview, in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States.
Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis of the nearby Johnson Space Center. The host wing for the installation is the Texas Air National Guard's 147th Attack Wing. Opened in 1917, Ellington Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I. It is named for First Lieutenant Eric Ellington, a U.S. Army aviator who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego, California in 1913.
Texas Raiders was an American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a Douglas-Long Beach built B-17G-95-DL. The Commemorative Air Force’s Gulf Coast Wing "Texas Raiders" group maintained and flew the aircraft. She was hangared at General Aviation Services, which is located at Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport in Conroe, Texas. She was destroyed in a mid-air collision with a P-63 Kingcobra during an air show at Dallas Executive Airport, Texas, during the early afternoon on November 12, 2022.
The B-17 Yankee Lady is owned by the Yankee Air Force, doing business as the Yankee Air Museum (YAM), and was flown for flight experience rides and airshow appearances.
Last Man Club is a 2016 drama film written, produced and directed by Bo Brinkman. The film stars James MacKrell, Kate French, William Morgan Sheppard in his final film role before his death in January 2019 and Barry Corbin. Last Man Club depicts the epic cross country trip of a World War II veteran who escapes his difficult family situation and embarks, with the help of a beautiful accomplice, on a mission to find the last remaining members of his B-17 bomber crew.
The Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum, a.k.a. Airbase Arizona Aircraft Museum, was established in 1978, in Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. It is the 10th unit of the Commemorative Air Force and the home of one of the largest Commemorative Air Force units in the world. On exhibit are World War II artifacts, helicopters and classic American and foreign combat planes, many of which are the last remaining warbirds of their kinds.
Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of the city of Warner Robins, 18 mi (29 km) south-southeast of Macon and approximately 100 mi (160 km) south-southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. The base is named in honor of Brig Gen Augustine Warner Robins, the Air Force's "father of logistics".