IN THE AIR WITH THE DESTIN WARBIRDS: Pilots say they are preserving history, but complaints mount

Soaring 750 feet above Destin in a T-6 Texan, the noise and commotion of the city disappear.

“It’s peaceful,” said Charles DuPlantis, who took The Log flying with fellow Destin Warbirds Tim McDonald and Dr. Joe Carnley on Sunday. “It’s just beautiful up there.”

But back on the ground, some Destin residents are complaining about the noise caused by the planes. Others have even questioned the safety and legality of the Warbirds flights — especially in light of a crash that killed a pilot and his passenger earlier this month over Topsail State Park.

“We do not like the idea of upsetting anybody in the community,” said Carnley, a well-known dentist. “We try our best to make sure that we eliminate as much of the things they are complaining about as possible. And we always abide by FAA rules and regulations.”

In fact, the pilots are even more cautious than the Federal Aviation Association requires. They canceled a flight with The Log on Saturday because strong winds were blowing through Destin, although legally they could have taken off.

“If the weather is bad, I stay on the ground,” said DuPlantis, the owner of Boogies Watersports.

For photos from the flight, click here.

The Warbirds also do most of their flying over the Gulf, although their official practice field is just east of the Mid-Bay Bridge.

“We do that because if something happens, you can’t hurt anybody but yourself,” DuPlantis said. “And it keeps the noise away from everybody.”

When it comes to complaints about how low the Warbirds fly, McDonald said air traffic controllers at Eglin Air Force Base determine their altitude. When The Log flew with the pilots, Eglin ordered them to stay below 1,000 feet because of some air traffic in the area.

At right around 750 feet, DuPlantis pointed out a red speed boat heading into the harbor and said, “he’s making a lot more noise than we are.”

DuPlantis is very familiar with the noise from the airport because he lives near the end of the runway. While he said the noise doesn’t really bother him, he and the other pilots always try to be conscious of residents in the area. They said they depart from the airport as quickly as possible in an effort to manage the noise. And they fly in the afternoons unless they have to be up early for an air show or event.

The pilots said pretty much the only time they fly over land is when they’ve been asked. The Warbirds donate their time to fly missing man formations over funerals and to entertain crowds at events in the area.

And they all have their North American Training Association cards, which allow them to take off and fly in formation. They learn to fly every position in NATA’s formation clinics, and several instructors must give them a passing grade before they’re certified.

“It takes a lot of training,” Carnley said. “This group of pilots around here are probably the best trained in the whole NATA organization because we have several of these warbirds, and we get the opportunity to fly.”

The pilots are also more conscientious than they have to be when it comes to aircraft maintenance. While the FAA requires an annual inspection of every aircraft, McDonald said the Warbirds go much further than that to preserve their piece of history.

“Within the Experimental Aircraft Association, there is a whole chapter dedicated to warbirds, and their motto is ‘keep them alive,’ ” said McDonald, who has been flying for eight years. “We’re all about keeping them flight worthy and not allowing them to go to the salvage yard.”

And while they all love flying through the air, each of the pilots said the preservation of these planes is a big part of the reason that they do what they do.

McDonald, who is the president of Fort Walton Machining, said the T-6 Texan got its name because the planes were manufactured in Dallas, Texas. About 15,000 Texans were built in the 1940s, but McDonald said only about 350 are still flying.

“It’s becoming a pretty sacred number,” he said.

And the Warbirds take their responsibility seriously. In addition to taking care of the Texans, the pilots honor the history of the planes by taking up old World War II veterans whenever they can. DuPlantis said he has seen a vet looking the planes over and offered him a ride more than once. And he said they’re all full of history and stories.

“You’re bringing them back to when they were between 18 and 20 years old, and you’re giving them something they haven’t done in 50 or 60 years,” said DuPlantis, whose uncle was a fighter pilot in WWII. “They went over there to give their lives for us, this is the least we can do.”

And veteran pilots aren’t the only people that appreciate the warbirds. All the pilots said 90 to 95 percent of the people they meet have a positive reaction to the planes. And in an effort to get the rest of Destin behind the warbirds, McDonald said he would love to take the time to talk to anyone who wants to come down to the airport with questions about formation flight, FAA regulations or the history of these planes.

“It sounds kind of corny, but we really feel patriotic by doing this,” he said. “We believe the World War II era needs to be remembered and cherished. And while I certainly respect citizens’ interest in noise control, on the same token, I wish they could respect our passion for maintaining these aircrafts and honoring the history of World War II.”

_________

A COLLECTION OF COVERAGE

To see photos of the plane after it was recovered, click here.

To see photos of the formation flying moments before the crash, click here.

Click to view a photo gallery of the crash scene »

To read a story about the victim, click here.

To read the original crash story, click here.

___________

BACKGROUND

The shows have become a familiar sight and sound in Destin.

But they have alson been a source of controversy with some residents and visitors complaining about the noise and safety of the formation flying.

_________

Log photographer Kathy Harrison went up in a T-6 in 2007. To see a video from the cockpit that flight, click here. To see photos from that 2007 flight, click here.