"Uncle Wiggly Wings" Will Help Re-Enact Berlin Airlift Candy
Drop
Last December, Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Gail Halvorsen put
big smiles on the faces of Elizabeth City children when he sailed
chocolates on tiny parachutes from the “Spirit of
Freedom,” a restored 1945 Douglas C-54 aircraft. The beloved
“Candy Bomber,” who was part of the famous 1948-49
Berlin Airlift, will return to Elizabeth City, North Carolina with
more treats when the Elizabeth City Regional Airport presents its
First in Flight Festival, December 5th with support from the
Albemarle Economic Development Commission.
Featuring free airplane rides for children, remote control air
shows, special hangar and aircraft tours and a re-enactment of the
airlift that brought sweets to West German children, the free
festival is an opportunity for kids to learn about aviation history
— and North Carolina’s future in the aerospace
industry.
“Generating an aerospace culture in northeast North
Carolina is important so that students will be poised to take
advantage of local training programs being initiated now,”
said Scott Hinton, manager of the Elizabeth City Regional Airport.
“We are presenting the festival to teach young people about
aviation, while they have a little fun.”
The festival will take place on Airport grounds, within sight of
the U.S. Coast Guard Base, home to the nation’s largest Coast
Guard Air Station, and the future Elizabeth City-Pasquotank
Aviation Research and Development Park. When it's finished, the
park will feature a 15-acre campus for the Elizabeth City State
University School of Aviation Science and a College of the
Albemarle FAA-certified Air Frame and Power Plant Maintenance
training facility.
Col. Halvorsen Air Force
Photo
A number of Elizabeth City aerospace businesses are
participating in the festival including DRS Technologies, which
will host a guided hangar tour where attendees can see a C-130
aircraft overhaul in process. Also in the hangar will be
Telephonics Corporation, sponsor of the festival’s Remote
Control Air Show, presented by Radio Active Air Shows, and
representatives from the Elizabeth City Regional Airport, which is
underwriting the free airplane rides offered by the Experimental
Aircraft Association’s “Young Eagles”
program.
But perhaps the most anticipated event will be Halvorsen’s
re-enactment of the Berlin Airlift. As Allied forces dropped food
and medicine to West Berlin residents after World War II,
Halvorsen, an airlift pilot, noticed children gathered outside the
Tempelhof Air Base. During a flight break, he gave the youngsters
his last two sticks of chewing gum and promised to return with
chocolates. As a sign, he said he would wiggle the wings of his
plane. He soon became known as “Uncle Wiggly Wings” and
“The Chocolate Flier.”
For the festival, Halvorsen will co-pilot two drops, one for
children up to 7 years old and a second for children ages 8-12. For
each drop, 100 commemorate candy bars will sail on tiny parachutes
to the children below. Hand-crafted and donated by The Chocolate
House, an Elizabeth City confectionary, the gourmet chocolates
feature a wrapper with an image of Halvorsen’s airplane.
“The opportunity to witness this historical re-enactment
is one that should not be missed,” said Wayne Harris,
director of the Albemarle Economic Development Commission.