Of Celebration and Solemnity

Wings Over the Rockies (WOTR), the Colorado-based non-profit dedicated to fostering public interest in aviation by promoting awareness of humankind’s past, present, and future aeronautical and space endeavors, has announced a pair of upcoming events, the tenors of which illustrate the depth and breadth of aviation’s salience to humankind’s global endeavors and the extent to which flight underpins the heights of man’s nobility and the depths of his savagery.

On Saturday, 19 August 2023, Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver, Colorado will host a National Aviation Day celebration observing  the development of aviation.

Between 10:00 and 15:00 MDT, museum guests will have opportunity to avail themselves of aviation-themed activities the likes of paper airplane building; desktop flight simulator session; select open cockpits; science demos; talks delivered by the museum’s curator and volunteers, and even scavenger hunts.

The open cockpits into which museum guests will have opportunity to peer and appreciate will be those of the institution’s:

• LTV A-7D Corsair II
• Martin B-57 Canberra
• Flight for Life Aerospatiale A316 Alouette III (Wheelchair accessible)
• Cessna O-2A (Wheelchair accessible)
• Republic RF-84K
• Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-23

While event admission is of the Pay As You Wish variety, guest’s donations will help support Wings Over the Rockies’ mission to educate and inspire through the mediums of aircraft, flight, and accounts of humankind’s past, present, and future aloft.

Pricing for MaxFlight simulator experiences is standard Wings pricing. Pay as You Wish offer is valid on 8/19/23 at the Air & Space Museum only. Pre-sale tickets are not available for the described event. Admission will be available at the door.

On Monday, 18 September 2023, Wings Over the Rockies in partnership with the United States Air Force Historical Foundation will host the 2023 Wings of Valor: Vietnam War Air War Veterans Celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war. The event, which will be held at Wings Exploration of Flight Center in Centennial, Colorado, is a tribute to the fearless aviators who soared through the turbulent skies of Vietnam consistently demonstrating unparalleled bravery and unwavering determination.

The event will feature a spectacular aerial demonstration, live music, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres. Special guests will include the Vietnam Veterans National Air Museums’ Airpower and Space History scholars and esteemed speaker General Ron R. Fogleman, USAF (Ret).

A ticketed event, the 2023 Wings of Valor: Vietnam War Air War Veterans Celebration is slated to get underway 18 September at 18:00 MDT and continue until 21:15 MDT. Dress is casual.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to a veterans organization to be announced at the event.

FMI: https://wingsmuseum.org