3rd Coast Squadron

08/31/2026

It’s that time again! Cars and Airplanes! It keeps on growing! Please share! Come see our military museum! We have so much fun! Come enjoy a pancake breakfast and a fantastic time!

Ingleside Airport (formerly McCampbell-Porter Airport) Saturday Sept 5th.

First Saturday of every month! 8:30ish-11:30ish. Saturday Sept 5th at the Commemorative Air Force hangar!

The cruise to the hangar leaves Alamo Drafthouse at 8am. Come cruise over the new bridge to the hangar!

Free, open to the public, family friendly! Endless shade and A/C inside. Pancake breakfast for a small donation! Cars, trucks, bikes, airplanes!

Commemorative Air Force
Ingleside Chamber of Commerce
1440 KEYS
KIII 3 News
KRIS 6 News
Aransas Pass Chamber of Commerce & Welcome Center
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
S.A.R Clicks
Nathan Gershon
Portland, TX Chamber of Commerce
McCampbell-Porter Airport
United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
Corpus Christi Car Show
Tex Hill Wing - CAF
The Bend Magazine
Portland Hotrod Hangout
Corvette Club of Corpus Christi
The Bad Blonde - Automotive History
KZTV Action 10 News
Aransas Pass Coastal Living

08/20/2026

Join us in wishing a happy birthday to the venerable B-25 Mitchell!

On 19 August 1940, the North American B-25 Mitchell made its maiden flight at Mines Field (now Los Angeles International Airport), piloted by Vance Breese with Roy Ferren as co-pilot. The Mitchell would go on to become one of the most widely used and versatile bombers of WWII, serving with distinction in every theater of the war. Over 9,800 units were built, and the type continued in service well into the postwar years with several air forces.

Today, the CAF operates six Mitchells:

✪ Maid in the Shade of the CAF Airbase Arizona
✪ Show Me of the Commemorative Air Force Missouri Wing
✪ Yellow Rose of the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing
✪ Commemorative Air Force B-25 Devil Dog
✪ Semper Fi (world's only flying PBJ) of CAF SoCal
✪ Miss Mitchell of the Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing

08/20/2026

08/20/2026

08/13/2026

, August 13, 1911, Matilde Moisant became the second woman in the United States to earn a pilot’s license under the rules of the Aero Club of America. Harriet Quimby had become the first only twelve days earlier.

Moisant learned to fly at the Moisant Aviation School on Long Island, founded by her brothers, pioneering aviators John and Alfred Moisant. After proving her skill before Aero Club officials, she received pilot certificate No. 44 and entered the daring world of exhibition flying.

The following month, Moisant climbed to approximately 1,200 feet during an aviation meet at Nassau Boulevard on Long Island. The flight established a women’s altitude record and earned her the Rodman-Wanamaker trophy.

Moisant’s flying career was brief. After surviving a crash in Wichita Falls, Texas, in April 1912, she retired from aviation. Still, her achievements came at a time when powered flight itself was new and few women had been permitted to train, compete or earn official recognition as pilots.

08/12/2026

Born in Washington, D.C., Paul Mitchell was a graduate of Cardozo High School and Hampton Institute, where he earned a degree in structural engineering. Before the war, he worked in the Building and Grounds Department at Howard University.

He earned his wings at Tuskegee on July 3, 1942, and was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron, part of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. In spring 1943, Lt. Mitchell deployed to North Africa. Flying the P-40 Warhawk, he participated in missions supporting the Allied assault on the Italian island of Pantelleria, part of the first U.S. campaign where air power alone led to surrender.

By August 1943, he was flying combat missions from Sicily, striking enemy targets with courage and precision. On August 11, 1943, Lt. Mitchell was killed in a midair collision while on a bombing run. He was the third Tuskegee Airman lost in combat.

He completed 10 sorties and was posthumously awarded the Air Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster for his meritorious achievements in aerial combat. In his memory, a housing project was dedicated at Tuskegee Army Air Field, and a service was held in his honor at St. Philip’s Church in D.C.

His remains were repatriated in 1948 and reburied at Arlington National Cemetery on July 26, 1948, five years to the day after his passing.

Lt. Paul G. Mitchell served with distinction in a segregated military and gave his life in the name of liberty. He is remembered as a trailblazer, a patriot, and a hero.

Learn more: https://cafriseabove.org/paul-graham-mitchell/

08/12/2026

On 8 August 1946, the Convair XB-36 Peacemaker lifted off from Fort Worth Army Air Field, Texas, for its maiden flight. It was the largest piston-engined bomber ever built.

Conceived during World War II when Britain appeared vulnerable to invasion, the B-36 was designed to strike targets in Europe directly from North America without relying on overseas bases. By the time it finally flew, the war had ended, but the emerging Cold War gave the giant bomber a new purpose as America's first true intercontinental strategic bomber.

With a wingspan of 230 feet, six Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines mounted in pusher configuration, and, on later B-36D and subsequent variants, four General Electric J47 turbojet engines mounted in two underwing pods, the Peacemaker became famous for the phrase, "six turning and four burning." The addition of the jets significantly improved takeoff performance, climb rate, and dash speed, while the bomber still relied primarily on its piston engines for long-range cruising.

The B-36 entered service with the newly independent U.S. Air Force in 1948 and formed the backbone of Strategic Air Command's nuclear deterrent during the early years of the Cold War. Capable of carrying payloads no previous bomber could match, including the first generation of America's largest nuclear weapons, it could fly farther and higher than any bomber of its era.

Although it stood ready for combat throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, the Peacemaker never dropped a bomb in anger. Perhaps its name proved especially fitting, as its greatest contribution was not destruction, but helping to preserve peace through deterrence during one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War.

Despite its importance, the Peacemaker's career was relatively brief. Only 384 were built, and by 1959 they had all been retired as jet-powered bombers such as the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress rendered them obsolete.

08/12/2026

, August 12, 1912, Opal “Betsy” Ferguson Woodward McClung was born near Coffeyville, Kansas. Petite, blond, and blue-eyed, Betsy grew up on a farm and took to the skies early. She and her sister Sally, dubbed “The Flying Sisters” by Kansas newspapers, earned their private pilot’s licenses on the same day in 1937. Betsy quickly advanced, earning her commercial license and instructor’s rating, going on to train male pilots through Civilian and War Pilot Training programs.

When the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) was formed, Betsy brought 873 flight hours with her, making her one of the most experienced of the Originals. She flew a wide variety of aircraft including the PT-19, BT-13, A-20, AT-6, P-39, and C-47, among others. In January 1943, she was transferred to the 5th Ferrying Group at Love Field in Dallas, and later reassigned to several Army Air Bases where she took on engineering, test, administrative, and co-pilot duties.

Despite undergoing an emergency appendectomy in 1943, Betsy remained committed to the mission. She served until the deactivation of the WASP program in December 1944. Though much about her life after the war remains unknown, her legacy as a skilled and fearless aviator endures. Today, we honor her contributions and remember her remarkable journey.

Learn more at: https://cafriseabove.org/opal-ferguson-woodward-mcclung/

08/07/2026

On 6 August 1945, America’s greatest fighter ace climbed into an airplane for the last time.

Major Richard “Dick” B**g had survived three combat tours in the Southwest Pacific. Flying the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, he had been officially credited with destroying 40 Japanese aircraft, more than any other American fighter pilot in history. He had received the Medal of Honor from General Douglas MacArthur and returned home as one of the most celebrated heroes of World War II.

But B**g had not come home to retire.

He had been assigned to Lockheed’s plant in Burbank, California, where he served as an Army Air Forces acceptance pilot for the new P-80 Shooting Star. The P-80 represented the future of aerial warfare: America’s first operational jet fighter, designed by a Lockheed team led by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson.

The aircraft was still new to B**g. He had accumulated only four hours and 15 minutes in the P-80 over 12 flights.

Shortly after taking off from Lockheed Air Terminal in P-80A 44-85048, the jet’s primary fuel pump failed. An auxiliary pump that could have continued supplying fuel to the engine was not operating. With the engine losing power and the aircraft still dangerously close to the ground, B**g rolled the Shooting Star inverted and attempted to bail out. He escaped the cockpit, but there was not enough altitude for his parachute to fully open.

The P-80 crashed and exploded near the intersection of Oxnard Street and Satsuma Avenue in North Hollywood. Richard B**g was killed at just 24 years old.

Half a world away that same day, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. News of B**g’s death appeared on front pages beside reports announcing the arrival of the Atomic Age.

08/07/2026

We met Alicia a few years ago at the National WASP WWII Museum during Homecoming and we always wonder if she still has her eye on the sky... 🤩