Wings 'N' Wheels soars at Minter Field

Minter Field Air Museum hosted its 7th Annual Wings 'N' Wheels event on Saturday, showcasing a variety of aircraft, tractors and custom vehicles. The event featured vendors, a beer garden, raffles and a wide selection of food, offering a fun-filled day for families and enthusiasts of airplanes and cars.

Thousands of spectators attended the museum's biggest fundraiser of the year, admiring nearly 75 private aircraft from across California and almost 200 custom cars, motorcycles and trucks on display. Guests enjoyed helicopter and plane rides, a 20-piece big band playing '40s-era music for dancing and a range of antique military equipment and planes that were crowd favorites.

Ronald Pierce, chairman of the Minter Field Air Museum and event organizer, spoke about the featured BT13 aircraft: "450 of these trained 11,000 cadets during WWII here in Shafter at Minter Field Army Air Corps." He also shared details about the Fok.DRI 425/17 WWI replica: "It had no brakes, no starter and no accelerator."

The event also welcomed various organizations, including the Kern County Nurse Honor Guard. "We are a group of volunteer nurses, both active and retired. We attend the funerals and memorial services of deceased nurses and conduct an honor guard ceremony similar to the military, where we retire the nurse from their nursing duties, providing dignity and respect," nurse Karen Coughenour said.

The Honor Flight also participated. "We're a nonprofit that takes veterans to Washington, DC, to see the memorials built in their honor," Amy Watkins explained. "We wanted to participate because it's important to give back to the veterans who sacrificed for our freedom, and this is an excellent community event."

Guests had the opportunity to explore the museum's exhibits, including a new room dedicated exclusively to WWI. "We have a 1917 water-cooled machine gun, saddles from the era when horses and mules were used during the war, a two-month detailed diary from Pvt. S.M. Britt in 1918 outlining the war's atrocities and daily life in France, and trench art handmade by soldiers from shell casings," Pierce said.

Pierce is committed to preserving the museum's history through events like Wings 'N' Wheels. "I was out here when I was seven or eight years old, and my dad worked here. I love keeping people connected to history and understanding what Shafter and Kern County contributed to winning WWII."

A highlight of the event was the positive feedback. "Most people said it was the best Wings 'N' Wheels they've ever been to. The success feels good knowing the museum will be here for another year or more," he said.