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Health & Fitness

BLOG: Experience a Part of History in Inver Grove Heights

Snappy had the pleasure of taking a tour of the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) Museum of Minnesota, 310 Airport Road Hangar #3, Fleming Field, South St. Paul.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Commemorative Air Force Museum, conveniently located in my "back yard!" Did you know this is where the former President Bush got his wings? Also, there are several WW2 planes, including their well-known, Miss Mitchell, a North American B-25J. You can experience history by taking a ride in one of their aircraft. The wing is home to five of the CAF's approximately 100 flying examples of aircraft history. One of the only two remaining examples of the North American P-51C still flying, Tuskegee Airmen Red Tail Squadron, also call this hangar home.

The hangar was bustling with volunteers on Small Business Saturday and the PX had a few visitors as well. The PX has some great new beanies and very nice aviator jackets. It's a great time of year for gift buying - consider a gift certificate for someone special to experience history in one of these historic aircraft or one of the jackets or t-shirts for one of your favorite aviators!

I've included a peek into the museum in the cold months, when the volunteers are busy doing maintenance on the aircraft, preparing for the warmer months when they have them out to display and fly. One of the more unique things about this museum is that you can actually get right up to the planes, ask questions, touch them, and with assistance, even go inside if you like!

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OPEN YEAR ROUND. For more information, go to www.cafmn.org or call 651-455-6942. Email: info@cafmn.org

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