AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021 - 81

Planning, persuasion, and persistence
How the Arsenal of Democracy received clearance to fly
through the world's most restricted airspace
By Dave Hirschman
The idea sounded simple enough: To honor the Allied victory
in World War II and those who had given so much to achieve
it, volunteer pilots would fly a group of warbirds over the National Mall on the anniversary as a patriotic tribute.
But getting approval to fly more than 60 vintage aircraft-
many equipped with bomb racks and machine guns-through
some of the world's most restricted airspace was an epic tale
of planning, persistence, and persuasion.
" We needed buy-in from four FAA departments, the Secret
Service, TSA, Coast Guard, National Park Service, and National
Park Police, " said Mike Ginter, a former U.S. Navy pilot and air
boss for the Arsenal of Democracy Seventy-Fifth World War II
Victory Commemoration Flyover. " Every one of these departments ended up leaning in. Their attitude was, 'Let's make this
happen.' "
The route would take scores of warbirds, many of them flying
in formation, close to Washington Dulles International Airport
and through the Washington, D.C., Special Flight Rules Area
(SFRA); Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), and Prohibited Area 56.
Ginter credits Doug Rozendaal, a volunteer pilot with the
Commemorative Air Force, and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.),
a warbird pilot and leader in the House General Aviation Caucus, for coming up with the idea for a seventieth anniversary
flyover marking the end of World War II in Europe and seeing it
through in 2015.
" Sam Graves wrote a letter to the agencies and it was signed
by more than 20 members of Congress, " Ginter said. " That
level of bipartisan support really got their attention. "
The 2015 flyover involved 56 warbirds and drew worldwide
attention. From a bureaucratic standpoint, it also set a pre-
cedent for a repeat in 2020. Organizers and agency personnel
knew what waivers they needed to get and the steps each of
them was required to take. Air traffic controllers were familiar
with the routes and the capabilities of the airplanes taking part
because they had done it once, and it had all gone relatively
smoothly. Another event would build on that experience.
" It was a lot harder to pull off in 2015, " Ginter said. " This
time, it was relatively easy because the groundwork had already been laid. "
Unfortunately, after first being delayed by COVID-19, the
seventy-fifth anniversary flyover was grounded by low clouds-
on September 25 and its only alternate date, September 26.
Ginter said he expected it to be the largest, and possibly the
last, of its kind. Previous large-scale commemorations of historical events such as the Civil War and World War I dwindled
after the seventy-fifth anniversary. Even 100-year anniversaries
are typically smaller and lack a personal sense of connection
because the participants in the great events are no longer
living. This probably would have been the last time we got to
thank any of the World War II vets in person, he noted.
EMAIL dave.hirschman@aopa.org

RUSS LOGGINS preflights a Curtiss P-40N (at left, from top).

Arsenal of Democracy Air Boss Mike Ginter briefs pilots. Commemorative Air Force ground crewmembers talk while awaiting
a launch decision that never came. Nose art adorns a Commemorative Air Force B-25J.
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2021

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