Page 17 - Volume 15 Number 7

tang:A Tool to Tell a StoryHint: It’s Not About the Airplaneproject was languishing because of the magnitude of the undertaking.Don Hinz was a local business- man who had recently sold his large refuse business and was look- ing for a project. Don was drawn the fact that the airplane was going to honor the Tuskegee Airmen and he got onboard. Don was a vision- ary leader with the resources to expedite the effort, and in May 2001 the airplane was flying.We were a small subset of the Minnesota wing and we called ourselves the CAF Red Tail Proj- ect. Don and I flew the airplane at airshows and events all across America. But from the beginning Don understood that we needed to do more than just fly the airplane. His mission was to find a way to bring the history of the Tuskegee Airmen to life.Originally we tried to develop educational resources and curricu- lum materials. We quickly learned that teachers barely had the time to teach the subjects that weremandated, and school boards and superintendents had to approve the subject material. While that effort had someJULY 2011TWIN & TURBINE • 15s