Dream Flights honors 4 Batavia veterans with ride in vintage biplane

A special effort to honor veterans for their service took flight Wednesday.

Four veterans from Batavia were treated to rides in an open-cockpit vintage biplane at the DuPage County Airport, hosted by Dream Flights.

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Army veteran David Salstrom has been waiting a long time for a chance to fly in an open-cockpit vintage biplane. For the 92-year-old army veteran who served in Germany in the 50s, it was a once in a lifetime thrill.

"I think it's gonna be fun," Salstrom said.

Salstrom did take the controls or fly the plane himself, however.

"I don't think so... not a good idea," he said.

He got to sit back and enjoy the ride.

With a few last minute instructions, they were off. The 15-minute flight around the area included Covenant Living at the Homestead in South Elgin, where they are living. For some of the veterans, this was their first non-commercial flight in many decades.

"I understand all the instrumentation, so I knew everything that was goin on," retired Navy Commander Chuck Schwarz said. "So I just enjoyed the ride. Fantastic."

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"Being able to tell their story is important to our country," said Alyssa Van Meter with Dream Flights. "It's important to our history, making sure their sacrifices don't go unnoticed."

Getting in the front cockpit seat of the plane does take a little bit of dexterity, but once they were strapped in and ready, it was the experience of a lifetime. Army veteran Jeff Frantz took some video from the flight on his phone to share with ABC7

"It was a great experience," Frantz said. "I couldn't imagine having the opportunity to do that."

Dream Flights is operated mostly by volunteers who want to honor veterans for their service. The Homestead was thrilled for their residents who are veterans.

"It's great to see their smiles," Anna Marie Neave said. "That's the best part, seeing them get off the plane with a thumbs up and a smile. Makes it all worth it."

Five total veterans got a chance to fly Wednesday, and they're expecting to make it an annual event so eventually every veteran gets an opportunity.