Local veterans take to the skies in open-cockpit World War II-era biplane

As the bright sun rose over the mountains Friday, 10 veterans wearing sweatshirts with the names of their living facility — The Ridge Senior Living — sat in a hangar, waiting to do something they had not done in decades: fly in a military plane.

As one sang the United States Air Force song — "Off we go into the wild blue yonder" — others sat in excitement, as they shared stories about their time in the armed forces.

Peter Arenskov was a fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He estimated he flew 180 missions but had not been in a plane like this World War II biplane — or any military plane — in years.

"I think I was the first one to raise my hand when they asked who wanted to come," he said. "Once an aviator, always an aviator. It's in your blood. So, I'm looking forward to being up there and getting control over the airplane. In the Navy, they let me play with the big boy toys, so I'm ready to fly."

Neither Arenskov nor the other members of the crew would get ahold of the controls, but they were able to learn about the folks taking them up into the sky.

Dream Flights, a nonprofit based in Nevada, provided individual flights for each veteran waiting in the hangar Friday morning. Darryl Fisher, the founder of the organization and the day's pilot, flew the first vet on his plane in 2011. His family has owned this trainer plane since 1946 and he had it restored in 2009.

Diane Macheers, vice president of marketing and communications at The Ridge, reached out to Dream Flights to see if they could come to Utah and fly some of her veteran clients. She was impressed by the work they were doing and knew this was something some of the veterans would want to do.

A few months ago, the agency flew its 7,000th veteran passengers, with nearly 700 rides each year going to World War II, Korea and Vietnam vets.

Zadell Blunck, a former Air Force nurse who trained for her "wings" decades before in the early 1960s, was the first vet in the WWII biplane on Friday morning at South Valley Regional Airport, a plane built the year she was born, 1940.

"I like an adventure. The Air Force put me on lots of adventures — seeing some things you'd never see," Blunck said, as she prepared to be the first passenger of the day. "I know some people are probably afraid to go up there, but not me. I'm looking forward to it."

She enjoyed her time in the Air Force and would tell anyone to join the branch, especially if they were unsure what they wanted to do with their life. Her decision to join was not always met with family support — her father gave her plenty of pushback when she said in 1961 that she would join the Air Force.

Before taking Blunck on the first flight of the day, Fisher told the group of 10 veterans he was thankful for their service and these flights are a way to show gratitude for all they had done for the country.

"Despite what anybody says today, (this) is all about you," he said."Today we're going to have a great time. We're going to have a lot of fun. It's just a beautiful day to fly."

Blunck's daughter, Heidi Clark, was in the hangar before her mother and was right at the plane's wing when she landed.

"I was excited to come watch and see what it was like," she said. "It often thought it took courage to do something really different ... courage and a sense of adventure."

If Clark was worried about her mother flying on such a small plane — or flying at all — she need not be. When she landed, Blunck got on the ground, ready to take pictures and have Fisher sign a hat for her. She could not help but compare her time on the World War II plane to her time flying with the Air Force.

“They treated us nicer than the Air Force did back in those days. You would fly straight to where you were going and get to work,” Blunck said. “This was very pleasant. It was nice. We got both sides of the window and you could see everything. This was the royal treatment, let me tell you.”