White Co Airport gets new addition

MONTICELLO, Ind. - People passing through Monticello may have noticed some unique aircrafts when looking to the skies.

"Just the planes alone flying over the city. People love airplanes. There's no doubt about it everyone has a little bit of a kid in them, and so they're coming out to see these big aircrafts," said White County Airport Assistant Manager Derek Shannon.

Large aircrafts like the DC3, an AC47 Gunship, took off from the White County Airport to honor war veterans and celebrate the opening of the airport's new main terminal. The new terminal has a conference room, offices, and a flight planning room.

"Private pilots can go in there and lay out their maps and they can plan their routes," said Shannon.

One of the main attractions at the event was the Huey, a helicopter used in the Vietnam War. For Pilot Dave Van Lier the experience brought back many memories.

"I haven't flown in a Huey since 1976. I was in the guard, and in those days it was just another airplane to me. To not hear the sound and see it and see what the story is now and talk to these veterans forty years later...it's pretty rare," said Van Lier

Delphi resident Peggy Pickett who has sons in the military says the event is a the rare opportunity to educate her grandchildren.

"It's very important that they understand that the armed services is here to protect us, and so we brought them out to see the planes," said Pickett.

White County Airport Assistant Manager Derek Shannon says he hopes the event helps the White County Airport grow.

"We'd like to make it a bigger part of the community, and that's kind of another reason why we're having this event to show them hey we're here and we've got this new terminal. We do want this to be a bigger part of White County," said Shannon.