Champion Red Bull Plane on Display for Limited Time
Aug. 5—There's a new, sleek beauty at the Rowland Freedom Center in Vacaville, and she has wings.
Sporting a navy blue top with stars , a silver belly and sunflower-yellow and orange flames blasting back from the nose, the Zivko Edge 540 is a looker.
It's also fast, a trim 20-feet, 7-inches long with a 24-foot, 4-inch wing span. The aerobatic aircraft is reportedly has a 420-degree-per-second roll rate and a 3,700-foot-per-minute climb rate.
The plane, Rowland's Paul Mirich said, is a Red Bull aircraft flown by stunt pilot Kirby Chambliss.
A patron who often loans aircraft to display at the museum had asked Mirich if he was interested in exhibiting the Edge. The answer was a resounding yes.
"It flies in all kinds of air shows," Mirich pointed out, indicating the striped and starred tail notating the wins.
Indeed, the plane is a winner, a five-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion (1998, 2002-05) and two-time Red Bull Air Race World Champion (2004, 2006).
Earlier this week, the plane flew in from Washington by way of Oshkosh, Wisc. It will fly out again on Wednesday.
Other new displays includes one of a Top-Gun era military flight suit. Adjacent is a life-size prop advertising the new movie.
"It's a replica of what he (Tom Cruise) would have worn in the first film," Mirich advised.
The second, he added, has World War II references, including the storied Doolittle Raid.
Soon to be displayed is a piece of the World War II-era USS Missouri. It was just acquired, Mirich said, and an exhibit is being developed.
The Rowland Freedom Center, located at the Nut Tree Airport, is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. On days of excessive heat, the museum may close early as it does not have air conditioning.
Suggested admission donation is: Adults age 18-64, $5; kids age 4-17, $3; active duty military, veterans, patrons 65 and older and kids under age 3, free.
For more information, visit http://rowlandfreedomcenter.org/.
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