P-51C Mustang "Tuskegee Airmen"

~ P-51C Mustang "Tuskegee Airmen" ~

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		Don Hinz was the pilot for this air show. Please see news story & photos below.

May 30, 2004

KARE-11 TV

Air Show Pilot Dies in Hospital After Crash

An air show pilot died Sunday morning at Regions Hospital in St. Paul of injuries suffered when the World War II-era airplane he was flying crashed near the Red Wing airport.

Sixty-year-old Donald Hinz of Woodbury was fatally injured when the P-51C Mustang fighter plane crashed Saturday afternoon during the Wings of Freedom Airshow in Wisconsin.

An air show spokesman says a mechanical failure forced Hinz to try to land the 59-year-old plane. The plane crashed in a semi-rural area about a mile west of the airport, which is located in Bay City, Wisconsin.

The "Red Tail" was painted to commemorate the Tuskegee fighters and used a number of their paint schemes to represent all of the units of African/American pilots who flew the P-51 in WWII.

This P-51C was one of the only model "C" or "Razorback" models left flying. Hinz had been instrumental in getting the "redtail" restored to flying condition, and keeping the history of the Tuskegee airmen alive.

Don “Pappy” Hinz, enlisted in the United States Navy in 1965 and completed the Navy's Nuclear Power Submarine program. He was assigned to the nuclear reactor facility in Windsor, Connecticut. Don was selected and assigned to attend University of Colorado where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1970.

In 1972 Lt Hinz received his wings and a Masters of Science degree in Aerospace while stationed at Kingsville, Texas. He was then reassigned to Air Wing II as an advance jet instructor pilot, training Naval aviators in the TA4 Skyhawk.

Don was assigned to the USS Ranger CV61 and cruised through the Pacific and Asia flying A7E’s. He had 140 carrier landings during his tour. Commander Hinz had accumulated more than 5,250 flight hours, with over 2,000 flight hours in A-4’s and A-7E’s.

Hinz was an experienced pilot and a member of the Minnesota Wing Commemorative Air Force, which puts on the annual air show.

For more information, see redtail.org

Wire reports contributed to this article.
Special thanks to fighterpilotsusa.com and redtail.org.

In Memory of Don Hinz
Don Hinz ~ Pilot Ray Pittman Photo Click to open in a new window
P-51C Mustang "Tuskegee Airmen"	Don Hinz ~ Pilot	Propeller after crash
Wings of the North Air Show Eden Prairie, MN July 2004 Click to open in a new window	Wings of the North Air Show Eden Prairie, MN July 2004 Click to open in a new window	Wings of the North Air Show Eden Prairie, MN July 2004 Click to open in a new window
One Year Later Memorial to Don Hinz Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Memorial to Don Hinz Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window
One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window
One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window
One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window	One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window
One Year Later Wings of Freedom Air Show Red Wing, MN May 2005 Click to open in a new window

~ Additional Online Information ~

P-51C Mustang "Tuskegee Airmen"

The Red Tail Project ~ Honoring the Tuskegee Airmen

Keep 'Em Flying ~ P-51C Mustang

Red Tail Rebuild Project

Support the Red Tail Project

Don Hinz Memorial

Back to the 2004 Wings of Freedom Photo Gallery Index