Alan Henley and son.
When former Aeroshell Team Leader Alan Henley was severely injured last year in a home accident, his flying friends quickly came up with the idea to raise money to offset his massive medical costs: an airshow.
They carried it off in spectacular fashion April 18 and 19 at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Fla., where more than 30 performers flew each day--and all donated their services and paid their own expenses to be there. More than 28,000 people attended the two-day event, and organizers told Henley, his wife Jennifer, and kids Skylar and Brandon the result at Sun ’n Fun on April 25. The Jacksonville show raised $110,000 for the Alan Henley Foundation.
Alan Henley and family with the Aeroshell Team.
“The aviation community is a very caring and dedicated group of people,” said Henley, who lost the use of his legs and has limited mobility in his arms as the result of an accident on a chin-up bar. “They take care of each other. It’s an honor to be considered one of them. This will definitely help us out quite a bit.”
The Aeroshell Team, a group that flies four North American A/T-6s, flew their aerobatic formation routines in Jacksonville and performed all week at Sun ’n Fun.