The Wichita City Council approved a group's plan to purchase an aircraft similar to the one flown by the city's lone aviation Medal of Honor recipient.
The Lt. Erwin Bleckley Memorial Committee wants to purchase the plane to display inside Eisenhower National Airport. Airport Director Victor White says the installation can't hinder airport operations or functions. When asked what the committee would do if the plane wouldn't fit, he said "I don't know if the group has a Plan B, if they buy it and then it won't fit, or it will fit but they can't put it where they want to put it."
All costs of the project, including engineering studies and installation, would be paid for by the committee's charitable foundation.
Lt. Bleckley was shot down by German forces in October 1918 during World War I, while on a mission to locate a lost battalion. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1923.
