Foley’s historic bi-plane takes local combat vets for ride

Foley’s historic bi-plane takes local combat vets for ride

Foley’s historic N3N biplane was part in the annual Veterans Flight at the Pensacola Aviation Center at the Pensacola International Airport. The event was organized to thank those who served in World War II, the Korean Conflict and Vietnam for their service.
A variety of vintage military aircraft took veterans up during the event, but Foley’s 83-year-old aircraft was the first Navy N3N to fly in the commemoration. Other historic aircraft taking part included Stearman biplanes, T-6 Texans and a T-34 Mentor.
Phil Webb, the volunteer pilot who works with Foley to maintain and fly the N3N, said the Veterans Flight began about 12 years ago as a grass-roots initiative to recognize veterans. The 2025 Veterans Flight commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945.
“We bring in a collection of these types of aircrafts, Stearmans, biplanes that were used as trainers,” Webb said. “We started out by flying World War II veterans. We don’t have many of those World War II veterans left anymore, so since then, we started flying our Korean War veterans, and now our Vietnam era veterans. That’s how we started and we’ve been doing this every year in conjunction with the Blue Angels air show.”
Webb said several World War II veterans, all older than 100, were scheduled to take part in the Veterans Flight.
Foley acquired the N3N in 2024. Webb flew the aircraft from Long Island, New York to Foley where it is now based.
Current plans call for the aircraft to be part of a municipal display recognizing Foley being designated an American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service. The NPS designates only one city in each state or territory as an American World War II Heritage City.
During World War II, Foley was the site of a Navy base at Barin Field where thousands of aviators were trained. The city plans to develop a museum commemorating Barin Field and Foley’s role in training Navy pilots.
As the first major acquisition of the project, the N3N will be flown in the area and at aviation events to educate the public about the service and sacrifices of the pilots who served in America’s conflicts and those who helped train them and prepare them for flight.
Webb said the N3N was one of the types of planes used to train pilots who learned to fly at Barin Field.
“This is an iconic biplane that harkens back to the golden era of aviation,” Webb said. “The plane was originally designed in the 1930s and its main claim to fame was that it was used in World War Two as a primary trainer for the US Navy.”
Project supporters are working to acquire types of other aircraft used at Barin Field and other historic items that will also be part of the display. The city recently acquired a non-flying T-34B Mentor on a long-term loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola.
The Navy acquired the N3N in 1941. Almost 1,000 N3Ns were manufactured between 1935 and 1942. The model was the last biplane used in United States military service with the last aircraft being retired in 1959.