Magic of Dream Flights
Giving Back To Those Who Gave
Nonprofit Dream Flights was established in 2011 by senior living leader and aviator Darryl Fisher and his wife, Carol, to honor senior veterans for their service by giving them an experience that would stay with them forever.
A Dream Flight is a 15-minute adventure that takes veterans as young as 105 years old soaring 1,000 feet in a restored WWII-era open cockpit biplane.
The magic of Dream Flights started on March 29, 2011, during a father/son barnstorming trip. Darryl and his dad were flying the patriarch’s hot-red 1940 Stearman biplane back home to Oregon when they stopped in Oxford, Miss. They filled her up with gas and gave a flight to Hugh Newton, a WWII veteran who lived in a nearby retirement community. Hugh’s wife told Darryl after the flight, “You have no idea what you’ve just done for my husband.”
Hugh Newton became the first of nearly 7,000 senior veterans in 49 states to experience the magic of a Dream Flight. Dream Flights has been privileged to honor heroes who served abroad and stateside during WWII, Korea, and the Vietnam wars. During Dream Flights’ 61-day Operation September Freedom Tour in 2021, Dream Flights landed in 47 states and 333 cities to honor 891 members of the greatest generation.
Dream Flights is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit serving and honoring veterans in senior living communities across the United States.
Dream Flights’ Mission…
of giving back to those who gave is fulfilled by a crew of pilot volunteers who fly coast-to-coast giving senior veterans free flights in fully restored open-cockpit biplanes. We never charge veterans or their families for a Dream Flight, thanks to the generosity of our volunteers, sponsors, and donors.
Thank You To Our Amazing Partners!
