China VIP Tour

25/09/2018

This 10 min. video (with English subtitles plus some English) celebrating the addition to the park of the C47 "Buzz Buggy" was shown to our 2017 VIP tour group at our VIP banquet following the Dedication Ceremony for "Buzz Buggy" - and is now shown in the new museum. It starts with scenes from the 2015 Dedication Ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the Flying Tigers Heritage Park & Museum outside Guilin, China at the site of one of the major airfields used by the Flying Tigers in WW II - attended by Vice Premier Liu Yandong and other dignitaries as well as our 2015 VIP tour group. It traces some of the journey of Buzz Buggy to get from near Sydney, AU over the Himalayas (the "Hump") and on to Guilin, China - a saga that endured numerous daily challenges - including TWO engine failures and replacements - from Aug. 15 thru Nov. 19, 2016. Included is substantial footage from WW II. Note: there are a few errors in the subtitle translation. [You can contrast Larry Jobe before and after his weight loss done the old-fashioned way and still holding - haha!]

25/09/2018

Armchair tour of the new Flying Tigers Heritage Park & Museum of Guilin - the following site features 360° views and tours of the Flying Tigers Heritage Park & Museum of Guilin: http://www.expoon.com/20237/ (copy/paste).

First, it should load and open automatically; but if not, click on the round icon to enter the site and then let it load up.

Look for the translucent white circle with 4 squares at the bottom left to display the lineup of the videos and click on it. However, if you do nothing, it will proceed to play each 360° tour in order, advancing slowly and automatically. You can click on #7 where the actual park and museum tours begin in order to start the automatic viewing from there and bypass the first 6 aerial drone views of Guilin city and Linghui County.

You can cancel the music and/or pause the movement by the two icons in the lower right-hand side. You can also go full-screen by clicking on the set of 4 outward-pointing arrows on the far right near the top. Use you CURSOR to move the images around 360° as you desire.

The actual park & museum tours begin with #7 and continues through the end ( #28).

Each 360° tour segment has yellow arrows to lead you to the next views (and red arrows lead you back out) IF you want to control the action instead of letting the automatic viewing function instead. Clicking on a BLINKING RED LIGHT BULB gives you a drop-down menu with great photos BENEATH the Chinese verbiage.

There are 4 drop-down tabs at the top right. The first one includes still photos from the park and museum. The other 3 are articles written in Chinese.

Note - on the first park & museum tour video ( #7) - of the entrance - you will see 2 small blue & white open book icons - click on each to see the brochure and pamphlet (the resolution is poor and NOT very readable) - turn the pages as indicated. The hours of operation are found on the back of the brochure but it does not specify which days might be closed. China has made all museums free for their citizens but many are closed on Mondays and holidays. So far this museum appears to be free admittance for everyone and it is getting a LOT of interest and traffic by local residents, tourists and school groups.

There are still many articles and artifacts to be added. The site only scratches the surface of the many wonderful sights outside and in, nor can it include the many wonderful audio/visual aids throughout (old newsreels, interviews, animated dioramas, etc.), nor can you get a proper tour of Gen. Claire Chennault's HQ and Command Cave - a restoration project that the Flying Tigers Historical Organization is still trying to fund-raise for in order to show it in its proper, more-original WW II appearance when it was in full use. One must see this park, museum and cave in person to truly appreciate the honor and tribute paid by the outstanding efforts of the people of Linghui County and Guilin, China.

Here is another 360° armchair tour – many of the segments are even better than the English version but are all in Chinese: http://www.feiyuan360.com/HSH/GuangXi/GuiLin/FeiHuDui/tour.html (copy/paste). The last 2 are special descriptive videos but again are all in Chinese. The last segment shows Buzz Buggy and Gen. Claire Chennault’s Command Cave as it is currently depicted.

美国飞虎队桂林遗址公园

25/09/2018

Here we go again! Don't miss out - be a part of a very special (since 2004) VIP Tour of China! Deadline to receive your reservation form to guarantee a place in our group is OCT. 24, 2018. All details can be found at www.TravelAireTours.com.

15/01/2018

NOTICE to the folks in the PHOENIX, AZ area: Larry Jobe will be presenting the epic tale of the HUMP flight saga at Sunland Springs Village, Mesa, AZ next SAT night . Hear this hair-raising but eventually successful tale of a crew of mostly guys in their 70s flying a 72-year-old C47 (DC3) nearly 7000 miles from near Sydney, AU over the Himalayas to China to commemorate the "HUMP" flights in WW II that helped save China and supplied our forces there. Learn how an 8-10 day trip turned into 96 days full of challenges that nearly derailed it altogether. The ticket price is only to cover the rental of the facility. IF there is any overage, it will be donated to the Flying Tigers Historical Organization towards the restoration of Gen. Chennault's Command Cave at the site of the new Flying Tigers Heritage Park & Museum in Guilin, China where the C47 "Buzz Buggy" now sits on display.
TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR - Address: Springwood Auditorium, 2240 South Springwood Blvd. Mesa, AZ 85209

Directions: Highway 60 to Signal Butte Road, South to Baseline, tum East,
Stay in the right (outside lane), Turn South at the second light, Continue less than 1/2 mile, The "EVENT" will be on your right.

20/04/2017

To view photos gathered so far from the 2017 VIP China tour, go to http://china9a.smugmug.com and enter the site with the current password of " FeiHu " - then select "Our Annual VIP American Aviators Tours of China" - then select "2017 China Tour" album. The majority of photos are in the Barbara Bussler sub-folder. The BIG EVENT day is in her 2017-03-25 gallery for the Dedication Ceremony for the C47 Buzz Buggy followed by the evening VIP Banquet. I will be adding many more photos + video clips in the weeks to follow.

and mascot "PANDAmonium"

11/03/2017

While preparing for this year's tour I thought I should quickly put an album together showing some of the highlights from that spectacular tour.
It is by all means not complete and please feel free to add locations, comments, memories etc. That year the tour started in Shanghai and ended in Beijing, with all the highlights including visiting the Flying Tiger Heritage Park and Museum in between.
Photos by BB/FTHO

23/02/2017

24/12/2016

Happy Holidays from everybody at Travel Aire! We are very excited about our upcoming tour in March 2017, especially with the added highlight of visiting the Flying Tiger Heritage Park and its newest attraction - Buzz Buggy, a C-47 that just finished a commemorative Hump flight and is now on display there at the park and is already a big hit with visitors of any age.
See you in 2017!

24/09/2016

PROGRESS - at last!

Update on the Hump Flight - from Larry Jobe

Today is Saturday, September 24, 2016 in Surabaya. The plane has been on the ground since August 18th. I cannot begin to explain how complicated and expensive this has been.

Most of our problems come from and expense comes from government red tape. We asked the Chinese Consulate for their help, and they have been amazing! With their help, and for the first time in over a month, I feel like we might have a chance of completing this historic flight. Just as in WW II, the friendship and cooperation of the American and Chinese people was necessary to deal with this situation. The Chinese Consulate was able to get the engine through Surabayan customs, engage on our side the Indonesian Navy (who owns the airport but doesn’t control it), determine what we will need to do to depart Surabaya and is standing by to help with any additional problems. The word amazing is inadequate to describe what they have accomplished.

I anticipate that we will face some additional problems; but with a strong ally like the Chinese Consulate, we have a much better chance of avoiding these. We will bring the crew in to Surabaya on Wed., Sept. 28th and hope to leave for Johor/Baharu on Oct. 3rd. We would then arrive in U-Tapao Oct. 4th, Mandalay Oct. 5th, Kunming Oct. 6th, and Guilin Oct 7th.

This time line assumes we have no additional problems or delays from weather, mechanical, or political events and problems.

Despite the GREAT generosity of people through our GoFundMe campaign, we are still woefully short on funds - but I think we can just make it. The GoFundMe campaign has afforded the cost of the engine and most of the shipment to Surabaya. We are continuing in our efforts to raise more funds.

The fact that the volunteer crew has hung in there is what has and will allow this flight to succeed. Without their continued support and subsequent disruption to their own lives, we would have been dead in the water.

Many, many people and countries need recognized and thanked for their efforts to honor and shine a light on this amazing chapter of our joint histories. It is our “Finest Generation” we honor, and these men and women involved in this endeavor are the “Finest” you will find in our countries today.

Blue Skies, Larry - https://www.gofundme.com/25ccc2zw

19/08/2016

This pails in comparison to what CNAC and CBI experienced in WW II. It is a serious setback but we are all pressing forward. Say tuned. The FTHO page is the best place to get informed of continuing developments. Go there and LIKE the page and you will be in the info loop!

15/08/2016

This historic Commemorative HUMP FLIGHT adventure begins! It lifted off from beautiful Bathurst, NSW, Australia at 11:44 AM their time (6:44 PM PDST) - will be landing at Longreach (original home of Qantas) in about 90 min. from now per a message just received from Larry Jobe who says it is all going well!

14/08/2016

We were on the front cover of the AUG issue of "In Flight USA" and our feature article begins on page 4:
http://issuu.com/inflightusa/docs/in_flight_usa_august_2016?e=2587358/37847556

In Flight USA is the magazine that serves general aviation throughout the United States.

14/08/2016

Our next and LAST personally escorted tour:
www.TravelAireTours.com

's 12th Annual Exclusive EscortedAmerican Aviators VIP Tour of ChinaSPECIAL $3399* ALL 5-star - 17 days - March 15 through March 31, 2017**************************************************

13/08/2016

Second Battle of Shanghai

12/07/2015

This will be a great addition to the incredible Flying Tiger Heritage Park and Museum which opened on our 2015 China tour!

Documentary honoring CBI pilots who challenged the Himalaya’s to help win WWII.

28/02/2015

Just a bit more than two weeks and we are off to China! I'm getting very excited when I look at my photos from the last trip in 2013. Here is a shot from the ceremony at the Flying Tiger Museum near Guilin - it's going to be spectacular to being treated to a special ceremony for it's opening!