In March 2011, Darryl Fisher and his father, Bill, were flying a Boeing Stearman biplane across the country when Darryl had an idea: offer a free ride to a veteran at every stop. The first stop was Oxford, Mississippi. Fifteen years and more than 8,000 flights later, the rides are still going.

A Gas Stop in Mississippi

The plane was a Stearman, the open-cockpit biplane that trained military pilots during World War II. Bill Fisher had bought this one in 1982 after it served as a crop duster. His son was a senior-living executive and a third-generation pilot.

The first Dream Flight was given in that plane, nicknamed the Red Duster, on March 29, 2011. Its passenger was Hugh Newton, a World War II veteran.

When it was over, Newton's wife put a hand on Darryl's shoulder. "You have no idea what you've just done for my husband," she told him.

That sentence turned a cross-country flight into a nonprofit. Darryl and his wife, Carol, founded it that year.

Volunteers, Not Paychecks

Dream Flights runs on donations, with volunteer pilots and ground crews. Veterans living in retirement communities and long-term care ride at no cost.

A flight lasts about 15 minutes and climbs to 1,000 feet. The veteran sits in the open front cockpit while a pilot flies from behind.

By December 2020, the group had given 4,242 flights. In a 61-day tour in 2021, six touring Stearmans flew 891 World War II veterans in 47 states.

The 8,000th Flight

On March 26, 2026, Dream Flights took eight veterans up in a restored World War II-era Stearman at Chandler Municipal Airport in Arizona. The first to go up was a 101-year-old Navy veteran from Payson. It was the group's 8,000th flight.

"Today's our 8,000th flight, and I'm wrapping my head around that," Fisher said.

His father did not see that day. William Fisher, who gave his own Stearman to the program and was there for the very first flight, has since died.

Still on the Road

The tour kept moving. On Labor Day 2026, a 1943 Stearman landed in Iowa City, and volunteer pilot Kurt Bohlken and his wife, Amy, took local veterans up.

"Sometimes they get on the plane and they come back as 25 year olds again," Amy Bohlken said. "It's really sweet, it's fun."

Veterans or their families can be nominated through the Dream Flights website, and the Stearmans keep touring.

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