GREENVILLE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Dozens of teams competed for bragging rights by determining who could pull a 200,000-pound FedEx A300 plane 20 feet in the shortest amount of time.
32 teams were registered to take part in Saturday’s ‘Pulling for Honor’ competition at Appleton International Airport in Greenville.
The event is a fundraiser for the Old Glory Honor Flight program.
Teams consisting of up to 20 members had to raise at least $1,500 to participate.
Using a rope, they pulled the empty plane.
Prizes were awarded for the top three fastest pulls, most funds raised and slowest pull.
The Old Glory Honor Flight program takes veterans to Washington, D.C. to see memorials in their honor.
“No one flight is ever the same. We have veterans that are really excited to go see their memorials and some of them don’t know if they can actually face their memorial because many of them lost their buddies, their brothers in the service. And when they get to the memorial, they actually get very nervous and very apprehensive about going. Especially to the wall. And we’re able, most of them, to get them to the wall and then you start the healing. You can see it in their eyes, in their expression, in the way they carry themselves. You see that healing begin and that’s what it’s all about”, says Old Glory Honor Flight board member Lorraine Van Kampen.
The winner of this year’s competition was the Dodge Correctional team with a time of 7.488 seconds.
The team that logged the slowest time was JTF Brewtown with an official pull time of 83.324 seconds.
Organizers hoped to raise $150,000 this year. They say it will be a few days before the total amount is known.
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