Bloomington man donates airplane to charity

Posted on June 28, 2017

Ed Eisenberg has donated a 1972 Cherokee 180 airplane to Wings of Hope. (Photo courtesy WMBD-TV)

By Lindsey Harrison/WMBD-TV

BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington man has made a donation to a St. Louis based Aviation charity.

Wings of Hope typically only gets about 20 airplane donations a year. Ed Eisenberg became one of them by donating his 1972 Cherokee 180. He told news partner WMBD he’s had the plane since the early 80s. He used it for flying to another property he owned.

“I often use the expression of spending many hours here at (Central Illinois Regional Airport) and handing over the chain link fence, watching airplanes take off and land.” Eisenberg said.

Eisenberg said the market for selling used planes is not like it once was. He said he could have sold it but he saw Wings of Hope as a good opportunity to make a donation.

The Cherokee went through inspection yesterday and will be transported to St. Louis for another, more in-depth inspection. If the plane passes inspection, it’ll be used for medical air transport in the U-S or overseas. If it fails, it’ll be sold to raise funds in support for wings of hope programming.

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