By Meisha Fortner
Want to make your child’s next birthday take off? Try Little Pilots, a local company that will bring the restored cockpit of an F-4 Phantom jet to your next shindig.
Joe and Michelle Steimann founded Little Pilots as part of Joe’s aircraft collection and restoration hobby. The engine of the Phantom, once used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), was damaged in a fire in 1991 and eventually found its way to a scrap yard in New Mexico. In 2003, Joe bought the plane, which the Steimanns say is the only privately owned gun-nosed Phantom ever to be released, and began the 10-month restoration process.
The cockpit now serves as a photo booth, and kids (or adults) can sit in the cockpit and play with gadgets while receiving an aviation lesson. Call 636-244-0614 or e-mail littlepilots@charter.net for details.
