A PA-28 Warrior Bonanza Air Force aircraft now welcomes everyone who enters Guardamar del Segura at its northern entrance. Unveiled on Saturday, the monument is a tribute from the town of Guardamar to Spanish Aviation and has been erected by the local Aeromodelling Club. The impressive aircraft was used by the Spanish Air Force for many years as a pilot trainer.
The plane itself was in poor condition following an accident. It was bound for the scrapyard but a year ago the members of the Aeromodelling Club bought it from the Aeroclub of Alicante.
After Many hundreds of hours of restoration the bodywork of the aircraft is now back in pristine condition, so contact was made with the Ayuntamiento with a request that it be sited as a monument, at an appropriate location in the city.
The club finally say its request satisfied when it was erected on a plinth, several meters from the ground, simulating the aircraft in flight. The location was a park next to the roundabout access at the northern edge of the municipality.
The official unveiling took place on Saturday by the mayor of Guardamar del Segura, José Luis Sáez, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Luis González and the president of the Guardamar Aeromodelling Club, Vicente Aracil.
Saez described the ceremony as “very emotional”, first for the tribute to the Spanish Aviation, but also because of the presence of the relatives of Manolo Rivera, a local Air Force pilot who died in a plane crash in 2003. Luis González said that the act “has a very special significance for me, as Manolo Rivera was a great friend.
Vicente Aracil thanked the City Council adding that he was very proud. “Today is a day of pride for all the guardamarencos since in this is the first such monument in the province of Alicante.”
The ceremony was also attended by many local people as well as members of the municipal corporation, the Civil Guard, the Local Police and representatives of aeromodelling clubs in the provinces of Alicante and Murcia.
