'Extreme Makeover' films at Dover, to transform Wilmington home

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Dover Air Force Base took center stage Feb. 7 as ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' visited the base to film the introduction for an upcoming episode, scheduled to air March 30.

As part of their endeavor to rebuild a home in each of the 50 states, the film crew is in Delaware shooting a home make over for a family in Wilmington and requested the base as a location for their show opener.

The team began shooting at the base at approximately 8:30 a.m. and wrapped up around 1:30 p.m.

One of the shots on the ramp included show host, Ty Pennington, walking out of a Dover C-5 cargo hold, announcing his show-opening line, "And the renovation starts, right now."

"I watch the show all the time - I love it," said Staff Sgt. Stephanie Lukas, 9th Airlift Squadron, who was one of the aircrew members training on the C-5 chosen for an opening shot. "My heart belongs to the C-5 and considering the extreme make over it is currently getting with the avionics modernization, a portion of the show being filmed here was perfectly fitting."

The team also filmed their bus driving along the base' s perimeter road as a Dover C-17, doing touch-and-goes, came in on a low approach over Delaware Rt. 1. The bus was also filmed driving past the Dover AFB welcome sign at the main gate.

"It was a neat experience to work with these folks who have an obvious respect for the Air Force and to show them our mission and facilities," said Maj. Jacob Rosser, 436th Airlift Wing deputy chief of safety, who was on-hand during the shoot to ensure the safety of all participants during the filming.

Once the team wrapped up their shooting at the base, they went back to Wilmington, to continue filming the construction already underway on the pre-selected home there.

In keeping with the show' s tradition, the residents of the Wilmington home are currently on vacation at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Fla., and will return Tuesday to a brand new home.

"When you consider everything we do for America and for many countries around the world, especially in the aftermath of tragedies, we do many of our own extreme make overs," said Sergeant Lukas. "Ty and his show create miracles for less fortunate families. In that regard, I can relate to the crew that was here."

(1st Lt. Christina Sukach contributed to this story)