When Jon Vesely and Mike Vadebonceour found themselves in a position to choose the identity of a Mustang restoration they decided to think outside the box. The result was a bold and accurate recreation of a Korean War Mustang.
During the Korean War the MiG-15 and F-86 were contemporary, competing designs that provided the means to deadly aerial combat. American test pilots of the early jet era praised the strengths of the Soviet design when they put a captured aircraft through its paces. Today the qualities that made it a challenging adversary can be experienced in a two-seat MiG-15 at the Jet Warbird Training Center.
When Charlie Lynch was looking for an airplane the whole family could travel in, he didn’t choose a Baron or King Air because his wife, Elizabeth, had other ideas. When she told him to buy a TBM Avenger he wasn’t going to argue because she’s the boss.
The only flying Pilatus P-2 in the United States was recently returned to flight status and publicly unveiled at the Planes of Fame’s annual air show in Chino, California. It took English-born Simon Diver, Kent Holiday, and a crew of volunteer seven years to complete, but this Swiss Miss is finally flying once more.
When people think of Chino, California they think of the Planes of Fame Museum. When they think of the museum they think of World War II airplanes, but the collection includes an amazing array of more modern warbirds, including 18 static jet and rocket planes, three full scale replicas, and ten flyable jets.
Only a year ago the warbird world was abuzz with talk of pending doom at the Military Aircraft Museum in Virginia Beach, VA, but perseverance paid off for Jerry Yagen. To the delight of everyone, the annual Warbirds Over the Beach air show was back again this year.
