Warbird

A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals or, in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight and the South African Air Force Museum Historic Flight.

Restored warbirds are a frequent attraction at airshows. Highly modified as well as "stock" warbirds can also frequently be seen at air races, since World War II-era fighters are among the fastest propeller-driven airplanes ever built. Some of the most popular warbirds for races are the North American P-51 Mustang, the Hawker Sea Fury, the Grumman F8F Bearcat and the North American T-6 Texan.

Naming

Although the term originally implied piston-driven aircraft from the World War II era, it is now often extended to include all airworthy former military aircraft, including jet-powered aircraft. Vintage jet aircraft in airworthy condition, however, are much rarer due to technical complexity.

Sometimes, newly built replicas and reproductions of vintage aircraft are called "warbirds," such as Allison V-1710-powered Yakovlev Yak-9s from Yakovlev, Messerschmitt Me 262s built by the Me 262 Project and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s by Flug Werk; this can include any one of a large number of different aircraft designs from between World War I the late 1930s, when military aircraft design was less complex. Such replicated warbirds may even be powered by vintage engines from the era of the aircraft design being flown, as Cole Palen did at his Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome aviation museum with accurate and airworthy reproductions of the Fokker Dr.I, Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Dolphin World War I aircraft.

Planes of Fame Air Museum

Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum located in Chino, California, and Valle, Arizona. The museum has many flying and static aircraft, along with multiple rare examples under restoration.

History

Planes of Fame Air Museum was founded by Edward T. Maloney on January 12, 1957 in Claremont, California, to save historically important aircraft. At that time, it was called "The Air Museum". A small group of volunteers, including future Museum president Steve Hinton, set out to make the museum's aircraft flyable.

As the Museum's collection of aircraft and memorabilia continued to grow, it became necessary to find a new home with enough space to house everything. In 1962 the museum relocated to nearby Ontario Airport, Ontario, California.

A few years later, in 1970, redevelopment of the airport at Ontario forced The Air Museum to move again. The non-flyable aircraft became part of the "Movie World: Cars of the Stars and Planes of Fame Museum" in Buena Park, California, located near Knott's Berry Farm, while the flyable aircraft relocated to Chino Airport, about 30 miles (48 km) away. When Movie World closed, the name "Planes of Fame" stayed.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In) is an annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport (43°59′04″N 088°33′25″W / 43.98444°N 88.55694°W / 43.98444; -88.55694) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The airshow is sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), an international organization based in Oshkosh, and is the largest of its kind in the world. The show lasts a week, usually beginning on the last Monday in July. During the gathering, the airport's control tower is the busiest in the world.

History

EAA was founded in Hales Corners, Wisconsin in 1953 by Paul Poberezny, who originally started the organization in the basement of his home for builders and restorers of recreational aircraft. Although homebuilding is still a large part of the organization's activities, it has grown to include almost every aspect of recreational aviation and aeronautics. The first EAA fly-in was held in September 1953 at what is now Timmerman Field as a small part of the Milwaukee Air Pageant, fewer than 150 people registered as visitors the first year and only a handful of airplanes attended the event. In 1959, the EAA fly-in grew too large for the Air Pageant and moved to Rockford, Illinois. In 1970, when it outgrew its facilities at the Rockford airport, it moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.