Source: Valiant Air Command.
The Valiant Air Command’s TBM Avenger flew for the first time on April 25 after 14 years of restoration work.
More information and a video of the first flight can be found on the VAC’s Facebook page.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/04/29/valiant-air-command-tbm-avenger-flies-again/
Apr 27 2015
Chanute Air Museum to close by the end of the year
The replica Chanute Glider at the Chanute Air Museum (Photo Chris Light (CC BY-SA 3.0))
The Air Museum Network reports that the Chanute Air Museum will close by the end of 2015. “This was not an easy decision for anybody,” Nancy Kobel, air museum board president, said. She said finances was the primary reason for the action.
The museum has been operating since 1994 and houses a collection of over 40 aircraft including military fighters, bombers, rescue, recon, and cargo aircraft. Many of these were used for training purposes at Chanute, and most are on loan from the United States Air Force Museum. Other exhibits of note include a replica of the Wright 1903 Flyer, a large collection of Frasca Flight Simulators, and tributes to the veterans who have served in America’s conflicts and wars.
Read the full article on Air Museum Network
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/04/27/chanute-air-museum-to-close-by-the-end-of-the-year/
Apr 18 2015
A Lockheed Constellation for Lewis Air Legends
A Lockheed C-69 Constellation in 1943 (Photo USAF).
Planes of Fame Air Museum’s Lockheed VC-121A Constellation has been sold to Lewis Air Legends of Texas who plans to restore the Aircraft to flying condition.
This ‘Connie’ named ‘Bataan’ was the personal aircraft of General Douglas MacArthur Supreme Commander Allied Powers during the Korean War. We look forward to seeing it fly on the Airshow circuit. The Planes of Fame Air Museum acquired the aircraft over 20 years ago and operated it for a short time before putting it on display at our Valle, AZ location. The sale of this aircraft will help advance our mission of preserving aviation history, inspiring interest in aviation, educating the public and honoring aviation pioneers and veterans.
Source: Planes of Fame Museum, April 10, 2015
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/04/18/a-lockheed-constellation-for-lewis-air-legends/
Apr 11 2015
A new look for Bravo Bravo Aviation !
Bravo Bravo Aviation, editor of World Warbird News, is proud to present the new version of its website. The new website is better-looking and comes loaded with useful features, especially when viewed from a tablet or smartphone.
We’ve also made improvements to the way orders are handled: not only are shipping fees are now calculated more precisely to make sure you don’t pay too much, we are also offering free shipping for orders over 50€ !
Creating the new website has been quite time-consuming, and only a handful of new prints have been added recently. Now that we’re done creating the new version, we’ll shortly be adding many new exciting types to our collection: Hawker Hurricane, Mirage IIIE, Gee Bee QED, DH.88 Comet, de Havilland Moth ou encore Dewoitine D.520 pour n’en citer que quelques-uns…
Please feel free to visit our new website and share your thoughts and suggestions below!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/04/11/a-new-look-for-bravo-bravo-aviation/
Apr 02 2015
Lt. Col. Robert Hite ✝
(U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey)
Retired Lt. Col. Robert Hite, one of the last surviving Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, died at his home in Nashville, Tenn., on March 29, aged 95. Hite was the co-pilot on plane #16, dubbed “Bat Out of Hell,” during the April 18, 1942 mission to bomb Japan.
Hite was captured by the Japanese in China following the raid and was imprisoned in Shanghai for 40 months, during which time he was held in solitary confinement, tortured, and starved until he was liberated on Aug. 20, 1945. He remained on Active Duty until Sept. 30, 1951.
During the Korean War, Hite once again returned to Active Duty and served overseas before he was released from duty for the second time in November 1955. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Chinese Breast Order of Pao Ting. Hite, along with the other 79 Doolittle Raiders, also were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, which will be presented on April 15.
With Hite’s death, only two Doolittle Raiders are still living. They are retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole, co-pilot of crew #1, and retired SSgt. David Thatcher, engineer-gunner of crew #7.
Source: Air Force Magazine Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/04/02/lt-col-robert-hite-%e2%9c%9d/
Mar 25 2015
Rollout ceremony for B-29 “Doc” at Kansas Aviation Museum
More information on the rollout:
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/25/rollout-ceremony-for-b-29-doc-at-kansas-aviation-museum/
Mar 16 2015
Historic Flight Foundation Spitfire to tour England
Photo Alistair Howard (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Historic Flight Foundation’s Spitfire Mk IX SL633 will be heading for the UK this summer to participate in several events, notably those related to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
The aircraft will attend several of the biggest British airshows of this season: Flying Legends and Royal International Air Tattoo in July, Humberside Big Week in August and the Goodwood Revival and South of England Battle of Britain Day Sortie in September.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/16/historic-flight-foundation-spitfire-to-tour-england/
Mar 14 2015
P-39 Airacobra “Miss Connie” returns to the skies
“Miss Connie” in 2004 (Photo Christopher Ebdon (CC BY-NC-SA))
The CAF Central Texas Wing announced yesterday on its Facebook page that its P-39 Airacobra “Miss Connie” flew again, after a lengthy and major maintenance effort. The fighter is to be cleaned and repainted before resuming its airshow displays.
“Miss Connie” is a Bell P-39Q Airacobra (serial number 42-19597) which served in the USAAF during World War II. Only three P-39 are still airworthy today.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/14/p-39-airacobra-miss-connie-returns-to-the-skies/
Mar 13 2015
A quick word on ad blockers
If you’re using an ad-blocking plugin with your browser, you might have noticed that you are now invited to deactivate it when you visit World Warbird News. We believe an explanation is in order.
Ads on websites can easily become irritating, if not outright annoying. This is why the ads on World Warbird News are minimal: no pop-up, flashing, sound or video ads are to be found on this website. This has always been the case with us, and won’t change.
We don’t just keep our ads discreet and non-intrusive: all of our ads are validated by human beings, and only relevant, aviation-related ads are displayed on the website.
Since World Warbird News is entirely free for visitors and does need some money to pay for itself, we would appreciate if visitors using Ad Block or similar ad-blocking software would consider deactivating them for our website. There is no obligation to do so, and you will not be stopped from visiting the website if you choose to maintain the ad blocker for World Warbird News.
Sadly, more and more free websites with great content are shutting down since their only source of income has disappeared because of ad blockers. Most often, the users of such ad blockers installed it because of abusive behaviour by some webmasters and don’t even realize how the adblocker is impacting legitimate and respectful websites.
And, no: the picture of the Breitling Wingwalkers was not chosen randomly. Imagine the impact on classic aviation if advertising was to be suddenly banned? As with everything else, it’s a question of balance: advertising can be a good thing or a bad one, depending on how you do it.
Feel free to let me know what you think by commenting this article!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/13/a-quick-word-on-ad-blockers/
Mar 13 2015
EA-6B Prowler for Castle Air Museum
An EA-6B Prowler. (Photo US Air Force)
The California-based Castle Air Museum will be receiving an EA-6B Prowler later this month. The electronic warfare aircraft will arrive in flight on March 18, flown by a US Navy and Marine Corps crew.
The Prowler comes from a test squadron based in NAS Patuxent River and will perform ceremonial fly-bys before landing and being retired to the museum.
The Castle Air Museum opened in 1981, and currently displays 54 restored World War II, Korean War, and Cold War era aircraft. The outdoor museum covers 11 acres (45,000 m2), and among the exhibit highlights are a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (one of only 19 surviving), a Boeing B-52D Stratofortress, and the massive, ten-engined Convair B-36, one of only four surviving and the largest mass-produced piston aircraft in history. An indoor museum features photographs, uniforms, war memorabilia, aircraft engines, and a flight deck. A crew of 35 volunteers restore and maintain the aircraft on display. The museum also hosts a periodic “open cockpit day” in which visitors can actually view the interiors of certain planes.
Source: Air Museum Network
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/13/ea-6b-prowler-for-castle-air-museum/
Mar 09 2015
Lt Col Dean Hess ✝
Lieutenant Colonel Dean Hess, who died on March 2, 2015 aged 97, was a Disciples of Christ Church minister who enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack and flew 63 combat missions on the P-47 Thunderbolt during World War II.
He was recalled to active duty in 1948 and saw further action during the Korean War. He was the commander of the Bout One Project, the program under which a cadre of USAF instructor pilots trained South Korean pilots Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/09/lt-col-dean-hess-%e2%9c%9d/
Mar 06 2015
American Air Museum at Duxford closes for a year
(Photo meg_nicol (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0))
Duxford, UK — The American Air Museum at Duxford has closed for a year to undergo a major redevelopment.
The section of The Imperial War Museum (IWM) will be closed until spring 2016 while exhibitions and displays within the building are refurbished.
As part of the work, the glazed wall will be removed from the rear of the museum and the suspended aircraft will be lowered from the ceiling and all aircraft will be removed from the building.
But from May onward, many of the museum’s iconic American aircraft will be placed in new locations around IWM Duxford.
The exhibition will be brought up to date with material covering the last two decades of conflict and the political context of that period.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/06/american-air-museum-at-duxford-closes-for-a-year/
Mar 06 2015
Harrison Ford wounded in Ryan ST crash
Actor Harrison Ford was wounded in the crash of the Ryan ST-3KR that he was flying, when he attempted to land the aircraft on a golf course near Los Angeles. Ford’s life is not in danger and he should be able to make a full recovery, according to his press agent.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/03/06/harrison-ford-wounded-in-ryan-st-crash/
Feb 24 2015
70+ aircraft for the World War II Victory Capitol Flyover in Washington, DC
Source: ww2flyover.org
In honor of the 70th Anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe), the Arsenal of Democracy is hosting a tribute to the men and women at home and abroad that made victory possible. A giant flyover of at least 70 aircraft is to take place over Washington DC on Friday, May 8, 2015.
Such a massive gathering and display of warbirds is a rare sight, even in the largest airshows around the world.
A victory gala will be held at the National Air & Space Museum on May 7, and a selection of the flyover aircraft will be at the Smithsonian’s Udvar Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport for a one-day exhibition.
More information can be found on the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover’s website.
A list of participating aircraft is already available from the website, but is subject to changes depending on funding, technical or weather constraints: Continue reading
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/02/24/70-aircraft-for-the-world-war-ii-victory-capitol-flyover-in-washington-dc/
Feb 23 2015
Albatros D.Va, Sopwith Snipe and RAF S.E.5a for the World War 1 Aviation Heritage Trust
One of WAHT’s Be.2c replicas. (Photo Robert Payne (CC BY 2.0))
New aircraft will be joining the World War 1 Aviation Heritage Trust’s collection this year: an Albatros D.Va and Sopwith Snipe from New-Zealand in late spring, and will be followed later by a RAF S.E.5a.
The WW1AHT intends “to provide an enduring flying collection of World War I Allied and German aircraft based in the UK flying from heritage sites like Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome“. The trust has launched a Kickstarter funding campaign to help finance this project.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/2015/02/23/albatros-d-va-sopwith-snipe-and-raf-s-e-5a-for-the-world-war-1-aviation-heritage-trust/
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