Back in early 2021, we reported that the Military Aviation Museum (MAM) had just acquired Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Bu.36175 from the National Naval Aviation Museum, along with a significant cache of relevant parts from collector/restorer Kevin R. Smith. MAM contracted out the aircraft's restoration, splitting the work between Aero Trader in Chino, California (which would rebuild the outer wing panels) and Pioneer Aero Ltd in Ardmore, New Zealand (which would do the rest). Since that time, not a lot of news has filtered through regarding progress, but MAM recently published an update and we thought readers would enjoy learning more.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has announced that Jerry Yagen's Military Aviation Museum (MAM) is sending four of its classic WWII-era combat aircraft to attend EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The 69th annual fly-in convention will take place between July 25th and 31st this summer.
Despite the many hardships we have all endured this past year, 2021 did hold a number of positives for those of us with a passion for vintage aviation; this includes the return of major air shows, not to mention significant progress and even first flights for a number of restoration projects. We at WarbirdsNews have endeavored to keep our readers informed of as many developments as possible, with exclusive reports of major milestones in the warbird and aviation museum community. Although we couldn’t cover everything, it has been a remarkable year of growth for us. We are always looking for new leads, as well as writers/photographers who are able to provide coverage. With your help, we can have an even better 2022!
It has been just over a year since our last report on restoration progress with Claudio Coltri's combat-veteran Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (41-13570), which has been under rebuild at Pioneer Aero Ltd. in Ardmore, New Zealand since 2015. A lot has happened in the interim, with the aircraft recently receiving its Certificate of Airworthiness.
The Military Aviation Museum in Pungo, Virginia has begun what promises to be a fascinating series of webinars covering a variety of subjects varying from the WWII era aircraft in their collection, to significant aircraft elsewhere and aviation-related historical events. These online seminars are bound to be fascinating for everyone interested in historical military aviation and will provide viewers with an in-depth examination of each topic at hand. The webinar series will begin with a close look at the museum’s PBY Catalina this coming Wednesday (April 21, 2021), but subsequent presentations will cover the diverse topics from the Berlin Airlift, to the recovery of the B-17E known as ‘Swamp Ghost’ and the role which Norwegian pilots played in fighting Germany from within the RAF during WWII (and the Norwegian Spitfire Foundation’s restoration of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX PL258). Check for details about each of these webinars and how you can sign up to take part at the link