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Keeping 'em Flying!- The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers and mechanics

The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers and mechanics. Nearly 80 years after the end of World War II, the fighters, bombers, and trainers that defended freedom continue to enthrall and inspire audiences at airshows, thanks to generations of warbird pilots, maintainers, restoration specialists and collectors. In our September, 2022 issue we introduced you to the young warbird pilots, maintainers and restorers who are already beginning to displace more "experienced" warbird fliers and fixers.

The Corsair Maker- Bringing the Vought Corsair to the fleet was a daunting challenge that spanned nearly three years.

When the first production Corsairs exited the Stratford factory in June 1942, Guyton, as seen here, was tapped to manage the flight and production test program. Armament was improved to six wing-mounted .50s, displacing the wing fuel tanks now placed forward of the cockpit which necessarily was moved rearward by 32 inches. Overall length was increased, armor plate added, landing, arresting and tail gear improved, aileron control enhanced, and a new version of the R2800 engine was incorporated. But those significant improvements unearthed numerous idiosyncrasies that would take an extended period to make the Corsair acceptable for carrier operations

STARFIRES Over Korea

F-94 pilots tangle with MiGs

Training Mission

BY THE TIME THIS TRAINING SCENE WAS RECORDED in Canne, Italy, in July 1944, Allied Yugoslavian airmen had several years of experience working side by side with the RAF.

KC-46A PEGASUS

Next generation aerial refueler

"SATAN'S ANGELS" ACE - Tales from a P-38 pilot in the South Pacific

\"AS A KID GROWING UP on the bow of my father's tugboat, hauling oil from Seattle to Alaska, I had a lot of time on my hands.

WACO YKC - Stunning and Ultra Rare Golden Age Cabin Flier

BETWEEN THE IMPLEMENTATION of the Air Commerce Act of 1926 and December 31, 1948, all U.S. registered flying machines sported an N-number, much as they do today, the \"N\" being an internationally recognized identifier for the United States. During that period, however, an additional letter-identifier followed the \"N.\" Depending on their category, they were registered in the NC (Commercial), NG (Glider), NL (Limited), NR (Restricted, usually meaning race airplanes), NS (State government), and, finally, NX (experimental).

BADER'S HURRICANES

Double amputee fighter ace Douglas Bader and his Battle of Britain Hurricanes

Scourge of the Allied Fighters

IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.

ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT

A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters

Fw 190 STURMBÖCKE

The Luftwaffe's \"Battering Rams\" against the USAAF heavy bombers

American BEAUTY

\"Forgotten Fifteenth\" top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll

BANSHEE WAIL!

Flying Skulls over Burma

KILLER CORSAIR

Albert Wells, Death Rattlers Ace

BACKSTREET BRAWLER

A young man, his Hurricane and the Battle of Britain

Still Flying After All These Years

One of the oldest airworthy J-3 Cubs

NOORDUYN NORSEMAN

Canada's rugged, fabric-covered workhorse

A good landing is one you can walk away from

NO, THIS IS NOT A SCENE FROM A MOVIE where the hero staggers away from a \"good landing\" on Mindoro, Philippine Islands, after being shot down by a Japanese Zero.

General Curtis LeMay

Strategic Air Command Creator & Commander

Flying the MESSERSCHMITT ME 109

Thrilling tales of aerial supremacy

Firepower

AS AN EVOLVING WEAPONS PLATFORM, the Boeing B-17 underwent numerous changes during its production run to increase its survivability over deadly Axis-held skies.

Stinson AT-19

The Reliant goes to war

EJECTING FROM A HAWKER HUNTER

Roderick Kurtz punches out after an encounter with a USAF F-35

Adventures in the WAIRAPA WILD CAT

A New Zealand P-40 warrior racks up the kills

Forgiveness - Lt. Gen. Richard Reynolds on crashing a $379 million B-1 prototype

By the time Lieutenant General Richard Reynolds retired from the USAF in 2005, he’d had a distinguished 34-year career as a B-52 pilot, an Air Force test pilot with experience flying 72 different aircraft types, a B-2 system program office director, a commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, and more.

BA Swallow - Slab-sided floater

The British Aircraft (BA) Swallow originated in Germany in 1927 as the Klemm L.25, a tandem two-seat, low-wing, all-wood monoplane. Klemm first exported to Britain in March 1929 and started a small \"flood.\"

FLYING THE ROC!

Stratolaunch test pilot Evan Thomas on flying the world's largest operational airplane

PAYBACK - B-25s settle the score on the Rising Sun

As I sat silently in my B-25-shrewdly named \"Fickle Finger of Fate\"awaiting the signal from the Navy deckhand to start my engines, I thought long and hard about how I ended up here and about the unknown that lay ahead.

SPITFIRE SPY - over China

Unauthorized, high-risk photo-recon missions

"GENTLEMEN, YOU HAD A RACE ...The end of the Reno Air Races BY JAN TEGLER ייף

It has been almost 59 years since legendary pilot Bob Hoover first uttered the famous words, “Gentlemen, you have a race!”