Flying Clubs: Warbird inspires a new club

“This has to be the least-expensive warbird ever,” Johnson, a general aviation pilot and 2010 Parks College aviation graduate, told Spence, 25, also a GA pilot and mechanic. “It’s about half the price of a restored J–3 Cub, and it’s a legit warbird.”

The airplane, built in 1943, had been a wartime trainer at nearby Jackson, Tennessee, and had logged just 600 flight hours when World War II ended. It went through a series of civilian owners before falling into disuse, getting stashed away, and then listed for sale on the internet. Johnson and Spence made several long drives to Wisconsin to inspect the airplane and get it and its Ranger engine airworthy again. During one of the marathon trips, the idea of using it as the foundation of a warbird flying club began to take shape.

Spence is the owner and founder of Ultimate Aviation Services, an aircraft restoration firm at General DeWitt Spain Airport, a place that’s also home to a Commemorative Air Force wing, and warbirds, including a Stearman biplane and several North American T–6s.

“The PT–19 was a stepping stone to higher-performance airplanes during the war, and it can be the same thing again,” Spence said. “If you want to fly the CAF’s T–6, it requires a certain amount of tailwheel experience. What better way to build that experience than using the same trainer that T–6 pilots did back in the day?”

Johnson, 30, a former president of the Alpha Eta Rho national aviation fraternity, went to the AOPA You Can Fly website for information on establishing new clubs. He and Spence formed an LLC that now owns the PT–19 and it leases it to the club. The youthful club founders say they want to put warbirds within reach of regular pilots like themselves.

“Lots of us want to fly the more exotic warbirds someday,” he said. “This is an opportunity for younger pilots like us, who don’t have gobs of money, to get the experience we need to reach our goals. It also gets younger pilots into vintage airplanes early.”

The club is limited to 10 active fliers because that’s the most their insurance will allow. It costs $1,500 to buy in, fees are $100 a year, and there’s a dry rental rate. The PT–19 consumes about 12 gallons of fuel per flight hour.

The airplane is far from perfect cosmetically, but Johnson and Spence said they don’t want a showpiece. “We’re looking for passionate pilots who want to learn to fly the way the greatest generation did,” Spence said. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive.”

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