Honoring a friend

One man’s treasures become a tribute

August 1, 2025 By Julie Summers Walker

Adrian Eichhorn is a pilot’s pilot. His career—military aviation, the airlines, corporate aviation, Earthrounder, and restorer—is all about flying. Most of his friends are pilots too. When Eichhorn lost a dear friend recently, he was stunned to learn that his fellow pilot had left his Virginia-area hangars and much of its contents to him.

Adrian Eichhorn relaxes in his comfortable hangar next to his cherised aircraft and the many interesting items left to him by a fellow pilot. Photography by Chris Rose

“Never in my life did I dream I’d ever have anything like this,” Eichhorn says of the clean, climate-controlled, well-lit space. “To have two award-winning airplanes here. It’s like they are on display every time I walk in here.”

In the hangar is his 1962 Beechcraft P35 Bonanza, which he restored for more than 20 years and that won a gold Lindy at EAA AirVenture, as well as his 1945 Fairchild P–19, also an award-winner, that he restored in honor of his late father.

Decorated much as his friend left it, with comfy couches, kitschy signage, and cool cars—there’s a 1996 Reynard Indy car and a Lamborghini Urus—Eichhorn says he likes to hang out and watch old World War II training films on the large screen TV. “It’s like therapy,” he says. “It’s like having my cherished airplanes in my living room.”