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HomeNWOC Recap 2018

NWOC Recap

2018 NWOC Reception (Houston, TX)


The warbird community turned out in large numbers for the 2018 National Warbird Operators Conference, and NATA members were there to enjoy the event! NATA co-sponsored the 2018 NWOC Welcome Reception with our friends at U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (USSIC). The reception was Thursday evening, February 15th, at the Hilton NASA Clearlake Hotel. Astronaut Hoot Gibson was our guest for a Meet and Greet at the NATA host table, and attendees enjoyed hot hors d'oeuvres and cold refreshments. This was the ideal venue to announce our 2018 programs to the warbird community, and to debut our 2018 video.

NATA made the following announcements at NWOC:

The Fighter signatory is merging into NATA! The leaders of the Fighter Formation Qualification Program (FFQP) proposed a merger with NATA in late 2017 in order to improve the member experience of both groups. NATA agreed to this merger, and the President of FAST approved it. The fighter community will gain the benefit of our Formation Training Program and other robust organizational benefits, such as Skylines Magazine and our website, including online member management tools, member forums, and free classified ads. NATA will gain a large number of P-51 owner/operators, who comprise the majority of the Fighter signatory. We welcome ALL members of the Fighter Signatory into NATA regardless of which aircraft they fly. As part of this merger, the NATA Board of Directors has appointed Larry Lumpy Lumpkin (currently, the President of the Fighter Signatory) as the NATA Vice President, effective immediately. Additional details on the Formation Introduction page. Copy of letter to FFQP here.

Warbird A&P scholarships available. Doug Hulse provided an update as chairman of the NATA A&P Scholarship Program. We are striving to inspire the next generation of warbird technicians so we can keep our treasured aircraft flying for decades to come. Over $16,000 has been donated since July 2017, and we are seeking additional donors to make tax-deductible contributions to this important effort. We are also recruiting eligible A&P's to receive an internship at a recognized warbird maintenance or restoration facility. Additional details are available on the the Scholarship page.

Annual Recurrent Training program introduced! NATA is getting serious about improving the safety record of our aircraft types. Safety Director Bruce Mayes introduced the Annual Recurrent Training Program during NWOC. This effort is aimed at every NATA member who flies a warbird -- we would like our NATA warbird pilots to take an annual recurrent training flight from a qualified CFI in their warbird. No, it is not required by the FAA or your insurance company. But making the commitment to complete an annual recurrent training flight in your warbird is a best practice, and is what professional aviators do. Help us bend the mishap curve by completing a recurrent training flights with a CFI. This will not guarantee that you are not the next warbird pilot to ground loop, land gear up, run out of gas, or make a bad decision at low altitude.  But it will make you think about how you can fly your warbird more safely. We hope that our standardized, recurrent flight checklist will help you improve your proficiency and safety. Additional details available on the Safety page.

NATA to Celebrate T-6 80th Anniversary in 2018! The venerable T-6 Texan first flew on September 18, 1938, and NATA is celebrating this important milestone at several airshows this year (NATA Press Release here). The main celebration will take place at Oshkosh July 23-29. Planning is underway now, and major elements include:

80 Texans to Oshkosh.  Let's fill the warbird flight line at Oshkosh with Texans--please bring your Texan to Oshkosh and join the fun. Whether you fly formation or not, this will be THE Texan celebration of the year!

Texans In Review.  NATA is actively planning this event to be held in the warbird area at Oshkosh. We will feature a T-6, SNJ, Harvard, and a current military T-6 Texan II, and pilots who flew each of these aircraft. If you have a clean and historically correct example of one of these aircraft, please send us an e-mail.

NATA Airshow.  EAA has agreed to give us 35 minutes during the Tuesday and Thursday air shows to showcase the T-6 Texan and all NATA aircraft types as part of the Family Birthday Celebration. The program will include a 28-ship, T-6 formation to display large 8 0 digits overhead, as well as other NAA elements. If you wish to participate in one of these elements, contact the element flight leader:
Large T-6 formation - Todd Winemiller & Don Stamp
T-6 formations in trail - Todd Winemiller
Aeroshell team - Mark Henley
GEICO Skytypers - Larry Arken
Canadian Harvard Aerobatic Team - Dave Hewitt
T-6 Heritage Flight - Jim Tobul
T-28 formation - Doug Hulse
P-51 flight - Scooter Yoak
B-25 flight - Larry Kelley

NATA Annual Member Meeting at Oshkosh. All members should plan to attend the Annual Membership Meeting. Have lunch on us, win great door prizes, and learn what's going on at NATA. Keep an eye on the Events page on the website for more details and to register. Registration will open in early summer, and the event is FREE to members.







Larry Lumpkin and Jeff Linebaugh announcing Fighter merger with NATA.  FAST and NATA presidents looking on (Jim Tobul and Mike Ginter)


2018 Video debut. Click image to visit video page


Robert Hoot Gibson



2017 NWOC Reception (Virginia Beach, VA)


NATA board members and guests in attendance

NATA's Sully Luge B-25 ice sculpture


2017 Video debut. Click image to visit video page