Fly, Maintain or Join Ground Crew for Warbirds!
Contributed by Col (R) Suellyn Wright Novak
Do you love and long to be a part of “living” WW II warbirds? Do you thrill to the purring of a round engine? Such a deal we have for you! Join the Colonel Hunt Alaska Wing of the Commemorative Air Force where we fly and support a 1942 Basic Trainer (BT) BT-13 and a 1952 Canadian built Advanced Trainer (AT), the Harvard Mark IV. No, we are not new to the Anchorage Bowl, we have been here since 2006. If you hang around airplanes, you have seen our blue and yellow BT-13 and/or our yellow Harvard Mark IV at the Great Alaska Aviation Gathering, Arctic Thunder and the Eielson airshows, the Alaska Aviation Museum Fly-By in July, as well as local fly-ins. From April-September we offer Saturday rides at Wings of Freedom hanger on Merrill Field. A half hour ride costs $325 and an hour is $599. We fly north to Birchwood or south to Indian. It is a great way to enjoy Alaska’s beauty up close and personal!
Our first organizational meeting was September 2005, and we were officially approved as a subsidiary of the 501c3 CAF Headquarters on July 15, 2006. Howard “Mike” Hunt, a WW II Air Transport Command pilot who flew aircraft from Great Falls, MT to Ladd Field outside Fairbanks for Lend-Lease, and later flew the “Hump” in the China, Burma, India Theater, donated his Harvard he had owned for 16 years. It arrived in Anchorage in September 2007. He later donated his BT-13 and a liaison bird, an L-5, which is on loan and display at the Alaska Aviation Museum. You need not be a pilot or mechanic to join us, as we have many tasks needed to lovingly maintain our well-oiled birds.
Collecting aircraft for nearly 50 years, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) now ranks as one of the world’s largest air forces. Today the CAF has 13,000 members in 81 units in the US and 28 units in foreign countries. You must join the National Commemorative Air Force at $225/year, as well as our Wing at $50/year. Both dues are tax deductible. Our monthly meetings are the 2nd Thursday at 6 PM at Wings of Freedom. After the business meeting, we have a program and there is always food and beverages involved!
Contact Executive Officer Suellyn Wright Novak at 907-863-0569, Education Officer Scott McEwen at (303) 895-5058, or Ops Officer Gordon Bartel at (907) 244-6206 for any inquiries. Come join our fun-loving bunch, you will not regret it!