KEEPING 'EM FLYING!

The new generation of warbird pilots, restorers and mechanics

- JAN TEGLER

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.

Their participation is vital for the warbird community, injecting new blood into a tradition reliant on people even more than aircraft to remind America of its proud history.

Introducing the men and women who will fly history into the future is the goal here, and we hope to inspire more of you get involved. With that in mind, here are three more members of the warbird world's new generation.

RYAN HUNT >> PILOT (P-51, T-6, T-34, B-25)

"I don't think I can come up with a word for the feeling you get from flying a Mustang," Ryan Hunt says.

"It's a moment of excitement and reflection, and remembering that the reason Mustangs were created was so that we could enjoy freedom, including the freedom to continue to fly these aircraft." That moment came at just 24 years of age for Hunt when he soloed in "Tempus Fugit," a TF-51D in October of 2019. Owned by Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina at the time, the Mustang has been sold to new owner Mickey Seeman of Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Now 29 and a corporate pilot flying Gulfstream IV bizjets, Hunt's family background was the magnet that gradually drew him to warbirds. His father Paul Hunt and grandfather Jimmie Hunt owned and flew several P-51s, including ""Jumpin' Jacques," "Contrary Mary," and "Vergeltungswaffe" (now TF-51D "Little Witch"). His family's T-34 and stories of the Mustangs and T-6s the Hunts had owned resonated with Hunt.