WARBIRD ADVENTURES:
I have visited Warbird Adventures at Kissimmee Gateway airport on several occasions. The first time was in 2013 and I wanted to see the 1950's era Aerocar built by Moulton Taylor. I had read that they had a small museum and one of the few still-flying Aerocars was there. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised how friendly they were. Not only did we get to experience the Aerocar up-close and personal for some pictures but the CFI let us climb into the cockpit of one of their T6 trainers and snap some pictures even though we weren't taking a flight. They have been training with two T6 (standard category) aircraft for quite a few years without any problems. He spent a lot of time with us just because we were interested. Each time we've gone there my wife asks me if I want to get a flight but I'd always declined. I don't remember the exact cost but it wasn't outrageous.
Our most recent visit was in February of this year. They had just made it through covid and were starting to get business going again. There was a young couple who I think are the owners that we met on this visit. Contrary to Brian's post, this is a small company with a shoe-string budget that barely makes enough to keep their small museum open. I can't imagine what the attorney fees are costing them for this FAA case. When I visited they had just acquired the P40 and told us they had planned to start flight training in it soon.
STALLION 51:
Contrast this with Stallion 51, another warbird training facility at the same airport. Stallion 51 has been training in 3 limited category P51s (N851D, N351DT, N51LW) for years and nobody cared. It is owned by Lee Lauderback, a friend of Kermit Weeks and BIG celebrity of the aviation industry. If you have been to Sun-N-Fun you've undoubtedly seen Lee's “Crazy Horse,” P51. They also have a T6 standard category and an L39 ( I don't know what its category is) that they train in. This is NOT the kind of place you just drop in and chat with the pilots and take a flight. This is the kind of place where you make an advanced reservation, pay your $2,000 (or more), go to a conference room for pre-flight briefing, put on a flight suit and finally go fly.
So what is the difference between these two that the FAA would single out Warbird Adventures?
I was really disappointed with Bryan's post about Warbird Adventures. It reminded me of many political news stories I have read recently. Here are some of my comments:
“
This was not a case of an owner wanting some dual to be safe at flying their own aircraft.”
Really? Then where would I go for training if I had a P40 and needed dual time? Do you think that all the flights given at fly-ins by CFIs are for people who have that same aircraft and need dual time?
“
This was a FOR PROFIT organization...”
Please show me a NON-PROFIT CFI so that I can get free lessons.
“
with a $million dollar aircraft...”
I can believe an aircraft as rare as a P40 trainer would be a million. Stallion 51's P51s are multi-million dollar aircraft.
“
given by a CFI that was in the payroll of Warbird Adventures.”
Again, what CFI is not on the payroll of some company?
“
Lastly, that CFI did not hold a LODA, probably because the FAA would not issue them one. The FAA would have seen exactly what was going on and that Warbird Adventures was violating the spirit of the LODA exemption.”
“
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, Warbird Adventures bent the rules, made the FAA mad, and we will all be affected if the FAA's longstanding premise is no longer in effect.”
There are many warbird training centers in the US. Not one of them holds a LODA!! In fact, many CFIs (including some gyro) train in experimental aircraft and are “bending” the same rules as Warbird Adventures because they don't have a LODA. Don't believe me? Check out EAAs list of who holds LODAs. You won't find a warbird training CFI on there, you will find SOME gyro CFIs on it.
https://www.eaa.org/eaa/pilots/letters-of-deviation-authority-holders-loda-holders
So here's my BOTTOM LINE:
Before you crucify Warbird Adventures remember, this case could have been brought against any number of CFIs or organizations who train in Limited, Primary or Experimental category aircraft without a LODA. One of the few statements I will agree with is:
“we will all be affected if the FAA's longstanding premise is no longer in effect”.
From EAA's Jack Pelton:
“This entire episode is a scary example of how new interpretations of the regulations can upend the entire community. While this short-term fix allows operations to continue, it never should have come to this point. Creating more than 30,000 new LODAs and exemptions is a paperwork exercise that does nothing to advance safety.”