Warbird News and Restoration Projects

A Warbird is a term that defines an ex-military aircraft which is now operated by civilian organisations or individuals. These classic aircraft are often the result of extensive restoration projects, taking vintage planes and making them exhibition or even flight worthy. The focus of these projects is to preserve these machines and protect their historical legacy.

On this page, you’ll find all the latest news about Warbirds including updates on restoration projects, exhibitions , aviation museums and events where you can see them in action and much more.

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EXCLUSIVE: Reuniting Spitfires MH415 and MH434

Reuniting a pair of Spitfire IXs that flew and fought together on the same wartime RAF squadron — and went on to have remarkably interconnected lives in peacetime, too

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Spitfire Saviours of Cogea Nouvelle

COGEA Nouvelle is well-known for having operated six Spitfire IXs from the late 1950s to the early ’60s — all but one survive today. But what was this Belgian company, and why did it buy Spitfires?

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Battle of Britain's Big Screen 'Spits

With the addition to the world’s airworthy Spitfire fleet of MH415, another Battle of Britain film veteran is operational again. But what of the other ‘Spits’ that appeared in the 1969 epic? Aeroplane lists their present-day whereabouts, or fates

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FlyPast's Alternative Christmas TV schedule

If you’re looking for some alternative viewing ideas to the regular Christmas TV schedule, the FlyPast team offer up a few decidedly left-field suggestions…

FlyPast's 40th Birthday Spitfire Flight Winner!

For our 40th birthday, FlyPast teamed up with Aero Legends to offer one lucky winner the flight of a lifetime. Tara Leggett recalls the day from start to finish

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Pierre Clostermann: The Big Show

Continuing our look at WW2 biographies, Le Grande Circue, or The Big Show as we Limeys would say, is an all-time classic and yet another must-read memoir for anyone with a passion for WW2 aviation…

Get involved with Aero Legends' new Spitfire Restoration

Aero Legends has launched an experience package enabling you to witness first hand all the great milestones throughout the restoration of their Spitfire MJ444

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First flight beckons for Australian Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX MH603 is expected to make its first post-restoration flight from Scone, New South Wales after extensive refurbishment from Vintage Fighter Restorations. The immaculate warbird is now also available to purchase via Platinum Fighter Sales

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Air-to-air with the Polish Heritage Flight

Established in 2019 to salute the heroism of Polish aircrew during World War Two, the Polish Heritage Flight possesses a Spitfire with significant history. Darren Harbar goes air-to-air with this magnificent machine and learns more about its provenance and role

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Wing Leader and top-scoring Allied fighter pilot of WW2 – ‘Johnnie’ Johnson

Following on from our piece on Roald Dahl, we thought it we’d share another of our favourite biographies, Wing Leader, the tail of a Leicestershire man who began the war as a sergeant pilot in the Volunteer Reserve, who went on to become one of WW2’s most celebrated fighter pilots.

Preserving Warbirds for future generations

The use of warbirds ranges from racing and restorations to exhibiting at airshows where enthusiasts will be treated to close up contact with legendary aircraft like the Supermarine Spitfire, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

The name Warbirds once referred to World War II era fighter aircraft like the North American P-51 Mustang, North American T-6 Texan and Hawker Sea Fury, but in recent years it has come to mean any former military aircraft type now flown by airforce heritage squadrons, civilian organisations and private owners. 

There are a lot of airshows that have static and flight displays by Warbirds and the United States has many of them. Enthusiasts, as well as airforce heritage squadrons and civilian organisations, fly their aircraft at these shows. A high-profile enthusiasts’ project, the Silver Spitfire, flew its original 1943 build Supermarine Spitfire in a shining silvery livery around the world with the help of sponsors. The Spitfire is a popular Warbird and other military aircraft favoured by restoration enthusiasts include the Mikoyan MiG-15 and Grumman F6F Hellcat, along with the Spitfire and Mustang.

The airshows in the USA include, the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; the Alliance Airshow in Fort Worth, Texas; Dayton Airshow in Dayton, Ohio; the History of Flight Airshow in New York state and the Indianapolis Airshow in Indiana. Outside of the USA, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom also have a number of Warbird shows. New Zealand has the Classic Fighters Omaka in Blenheim and the Warbirds over Wanaka in Wanaka. Australia has Warbirds Downunder in Temora, while the UK's Warbirds airshows include Flying Legends, which takes place at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, and the Bedfordshire, UK-based Shuttleworth Collection which has displays in the summer. France also has an annual show, La Ferté-Alais, which takes place 50 kilometres south of Paris.

Don’t miss our dedicated page on international airshow news & updates.

The future of Warbirds and Warbird projects

Future generations will be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Warbirds from airforces’ days gone by as restoration projects increase in number and widen in aircraft type worldwide. Find here the latest information about projects from Australia to Italy, and aircraft types from the World War II Helldiver to the 1950s Thunderstreak.

Whether the airframe to be restored was found in the Pacific’s Solomon Islands or had been retired to a safe hangar, the challenge can be a full bottom up reconstruction or trying to find a missing engine. The committed individuals and companies that restore these Warbirds have a story to tell in the great lengths they will go to in the hope of seeing these aircraft fly again.

The stories can be as simple as replacing damaged skin fabric and lubricating mechanical systems back to a functional state, which was what was needed for an RAF Westland Lysander; but they can be as challenging as a decades long, slow search for parts and reconstruction; which was necessary for a Royal Australian Air Force Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk which had crashed on Rattlesnake Island, just off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Often the key areas for these restorations are missing engines or control system parts, wing or tail repair, a need for new nose and main gear tyres and seats for the pilots and navigator.

Obstacles to be overcome to return a Warbird to flight have included fixing a troublesome elevator pushrod, replacing cockpit cowl rails, or stripping off a worn-out faded livery and replacing it with a fresh coat of paint. It is the commitment to the Warbirds and the stories behind their return to flight that are as engaging as the sight of seeing the beautiful machines soar among the clouds once more; and all those stories can be found here.

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Looking for military aircraft news or updates from your favourite military aircraft airshows? Or information on other military fighter aircraft?

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