Vintage Aviation News

Combat Veteran P-40E Makes First Public Appearance In Belgium

May 21, 2024 Moreno Aguiari 7

On May 12, 2024, Curtiss P-40E Warhawk USAAF #41-13570 (OO-WHK) flew for the first time under Belgian ownership. The flight took place at the Stampe Fly-In at Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) which is home of […]

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Combat Veteran P-40E Makes Her First Flight in New Zealand!

November 11, 2021 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 2

A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Pioneer Aero Ltd. had completed the restoration of Claudio Coltri’s Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (41-13570). While the selected test pilot, Frank Parker, had performed some taxi trials, Pioneer had […]

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk Restoration Complete in New Zealand

October 26, 2021 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 0

It has been just over a year since our last report on restoration progress with Claudio Coltri’s combat-veteran Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (41-13570), which has been under rebuild at Pioneer Aero Ltd. in Ardmore, New Zealand […]

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Military Aviation Museum SBD-5 Dauntless – Restoration Update

March 29, 2021 Moreno Aguiari 0

Back on March 1st, we reported on the Military Aviation Museum’s acquisition of Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Bu.36175 in a deal with the National Naval Aviation Museum. The airframe, although incomplete, was in excellent condition despite […]

Pioneer Aero’s Curtiss P-40E Restoration Update

June 10, 2020 Moreno Aguiari 0

It’s been a little while since we last looked in on progress with Claudio Coltri’s Curtiss P-40E Warhawk 41-13570 at Pioneer Aero Ltd. in Auckland, New Zealand. We are happy to report that the combat […]

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RAAF Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk A29-446 – A Dream in Progress

November 11, 2019 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 0

For those amongst us with an avid interest in vintage military aircraft, there can be few who haven’t at least secretly harbored a long-held dream to be more than just a bystander; to actively take […]

Curtiss P-40E Taking Shape at Pioneer Aero Ltd.

April 5, 2019 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 1

Pioneer Aero Ltd. has had an extremely productive beginning to 2019 from their base at Ardmore Airport near Auckland, New Zealand. As we noted in late February, they successfully flew Jerry Yagen’s Bell P-39F Airacobra […]

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Bell P-39F Airacobra 41-2175 Flies!!!

February 26, 2019 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 2

Well, the news we were hoping for has arrived. Jerry Yagen’s Bell P-39F Airacobra 41-2175 under restoration for the past few years at Pioneer Aero Ltd. in Ardmore, New Zealand has successfully flown for the first […]

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P-39 Airacobra – First Flight Nears

February 12, 2019 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 1

As some readers will have noticed, on February 4th, Pioneer Aero Ltd. ran the Allison V-1710-85 engine on the Bell P-39 Airacobra that they have been restoring at their workshop in Ardmore, New Zealand. This […]

Pioneer Aero – P-40E Restoration Update

October 12, 2018 Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 3

Pioneer Aero in Auckland, New Zealand has a long-standing reputation for producing world-class warbird restorations. The company’s origins date back to 1992 when, under the name of Pacific Aircraft, they began restoring former Royal Australian Air […]

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