Warbird Adventures Unveils Their Dual-Seat, Dual-Control P-40 Warhawk!

Warbird Adventures adds a beautifully restored, dual-seat, dual-control Curtiss P-40N to their fleet of aircraft. Members of the public will be able to fly in this aircraft, and even receive flight training towards their P-40 rating in the aircraft. (photo by Mike Killian)


Warbird Adventures unveiled their newest acquisition to an unsuspecting crowd in Kissimmee, Florida today, a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. With two seats, and a full set of dual controls, Warbird Adventures will offer their Warhawk to the public for  introductory flights, as well as transition flight training for those aspiring to gain experience flying a WWII single-engine fighter.

This aircraft is based upon the remains of P-40N 42-104977, a WWII combat veteran which then-1st Lt. Joel Dixon Thorvaldson flew over New Guinea with the 8th Fighter Squadron’s Blacksheep in the 49th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. The P-40, which Thorvaldson named Punkins, in honor of his wife, also bore the name “Mr.Five by Five” on the engine cowling, perhaps because the aircraft’s squadron number was ’55’.  With three kills to her name, the Warhawk was herself shot down by a Japanese A6M Zero in combat over Tsili Tsili, near Finschafen, New Guinea on September 13th, 1943. The P-40 received hits to its engine, and caught fire. Thorvaldson belly-landed his stricken fighter in a field of dense kunai grass, surviving the incident, but he was still marooned in unfriendly territory. The kunai grass was so tall, that Thorvaldson couldn’t see which way to turn, so he used his flare gun to start a fire and burn a path through to a nearby river. A circling Allied aircraft saw the pilot by the river, and dropped  him an inflatable life raft which then allowed him to navigate his way to Australian forces over the next five days. Thorvaldson survived the war and stayed in the Air Force, making a career of it. He passed away in Virginia in 2014.

P 40Es 8th PS 49th PG at Darwin 1942
A lineup of four U.S. Army Air Force Curtiss P-40E Warhawk aircraft of the 8th Pursuit Squadron, 49th Pursuit Group at Darwin, Northern Territories (Australia) on 19 June 1942. The aircraft closest to the camera (No. “L Ace”) was flown by Lieutenant James Bruce Morehead who shot down seven Japanese aircraft while flying out of Darwin. Captain W.J. Hennon, who has shot down at least five Japanese aircraft, is sitting in the cockpit of P-40 No. 36. Note the whitened former red circle of the US national insignia. (image via Wikipedia)

While Thorvaldson made it out, his burned out P-40 remained behind. Well-known Australian warbird recovery and restoration expert salvaged its remains in 2005. Fellow Australian, Mike Spaulding acquired the remains and incorporated what he could, as well as its identity into a project he had restored with Precision Aerospace in Wangaratta. The aircraft flew again for the first time at Mareeba on September 12, 2008, marked as an RAF example. Unfortunately, the P-40 suffered a gear collapse in August, 2008. Mike Spaulding sold the Warhawk to American John Davis in June, 2014, and the aircraft went back to Wangaratta for conversion to a dual control configuration. The fighter made its way to Davis’s home in Englewood, Colorado a year later, and flew again on May 10, 2016.

P 40 American Dream
A gorgeous study of Warbird Adventure’s newly acquired two-seat, dual-control P-40N Warhawk. (photo by Mike Killian)

The Curtiss P-40N Warhawk is fully configured for dual-seat, dual-control, much like the original, factory-produced TP-40Ns were. P-40s are rare enough, but original TP-40s are even rarer, with only one of three survivors still fitted that way so far (Kermit Weeks TP-40N 44-47923). Of the handful of currently airworthy, dual-control P-40s, Warbird Adventure’s example will be the only one offering dual instruction on a commercial basis to the general public.

IMG 5771
Another beautiful image of Warbird Adventure’s American Dream. (photo by Mike Killian)

Warbird Adventures owner, Thom Richard stated: “We’re confident the addition of a dual-controlled P-40 will benefit the Warbird industry tremendously to increase safety in an otherwise mostly single-seat environment. I’ve toured various fighters on the airshow circuit for years and I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and told me the P-40 is their absolute favorite aircraft and they would do anything to fly one. Well, we’ve decided to do something to fulfill that dream!”

Warbird Adventures has nicknamed their new dual-seat fighter American Dream, and she will make one of her first public performances be at the Florida International Air Show in Punta Gorda over October 19th-21st, 2018.

IMG 5772
You too can fly in a P-40, and even learn how to fly one at Warbird Adventures. (photo by Mike Killian)

Warbird Adventures’s press release today stated…
The aircraft is now based at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport (KISM) and will be used in transition training to fighters, and touring as a fully aerobatic airshow act.  The mighty Warhawk will be available to fly for rated pilots and aspiring-pilots alike. Warbird Adventures is known worldwide for their first class T-6 training they have offered for over 20 years. They also house the Kissimmee Air Museum, which consists of a constantly changing collection of various aircraft and other aviation-related exhibits. The facility is open to the public 9-5, Monday through Saturday.

TP 40 ad

For more information visit www.WarbirdAdventures.com or their new Facebook page ‘P-40 Warhawk American Dream’. Bookings can be made by calling (407) 870-7366 or via e-mail [email protected]
Photo credit: Mike Killian Photography
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Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.

After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.

Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

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About Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 1060 Articles
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends. After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups. Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

1 Comment

  1. Thank you for such a informative, entertaining, and well documented page –
    My mother was a nurses’ aid during WWII, my family immigrating from Italy just before the war – She knew every U.S. plane, and more about them then most guys! She was the one who got me so interested in these planes, as well my Uncle, too.. If they were here today, they would enjoy this page, and no doubt, share a story about them…
    Thanks again!

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