Comes Now the Association of Professional Warbird Operators

The Association of Professional Warbird Operators (APWO) is a cooperative established to facilitate the development and sharing of best practices in Warbird operations—to include pilot and maintenance training, standardization, and safety protocols.

The association is building a consolidated community, the collective resources of which shall be plied to increasing the knowledge, competency, and proficiency of Warbird operators, thereby occasioning the reduction of risk and the enhancement of survivability and sustainability of Warbird aircrews and aircraft.

APWO is supported by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), North American Trainer Association (NATA), International Council of Air Shows (ICAS), and U.S. Congressman Sam Graves (Republican-Missouri), Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and House General Aviation Caucus Co-Chair.

Congressman Graves remarked: "Warbirds are an important link to the roots of our country's freedom and military heritage. APWO's advocacy for responsible operation and maintenance practices is crucial."

The APWO’s broad-ranging initiatives are intended to provide valuable resources to Warbird owners, operators, corporations, museums, airshow producers, air bosses, and virtually any entity that falls under the broader heading of the Warbird community. APWO has the full cooperation and support of the FAA, with which the association maintains connections and ongoing dialogue at the agency’s highest levels.

As connoted in the association’s mission statement: "To create and maintain the highest level of professionalism across the entire spectrum of warbird operations"—the APWO’s primary focus is the promotion of professionalism in the Warbird community and the fostering of education, standardization, and safety methodologies conducive to the mitigation of risk and the avoidance of both mishaps and the reactionary, unnecessary, and irresponsible regulations apt to be promulgated in the wakes of such. The APWO website concisely summarizes the latter aim thus: “In essence, we wish to ‘do unto ourselves before something less than desirable is done to us.’"

The APWO has set out to consolidate the collective knowledge and experience of the Warbird community into a single voice, thereby establishing itself as subject community’s standard-bearer and benefitting persons and organizations that operate or manage treasured and historic WWII and Korean-era military aircraft.

Speaking to the subjects of Warbirds and the APWO, EAA CEO and chairman Jack Pelton stated: "EAA's history is rich with the stories and heritage of Warbirds and their caretakers. Our very origins stem from the love for aviation that our founder, Paul Poberezny, discovered as a flight instructor during WWII. His commitment to the men and women who labor tirelessly to keep Warbirds and antiques in airworthy status is legendary, and we are proud to endorse the efforts of the Association of Professional Warbird Operators as they work to promote and ensure the safe ownership and operation of these important historical aircraft."

FMI: www.apwo.org