{"id":27706,"date":"2024-01-29T23:14:25","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T23:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=27706"},"modified":"2024-01-29T23:15:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T23:15:01","slug":"tuskegee-airmen-pt-19-trainer-restored-by-caf-airbase-georgia-returns-to-the-skies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/georgia\/tuskegee-airmen-pt-19-trainer-restored-by-caf-airbase-georgia-returns-to-the-skies\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Tuskegee Airmen PT-19 Trainer Restored by CAF Airbase Georgia Returns to the Skies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Photo above &#8211; A WWII PT-19 Cornell trainer initially used by Tuskegee Airmen takes off for its first flight after two years of complete restoration by CAF Airbase Georgia members. (Photo by Charles Burcher)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After two years of dedicated restoration work, Fairchild\nPT-19A, serial number 42-83511, took to the skies again at Atlanta Regional\nAirport \u2013 Falcon Field, in Peachtree City, Ga., on Jan.18, 2024.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis historic aircraft, originally used to train Tuskegee\nAirmen in World War II, had flown for Commemorative Air Force (CAF) Airbase\nGeorgia for many years, but the leadership team decided it was time to take it\napart and inspect, restore and repaint it,\u201d said Airbase Leader Joel Perkins.\n\u201cRe-skinning the aircraft with fabric and applying an authentic paint scheme\ntook a lot of time, but our members were committed to recreating a piece of\naviation history.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The aircraft was completely disassembled and inspected. The\nhorizontal stabilizer was replaced, some supporting wood structures were\nreplaced, and all canopy glass was replaced.&nbsp;\nThe aircraft was re-covered with polyester fabric, primed with a UV\nprotectant and painted with Ranthane silver polyurethane. After new\nweight-and-balance calculations and final inspections, Air Force Major Gen.\n(Ret.) George Harrison, an Airbase Georgia pilot, was cleared to conduct a ground\nengine test and then take off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This PT-19A was built Nov. 1, 1943, and CAF Airbase Georgia acquired it in 2006. It had been modified with a closed cockpit like the later model PT-26, to allow flying in inclement weather. It flew throughout the Southeast at airshows and fly-ins, offering rides to the public, until it was brought back to the shop for its restoration in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PT-19 series was developed for the U.S. Army Air Corps\nin 1940 as part of its expansion program. It was a more advanced type of\naircraft; inexpensive, simple to maintain and virtually viceless. It was one of\na handful of primary trainer designs that enabled cadets to become pilots in\nthe U.S. and Commonwealth training programs throughout WWII and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cantilever, low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear\nand a tailwheel featured two-place, tandem seating and an open cockpit. The\nsimple but rugged construction included a fabric-covered, welded steel tube\nfuselage. The remainder of the aircraft used plywood construction, with a\nplywood-sheathed center section, outer wing panels and tail assembly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo above &#8211; A WWII PT-19 Cornell trainer initially used by Tuskegee Airmen takes off for its first flight after two years of complete restoration by CAF Airbase Georgia members. (Photo by Charles Burcher) After two years of dedicated restoration work, Fairchild PT-19A, serial number 42-83511, took to the skies again at Atlanta Regional Airport [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,29,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-slider","category-georgia","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PT-19-return-to-air-2024-edit-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27708,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27706\/revisions\/27708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}