Liberty Aviation Museum guests will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to ride in a World War Era T-6 War Bird aircraft nicknamed “Checkers” on Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11. The T-6  was the backbone for advanced pilot training for WWII and beyond for the U.S. and allied forces.

In Korea, “Mosquito Squadrons” flew the aircraft into combat marking targets for the much faster jets of the era. Mostly retired after the war, these aircrafts were used by militaries across the world for decades, with South Africa retiring the T-6 as recently as 1995.

Checkers is a G model aircraft produced in 1952.   It has a Pratt and Whitney R1340, 9-cylinder radial engine with 600 horsepower and carries 110 gallons of fuel and 10 gallons of oil.  Carrying a crew of two, it was equipped with two .30 caliber machine guns during its military days, located in the nose and wing. The opposite wing carried a camera to review the pilot’s target footage.

Now disabled, Checkers still retains the barrel of one machine gun, visible in the nose.

The T-6 is one of the most popular warbirds with a history that is second to none. Call 937-830-9799 to schedule a time to fly Checkers!