Warbirds in Charleston, SC

[coldaffyduck]

Can anyone out there give me any kind of idea what kind of warbird activity is in that area? It looks like in mid-April I will be moving down there and would just like some idea if there are any down there or if I am going to go into withdrawel with no planes to work on.

[bdk]

You should PM Brad (http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB2/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12) who is presently based at Charleston AFB.

They do have a nice museum at Patriot's Point by the way.

[RareBear]

The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) with its collection of aircraft is at Patriot's Point.

There are some static transport aircraft at Charleston AFB (C-121, C-124, C-47, C-141) but they aren't accessible to the public.

There may be some scattered trainer types at some of the smaller fields in the Charleston area, but there's no organized warbird activity in the area that I'm aware of.

There are 3 ex-Navy C-131's at Beaufort used as sprayers for mosquito control. Marine Corp Air Station Beaufort has 5-6 static gate guardians.
(F-4, FJ-4, A-4, F-8 & others). Beaufort's about 70 miles SW of Charleston.

There's an F-4 and a AH-1 Cobra on the campus of The Citadel (military college) in downtown Charleston.

There are some others scattered around the state. See Mike Henniger's Locator site.

The Carolina Aviation Museum is at the Charlotte airport, about 3.5 hours up the road. It's probably your best bet for getting involved in restoration and flying warbirds, although I think the only flying aircraft they have is the Piedmont DC-3.

Get your nerve pill prescription refilled and prepare for some withdrawal symptoms.

Give me a hollar when you arrive and we'll see if we can get together.

Regards,

Walt McKinney
Moncks Corner, SC (about 25 miles up the Cooper River from Charleston)

[mrhenniger]

Here is the SC section of the Locator...

http://www.aerialvisuals.ca/Locator.html#USA_SC

Mike

[RMAllnutt]

Carolinas Aviation Museum actually has a couple of airworthy Grumman OV-1 Mohawks as well... check out their website...

http://www.carolinasaviation.org/flying_aircraft.html

Cheers,
Richard

[N55759]

NEwbie here,
There is a BT-13, T-6, and Nanchang CJ-6 at Huggins Memorial Airport in Timmonsville, S.C.(58J). Also heard recently about a newly aquired T-6 in Bennetsville, S.C.

[coldaffyduck]

Thank you all for the help, unfortunately it looks like I will have to finish my liscense and commute either back to VA or possibly to Charlotte.

Walt,
Do you know which airport has the least expensive flight schools? We will probably be moving to Summerville/Dorchester County since we heard they have the best school system. And it will probably be in April when we get there.

I also look at it this way, if I can't go to the airport I can always work on my Model A.

[RareBear]

Sorry,

I haven't been in the flight school market since I've been here (since 2001) so I have no idea which are best / least expensive.

There's a good aero club at Charleston AFB if you have any connections to get in. Civil Air Patrol membership will get you in, I think. There's a squadron at CAFB if you're interested.

The Dorchester 2 school district is supposed to be one of the best in the state, with Fort Dorchester High School among the top ranking in the state.
Summerville High School is also very good

I live in Berkeley county, so I'm really not all that familiar with most of the schools in other counties. I do know that you want to avoid getting into Charleston county.

Regards,

Walt