List of Notable Warbird People

[Noha307]

Modern nose artists were briefly touched on in a previous post that mentioned Gary Velasco, but I haven't specifically asked about them. The only other individual I could come up with was Ron Kaplan of Warbird Aviation Art - although I'm not sure how many examples of nose art he painted on actual aircraft, rather than as standalone art pieces. (Ron Klemm of Everts Air might also count, but it depends on whether you really consider Everts activities as historic or simply commercial.) Can anyone think of any more?

EDIT (26-03-02): Came up with another one: Chad Hill of Django Studios.

[Noha307]

To continue the brief summaries:

• Vadim Zadorozhny - founder of the Vadim Zadorozhny Museum of Technology, recovered aircraft from abandoned Khodynka Aerodrome to Medyn Airfield[1][2]
• Henry "Butch" Schroeder - forty-year warbird owner[3]
• Matt Nightingale - founder of California Aerofab aircraft restoration business
• Clyde Smith, Jr. - Piper Cub restoration expert[4]
• Ernie Cromie - 30-year chairman of Ulster Aviation Society, aircraft archaeologist[5]
• Peter Arnold - Spitfire expert, famous for having three Spitfire projects (EN224, LA564, PK519) in his garage[6][7][8][9]
• Kimble D. McCutcheon - president of the Aircraft Engine Historical Society, author
• Graham White - aircraft engine historian and author
• Bob Ogden - British Aircraft Preservation Council register creator[10]
• Ken Ellis - author of Wrecks & Relics book, editor of Flypast magazine

There are a few curators who have been particularly prolific with the number of museums in which they worked. (This is not to imply others are not as notable, simply that it is often harder to quantify when they remain at a single museum.) As a result, instead of a standard summary, I'm simply listing their employment history:

Curators

• Stewart W. "Stu" Bailey - Air Zoo (2003-2008) > Evergreen Air & Space Museum (2008-?) > Lone Star Flight Museum (2016-2020) > Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum (2020-Present)[11][12]
• Keegan Chetwynd - American Airpower Heritage Museum (2012-2015) > Commemorative Air Force (2015-2018) > Non-Aviation Museum (2018-2019) > Military Aviation Museum (2019-2026) > March Field Air Museum (2026-Present)[13]
• Ben Kristy - Cavannaugh Flight Museum (1995-1997) > American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum (1997-2002) > Evergreen Aviation Museum (2002-2005) > National Museum of the Marine Corps[14]