North American T-6 Texan

The name of the host of the world's greatest airshow has the word "Experimental" right in it, but it's so much more than a homebuilt organization or a homebuilt show. EAA for decades has been all about private aviation of all kinds, from ultralights to World War II-era bombers. Warbirds are a core interest of EAA, both in terms of its airshow---what would it be without the sounds of big radials or sizzling V-12s?---and its owner/ builder/flyer support efforts. While we could have picked a few different airplanes, from the T-34 Beech Mentor to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, to be the poster wings for this note, the T-6 holds a special place in private warbird lore, and to say it is well represented at Oshkosh is a huge understatement. Both on the flight line and in the airshow, the North American World War II-era trainer, of which more than 15,000 were produced, made it for a couple of decades after the war, a remarkably affordable warbird and one to which owner/pilots became deeply attached. As is the case for the relationship between the Oshkosh Fly-In and the T-6.