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Blue Air Training Acquires Seven OV-10 Broncos
Blue Air Training has just announced their acquisition of seven OV-10 Broncos. Two of the aircraft are presently airworthy, seen here in formation recently. They include the recently restored OV-10D+ Bu.155493 (foreground) and OV-10G Bu.155409 (background). The other...
Bronco Unleashed BY MICHAEL O’LEARY
" Gotta tell you, this thing flies just incredibly smooth!” stat- ed Matt Nightingale from the front seat of the just-restored North American OV-10D+ Bronco BuNo 155493 registered NX97854. It was the late afternoon of 1 July and Matt, along with test/instructor pilot...
HERDING BRONCOS AT CHINO
Mike Manclark’s new OV-10 Squadron made a flying start at Southern California’s Chino Airport on June 22, 2019 when Eric Huppert made the debut post-restoration flight of North American Rockwell OV-10D+ Bronco NX97854. It’s the first of seven Broncos slated for...
CORSAIR AT CALIFORNIA AEROFAB
“I have always loved the Corsair,” said restorer Matt Nightingale from his California Aerofab facility at Chino Airport. “It ranks right up there with the P-40.” Readers of Air Classics know that Matt has been responsible for returning many examples of the famed...
Ghost Riders -Bronco Revival- (By Frank B. Mormillo)
It’s a commonly accepted belief that things designed by committees don’t generally work out very well, as they’re often compromised by complexity and conflicting requirements. When it comes to fixed-wing combat aircraft, the prime example of that theory is the General...
FLYING THE OV-10 (BY JOE SCHEIL)
The Bronco sat in a Chino hangar that once housed P-51 Mustangs in the process of being restored to flight. Only 20 years removed from the Mustang and Mitchell, the market changes that brought this OV-10 along with seven more to Chino are perhaps emblematic of the...
ENTER THE OV-10 SQUADRON (BY MICHAEL O’LEARY)
“As a kid, I went to the El Toro Marine Corps airshows with my dad and that is where I saw my first Bronco,” said entrepreneur Mike Manclark. “I guess I sort of fell in love with the OV-10 but, of course, I had absolutely zero idea that I would now be in the position...
SPREADING ITS WINGS: HOW THE OV-10 SQUADRON, BLUE AIR TRAINING, AND CALIFORNIA AEROFAB ARE RETURNING A FLEET OF NORTH AMERICAN BRONCOS TO THE SKY FOR A NEW (MISSION BY MICHAEL O’LEARY)
Increasing communist aggression in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, during the early 1960s saw the American government begin an unprecedented spending program to acquire all sorts of new weapon systems, including aircraft. The new and popular buzz term was COIN —...
