Founder | Rod Lewis |
---|---|
Type | Nonprofit |
Location | |
Website | www |
Lewis Air Legends is an organization located in San Antonio, Texas focused on historic aviation.
Rod Lewis, the son of an air force pilot and founder of Lewis Energy, purchased his first aircraft, an Aeronca Chief, in 1981 to survey the oil and natural gas wells his company owned. [1] In 1995, he acquired a T-28. and eventually founded Lewis Air Legends. [2] [3]
In 2006, the organization purchased both the F8F Rare Bear and the P-38 Glacier Girl. [4] [5] By 2012, it operated a team at the Reno Air Races called Lewis Air Racing. [6]
The organization purchased a VC-121A used by General Douglas MacArthur from the Planes of Fame Air Museum in 2015 and began restoring it to airworthy condition. [7] The aircraft debuted at EAA AirVenture in 2023. [8]
The organization sold a de Havilland Mosquito that was being restored for it in New Zealand in 2020. [9]
The aircraft are divided among several entities including the Air Legends Foundation, [10] [11] Lewis Fighter Fleet [12] and Lewis Vintage Collection. [13]
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 and although mainly retired from military operations, is still in use in small numbers as a rugged bush airplane.
The Grumman F7F Tigercat is a heavy fighter aircraft that served with the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) from late in World War II until 1954. It was the first twin-engine fighter to be deployed by the USN. While the Tigercat was delivered too late to see combat in World War II, it saw action as a night fighter and attack aircraft during the Korean War.
The Grumman F8F Bearcat is an American single-engined, carrier-based, fighter aircraft introduced in late World War II. It served during the mid-20th century in the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the air forces of other nations. It was Grumman Aircraft's last piston-engined fighter aircraft.
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The American Wings Air Museum was an aviation museum located at Anoka County–Blaine Airport in Blaine, Minnesota.
The Erickson Aircraft Collection is an aviation museum located at the Madras Municipal Airport in Madras, Oregon.
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