A bit of our history…“Go Fast or Go Home”…. The book
The original owner of Pioneer was Garth Hogan, who established the company in the mid 1990’s to complete the restoration of P40N1 “Currawong”, after the initial restoration company Pacific Aircraft folded. Subsequent to that further projects were undertaken, and the company grew to the world recognised establishment that it is, albeit now in the hands of Paul McSweeny and Steve Cox who acquired the company around 10 years ago.
The restoration of a WW2 warbird is a lot more involved than many people may realise, particularly as the years advance and the quality of the projects to start with diminish. To date very little has been documented as to exactly what is involved and the complexities of some of the issues from finding those rare parts through to having the various components rebuilt and certified to fly.
Another thing that hasn’t been documented is what is involved in getting to fly one of these birds particularly from the point of view of a relatively low hour PPL pilot.
Recently a book was released entitled Go Fast or Go Home which is a Biography of Garth’s life which apart from aviation involves a range of Motorsport activities and his business involvements, including of course the establishment of Pioneer Aero.
So, if you ever wanted to know what is involved in the restoration of a WW2 Warbird, how you get to fly one, and then taking it further to flying in formation, doing aerobatics, all at low level at air shows, this is a book you may well want to read. In addition to that it offers an insight into other aspects of the warbird’s world from how you get to fit and fire the real .50 cal Brownings including working with the authorities to get the OK to do so, and what it feels like when the trigger is pulled and the 6 of them cut loose, through to some behind the scenes stuff about running air shows.
These books are now available through Pioneer $50 apiece and as a special offer this includes Postage and Packaging.
Please email paul@pioneeraero.co.nz for details.
