Butler County Warbirds is Site #16 on the Aviation Trail
One of the goals of Butler County Warbirds is the restoration and preservation of military aircraft. We currently have two aircraft undergoing restoration to flying condition: A 1939 Fairchild XUC-86A and a 1941 Aeronca L-3E.
The L-3E was manufactured at the Aeronca factory in Middletown, Ohio, right across the street from our museum on December 24th, 1941. It originally was sold to a private civilian, until it was purchased by the Defense Plant Corporation on July 23rd, 1942. Under this ownership, it was used as a tandem trainer aircraft with the Army Air Corps until November of 1942 when it was removed from service. After passing through several owners over the years, it ended up in a barn in Peoria, Illinois where it sat for about 30 years. It was purchased in September of 1994 and restored to flying condition.
Butler County Warbirds is proud to have brought this aircraft home, and we are currently in the process of restoring the aircraft to the paint scheme it had when it was in military service. We have recently covered the control surfaces and fuselage of the Aeronca and should have the aircraft complete in the Fall of 2021.
The Fairchild XUC-86A will be a longer project for us, as we expect to have it restored to flying condition within 2 years.
Originally built as a Fairchild 24 with a 175 hp engine, this airframe was assigned to Drew Field (now Tampa International Airport) with the Army Air Corps. It was later given an L-440 C-5 engine of 200 hp and re-designated by the Army Air Corps as an XUC-86A. It is assumed that the aircraft's performance was not enhanced to the desired extent with this modification, and further development was not pursued. This was the only airframe ever given the designation of XUC-86A, which makes it a one-of-a-kind piece of history.
Come check out our restoration progress in person at our hangar, located at 2351 Wedekind Drive, Middletown, Ohio. While visiting, you can take a look in our air conditioned artifact display, containing over 1500 military and aviation artifacts ranging from Civil War to the most recent Gulf War. We are still in the process of archiving our artifacts and labeling all of our displays. Hours are 10AM to 5PM, Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free. Don't forget to bring your Aviation Trail Passport brochure to get a BCW stamp or grab a stamped brochure from us to get started on your quest to get Wilbear Wright.
If you wish to support our projects, donations are always appreciated and tax-deductible.
You can book a 15 or 30 minute flight experience in our 1943 Fairchild PT-19. Call 513-217-4636 to purchase and book your experience. We sell branded t-shirts, baseball caps, and more. All proceeds from ride and item sales support our aircraft restoration, building maintenance, and artifact displays.
Michelle Smith
Public Relations
Butler County Warbirds