AirCorps Aviation celebrates the restoration of 2 World War II-era planes

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 12.jpg — Community members gather to witness the fully restored WWII aircrafts, a P-47 and a Thunderbird, at an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

By Maggi Fellerman

July 25, 2023 at 1:37 PM

BEMIDJI 鈥� AirCorps Aviation opened its hangar at the Bemidji Regional Airport last Friday, July 21, for the public to witness two completed planes 鈥� A P-51C Thunderbird and P-47 Thunderbolt.

According to AirCorps Aviation Fabrication and Sales Specialist Stefan Hokuf, Friday鈥檚 open house was held to celebrate the end of an era, but also the start of a new one.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 1.jpg — AirCorps Aviation Fabrication and Sales Specialist Stefan Hokuf visits with attendees during an Aircorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here to celebrate the finish and completion of these two World War II aircraft as we prepare them to travel over to Airventure in Oshkosh, Wisconsin,鈥� Hokuf said. 鈥淥ur company has been working on restoring these aircraft for the last several or many years. We are really proud to be able to show the community what we鈥檝e accomplished.鈥�

A whole slew of different teams worked together to restore these historic planes, including Computer-Aided Design teams, fabrication teams, assembly teams and the mechanics that make it run 鈥� but everyone's goal is the same.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 6.jpg — Mechanics work on the P-47 Thunderbolt WWII aircraft during an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

鈥淚t's really about the legacy of World War II and honoring the Americans that not only flew these airplanes in combat, but the massive amount of Americans who put the airplanes together,鈥� Hokuf said. 鈥淲e just want to tell that story and honor our veterans.鈥�

During Friday鈥檚 event, community members were invited to learn about their history, grab a bite to eat from a food truck and spark up conversations with other plane and history enthusiasts. Attendees even got to witness the planes take flight.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 4.jpg — Attendees check out the fully restored WWII-era P-51C Thunderbird aircraft during an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

Next, the two planes will fly over to Wisconsin to be entered in an Airventure event, where planes of all kinds gather from all over the world and competitions are held for restoration efforts.

Hokuf said specifically WWII aircraft will be competing with one another. A team of judges looks at the authenticity and replication of the aircraft to determine which one wins.

鈥淥ur goal is to show what we can do and ultimately try to win in our work and we're really proud of what we do, especially when we finish an aircraft,鈥� Hokuf said. 鈥淲e have a lot of local people who work here so it's really fun for this opportunity to put the aircraft on display and share it with the larger community.鈥�

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 8.jpg — Attendees read about the history of the restored WWII aircraft during an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 10.jpg — An attendee checks out the fully restored P-47 Thunderbolt World War II aircraft at an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 11.jpg — Community members gather to witness the fully restored P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51C Thunderbird World War II planes at an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 9.jpg — Community members gather to witness the fully restored P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51C Thunderbird World War II planes at an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 7.jpg — Attendees read about the history of the restored WWII aircrafts during an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 3.jpg — The fully restored P-51C Thunderbird World War II plane is on display during an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 2.jpg — Attendees visit during an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

072223.N.BP.AIRPLANES 5.jpg — A man checks out the fully restored P-47 Thunderbolt World War II plane at an AirCorps Aviation open house on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Bemidji Regional Airport.

By Maggi Fellerman

Maggi is a reporter at the Bemidji Pioneer focusing on outdoor and human interest stories. Raised in Aitkin, Minnesota, Maggi is a graduate of Bemidji State University's class of 2022 with a degree in Mass Communication.