History of a WACO Military Biplane: the WACO D topic of Lecture Series

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  TROY - Thursday night of April 17, New Hampshire resident John Ricciotti will be the guest presenter at the WACO Aviation Lecture Series.  Born to a B-17 crew member and aircraft mechanic, Ricciotti said, “Aviation is in my blood.  Growing up, I read my dad’s 1950’s era aircraft maintenance textbooks and fell in love with radial engines.”  John rebuilt a wrecked Cessna with his father and brother in the 1970s and, “used it as my primary mode of transportation until I was finally forced to buy a car when I was 23 years old.”  His professional flying career as a certified flight instructor began in the 1980s, mainly teaching in tailwheel aircraft.  He presently owns three tailwheel aircraft, including the 1934 WACO D aircraft that will be the main subject of this talk, and continues to fly for a major airline.

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  WACO’s foray into military fighters was short lived.  The Waco D (Defense) models came on the scene in the early to mid 1930’s and their production was completed by the late 1930’s.   The initial WACO military designs were rather aggressive for the day, but with the preparation of other military aircraft, WACO’s WW2 military aircraft quickly became obsolete.  This one and only civilian D model is the last survivor of its type.   Flying for 80+ years of its 91 year old life, it is a testament to WACO aircraft and the durability of their design.

 

  Come and learn about this wonderful aircraft’s history from the present owner John Ricciotti, and also about what it takes to keep a vintage aircraft flying safely.  

 

  Weather permitting, this historic aircraft will be on display before and after the presentation.

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   All aviation lectures are free and open to the public and are held in the Willis Wing of the WACO Air Museum at 1865 South County Road 25A in Troy, OH. Programs are scheduled to last one hour, beginning at 7 PM, with questions to follow.  Doors will open at 6:30 PM.  Donations to the WACO Air Museum are gratefully accepted.  All lectures are sponsored by Collins Aerospace.  For questions, please call 937-335-9226 or visit www.wacoairmuseum.org.