PROVO, Utah — Around the country, World War II airplanes travel to airshows to showcase history and inspire those watching. As time goes on, keeping these warbirds flying becomes more difficult, and restoring them from parts is nearly impossible.
It's been the mission of a few Utahns to keep history in the air for over a decade in a Uniquely Utah fashion.
THE HISTORY
In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to build 50,000 planes a year. No one thought it was possible. Then America did something extraordinary, delivering double that amount every year. By the end of WWII, the country had amassed over 300,000 planes, far exceeding what anyone ever expected.
People gravitate toward stories of ingenuity, triumph, and defying the odds. In the mid-1940s, the United States was doing just that with planes, including the Douglas A-26 Invader.
"The A-26 was a follow-on to Douglas's A-20. We're kind of all of the opinion that if World War II had gone on, this may have been the premier bomber that everybody remembers.” said A-26 restorer Bob Schroeder.
Thousands of workers packed into assembly lines, churning out the plane at lightning speed. Imagine trying to do that same thing today. That's where Jan Fronk and Bob Schroeder come into the picture.
RESTORING HISTORY
"I retired four years ago, and my wife allows me to come down here three days a week to work on it," Schroeder said.
Fronk is the supervising crew chief for the A-26 restoration
"We like to think that we've certainly done our part, and you know, we poured our heart and soul into it.” he said.
In a hangar at Provo Airport sits a sleeping giant — an A-26 Invader — being resurrected after decades.
The team started this restoration hoping to just get the plane running and airworthy but what was supposed to be a simple task turned into "a restoration of epic proportions," according to Bob.
Schroeder, Fronk and dozens of others have lent their blood, sweat and tears to this project which started from basically nothing.
"They got trucked down here on five flatbed trailers of stuff." Schroeder explained, "Handed me a part and said, 'Here, take care of this.'"
That was 14 years ago, and a lot has happened since.
"The wings weren't on it," said Fronk. "The tail group wasn't on it. Of course, the engines weren't on it.”
The group had to figure out how to get all the mechanical and electronic systems in place.
"The fuselage was clear full of its own parts," shared Fronk.
"It's kind of the begets theory. We got this, we'd beget that, we beget that," said Schroeder.
Elevators, rudders, and control lines, the men said they could talk all day long about what went into the airplane, what came out, and what they had to do to fix it.
After 14 years, it looks like an airplane again, ready to roll off the assembly line like the rest of the hundreds of thousands of planes during the war, maybe just with a little longer build time.
THE NAME
There’s a long history of naming aircraft, so with all the effort expended since the group undertook their mission, they felt the name was only natural.
"We think it's a pretty appropriate name," Bob said, referring to its moniker: High Maintenance.
Fronk acknowledged that the title is "definitely true to its name." However, that also makes the project even more rewarding.
"When you're 90% done, you've only got 90% to go,” Schroeder remarked.
THIS PLANE: N917Y
High Maintenance has a fascinating history because, unlike other A-26 invaders, it never saw combat. The A-26 came out around the middle of WWII and was produced until after the end of the war.
After the allied victory, some of the planes were sold, some were mothballed, and some stayed in service. Because of the aircraft's versatility, the A-26 had a lengthy life span, serving as both a bomber and an attack aircraft, even for a time being redesigned as a B-26 (A for attack B for bomber) serving in both the Korea and Vietnam wars.
This particular airplane took a very different path, however.
Video below shares how High Maintenance found its way to Utah:
RETURN TO FLIGHT
After 14 years, the group believes the A-25 will finally take to the skies this summer. There’s still a lot of work to do, including paint, which is next on the list, being donated by a company in Provo.
The hope is the plane will be ready for a very special anniversary.
"This will be the 80th anniversary of when it was first rolled off the assembly line," Schroeder explained. "I think it's gonna be pretty emotional because everybody's put their heart and soul into it. And I'm not the only one who's going to be shedding tears, I can guarantee you.”
It may seem strange to get emotional over metal and oil held together by rivets and ingenuity, but for this piece of history being brought back to life, it's more than the sum of its parts.
"There's just something about airplanes," Fronk shared. "They're pretty unique, and they've got a soul.”
Soon, that soul will soar and travel to airshows around the world as a unique reminder of these Utahns' passion for bringing history into the future.
"We feel pretty sure this is going to be a unique addition to what Utah people can do,” said Fronk. "This is just our thing that we do."
CLICK HERE to help the group's journey to return High Maintenance to the skies.
