CAF Big Sky Wing

CAF Big Sky Wing Welcome to the official page of the Commemorative Air Force Big Sky Wing.

It’s been a busy month here at the wing. While it might not look like much has happened, we made lots of progress on our...
08/28/2025

It’s been a busy month here at the wing. While it might not look like much has happened, we made lots of progress on our parts plane. As previously stated, there was damage to the frame from the crash so naturally some of the tubing had to be replaced. After much work and discovery we have new tubing at the hangar and a good welder lined up to help fix the damaged sections. Evert spent a lot of time sanding some of the tubes to check for corrosion and pitting. Thankfully everything so far is looking good. There’s still LOTS more to do but each week is one step closer.

Well it’s been another great week at the hangar! Our Wednesday work party saw 7 people show up, including some new faces...
07/25/2025

Well it’s been another great week at the hangar! Our Wednesday work party saw 7 people show up, including some new faces. Besides Mike and Evert, Rick here decided to swing by and help us take the firewall off. Thanks Rick!

With the side panels and firewall removed, we can now see the extent of the damage from the crash and what the next phase will be fixing the frame. Thankfully the damage isn’t bad and everyone is enthusiastic about what does need to be fixed.

Well we had our first work party tonight since the parts plane was unloaded into the hangar. We got the Evert, Mike, Bob...
07/17/2025

Well we had our first work party tonight since the parts plane was unloaded into the hangar. We got the Evert, Mike, Bob and myself got the vetical assembly off as well as the broken engine mount. Mike worked on further stabilizing the front, adding castors, as well as building a tail mount so we can more easily move the plane around. It’s nice to be working on our project plane again!

It’s a wrap. Literally! It took one heck of a lot to get everything loaded in two days but we managed it. A big thank yo...
06/28/2025

It’s a wrap. Literally! It took one heck of a lot to get everything loaded in two days but we managed it. A big thank you to our special donor who donated the parts! Thank you! Also a big thank you to Matt our driver for all the help. It’s been one exciting adventure!

Day 3 begins.
06/28/2025

Day 3 begins.

Day 2 is under wraps! We got the fuselage settled on a new and more secure mount for transport with the tail wheel remo...
06/28/2025

Day 2 is under wraps! We got the fuselage settled on a new and more secure mount for transport with the tail wheel removed. Horizontal stabilizer and elevator still need to be removed tomorrow. We started making crates and figuring out how to package all the plane parts. 15 hours on the field, including a rain and thunderstorm, and we’re staring to see results.

Day 2 has started! 86 degrees at 10:30am, how lovely. Building crates and moving stuff to get our T6 out and onto a semi...
06/27/2025

Day 2 has started! 86 degrees at 10:30am, how lovely. Building crates and moving stuff to get our T6 out and onto a semi for transport back to Bozeman.

We landed and made our way over to our destination, a small strip with some old hangars and inside our treasure. We arri...
06/27/2025

We landed and made our way over to our destination, a small strip with some old hangars and inside our treasure. We arrived at 8pm and instantly realized how much work we had to do this weekend! There IS a plane in there I swear.

Members of the wing, Mike Phillips, Bob Green, Evert Wierda and Jake Peterson, are trekking to the midwest this weekend ...
06/26/2025

Members of the wing, Mike Phillips, Bob Green, Evert Wierda and Jake Peterson, are trekking to the midwest this weekend to recover a treasure trove of much needed parts to aid in the restoration of the units SNJ-5. Stay tuned.

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Bozeman, MT
59718

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