“I would not have gotten through any of these steps along the way if there wasn’t somebody who was willing to help me,” Ben Wilson says modestly.
Modestly because 31-year old Wilson carved his own path to becoming a warbird pilot by combining desire and enthusiasm with a willingness to work hard and form relationships that could help him achieve his goal.
Unlike Rathbun, Wright, and many others who are part of the warbird world, Wilson had no aviation background and didn’t start flying and pursuing an aviation career until he enrolled at Oklahoma State University.
It was a ride in the CAF Gulf Coast Wing’s B-17 “Texas Raiders” during an airshow that lit a fire within him to get close to and ultimately fly warbirds himself. Wilson then did…
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Flight Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, September - October 2022