War Dog Flies High As a Tribute to Veterans
By Regina Elling

John Collver at the controls of his AT-6 Texan warbird, the "War Dog."Photo by Regina Rolling

After more than 14,000 hours of flying time, 1,000 air shows and 38 years of flight, John Collver can still remember the plane he bought for $500 nearly 20 years ago.

After all, he's still flying it. And wouldn't have it any other way. Collver is best known to Ramona Air Show audiences as the pilot of the "War Dog," a North American AT-6 Texan. "It's a warbird," Collver says. "It was originally built in 1944. The planes were designed as advanced trainers for the Marine Corps, before they flew fighter aircraft."

Ironically, the plane's first stop was the Miramar base. After serving in numerous Marine bases, World War II ended, and the plane was sold to the Japanese for its air force. In 1974, Japan scraped the plane and it was once again for sale.

"It took about $25,000 and a year to restore the plane and make it airworthy," he says. And with an airworthy, historic plane as his partner, Collver retired from more than 16 years as a corporate pilot for Northrop Grumman and became a professional air show demonstration pilot.

Collver had come a long way since beginning as a 13-year-old "white knuckle" flyer. "I was scared of it at first," he confesses. "But I overcame it, and took my first solo flight at age 16. By age 17, I had my license."

"This plane is what my father grew up with," he says. "I grew up listening to my father and men like him who had flown these planes."

Collver still meets 80-year-old men that flew the War Dog in their 20s. "It is very emotional for these guys," he says. "They are thrilled that the plane still exists. It takes them back 60 years."

Collver says that he doesn't do "tricks or stunts." He does, however, show what the WWII fighter pilots were taught. He flies the War Dog close to ground level and delivers action-packed sequences that immerse the crowd in the look and sound of history. The feeling is mutual - the audience loves the demonstration, and Collver loves the Ramona Air Show.

"This is a great place, with a nice hometown air show where you can meet the public one-on-one," he says. "And people appreciate that this is not just flying a plane - its a tribute and monument to our forefathers."