22 FlightJournal.com
Reillyexplains,“Mr.Collingssaidhewanted
toworkwarbirdsintohishistoricalaviation
experience,soheboughtaB-25.Hesentme
toinspectitandbringitbacktoKissimmee,
Florida—anothermidwinterflightwithno
heat!Shortlyafterthat,hesentmetoMesa,
Arizona,toinspectaB-17thathehadjust
purchasedthathadbeenafirebomber.That
wasthesamedaytheChallengerexploded.I’ll
neverforgetit.WetookthatB-17downtothe
smallestpartandbroughtitbackuplikenew.
Thenheboughtanex-RAFB-24fromEnglandTHE WARBIRD SAVIORS
TomReilly,ofTomReillyVintageAviation,
says,“IwasaCessna 150 pilotandaskydiving
instructorandhadnoideawhatawarbird
wasuntilaguypulledaMustangupinfront
oftheshop,andIsuddenlyandpassionately
discoveredanotherworld.Ashorttimelater,I
bought 13 NAAYalesthathadbeensoldoutof
afamousauctioninCanada,wheretheyhad
beensitting(inafield)fordecades.Theyhad
beenboughtbybiddersthatquicklyfound
theywereovertheirheads,soIboughtthem
andtransportedthemtoFloridaandother
destinations,oneatatime.Iputnewtireson
them,putthetailupinatruck,andheaded
south.Imadeagoodprofitandwasinstantly
outoftheskydivingbusiness.ThenIdiscovered
B-25s,whichwereextremelycheapatthetime.
Reillycontinues,“Ifoundseveralscattered
aroundtheEastCoast;most,liketheex-Battle
ofBritaincameraplanesittinginNewJersey,
hadn’tflownfordecades.Ipaidoffthelien
holders,workedhardthroughafreezing
wintergettingitferriable,andflewittoFort
Lauderdalewithoutasinglehiccup.Isolditto
fourguysformuchmorethanIpaid.Iwasin
business!”
ThenReillygotacallfromBobCollingsof
theCollingsFoundation.Tom Reilly Vintage Aviation | Douglas, Georgia
Tom Reilly’s reputation is that of tackling huge bomber
restoration projects.Tom says he’s a “bomber
guy,” and this formation of
the Collings Foundation’s
nationwide Wings of Free-
dom Tours proves that: He
restored them all. The B-24
alone took 97,000 man
hours and millions of rivets.
(Photo courtesy of the
Collings Foundation)