Aircraft
Owners of Ex-military Aircraft Gear Up
Owners of ex-military aircraft are up in arms over a rider to the Senate bill to appropriate military funds for next year.

Owners of ex-military aircraft are up in arms over a rider to the Senate bill to appropriate military funds for next year. The Department of Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002, S.1438, deals mostly with appropriations for regular military expenses but contains a small section, or rider, calling for the “demilitarization” of “significant military equipment” formerly belonging to the DOD. Such equipment could include valuable surplus aircraft now owned and flown by collectors and aviation history enthusiasts.

Groups such as the EAA Warbirds of America maintain that the language of the rider is too vague, and could someday be interpreted to mean that all such aircraft would be required to be rendered unflyable.

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