AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022 - 38

BRIEFING
Nick Infantino
The youngest unit leader in CAF history
BY LUC ZIPKIN
Expeditor, Bucket of Bolts. He says he spent
his COVID-19 lockdown learning as much as
he could about warbirds, and when the CAF
launched a campaign to start new units, he
jumped at the chance to get involved; he was
just 16 years old at the time. Infantino also
notes the great influence of the late GEICO
Skytyper, Andy Travnicek, as his mentor and
first direct introduction to warbird flying.
To become a member of the CAF, called
a colonel, costs $200 a year-although that
may be one of the best bargains in aviation,
giving one a direct connection to these special
airplanes as a part of a team that works
together to maintain, commemorate, and
fly CAF warbirds. Qualified pilots can even
get behind the controls of these rare birds.
Aircraft sponsorship for a PT-23, among
the lower-performance aircraft that the
Commemorative Air Force operates, is set at
S I NC E
I T S
F OU ND I NG in 1957, the
Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has grown
to a giant in the warbird scene, with 181 aircraft
and 89 units. But the former Confederate
Air Force, headquartered in Dallas, is a
Southern organization, right? Not so, says
18-year-old Nick Infantino of Manchester,
New Hampshire.
If we Yanks thought the CAF wasn't for
us, Infantino, the executive officer/unit leader
of its New England Wing, has proven us mistaken.
Just a few days before graduating high
school, Infantino got to see his hard work pay
off when the unit's first airplane, a Fairchild
PT-23, landed at Hampton Airfield (7B3) in
North Hampton, New Hampshire, after a long
journey from Texas, the airplane's previous
home. The road to a New England CAF unit,
however, began long before that. Infantino
first encountered warbirds at age 4, when the
Collings Foundation brought its touring fleet of
historic airplanes to Nashua Airport. In 2018, he
got another taste of World War II aviation when
he took a ride in the CAF Beechcraft C-45
38
AOPA PILOT / November 2022
a $1,500 one-time fee. CAF headquarters sets a minimum standard of 30 members,
five aircraft sponsors, and a meeting location to start a new unit, and Infantino says
this was a challenge. It's a big ask, Infantino admits, when " people commit, but if
you don't meet the threshold, you might be left without a unit. " The allure of warbirds,
and of bringing the CAF to New England for the first time, helped Infantino
pull it all together.
" We have a great group, " he said. He cited the generosity of a local group in making
available a T-hangar as a meeting location, as well as the low average age of their
members, which he estimates to be in the 40- to 50-year-old age bracket, thanks to
the inroads Infantino made with local young pilots. After all, he's the youngest unit
leader in CAF history. Infantino is also quick to credit CAF headquarters in Dallas for
its relatively smooth startup process, thanks to new initiatives aimed at making warbird
flying more inclusive; the touring operation allowed the fledgling unit to recruit
new members at the tour stop in Nashua, New Hampshire, and CAF Chief Operating
Officer David Oliver and Chief Aviation Officer Jim Lasche provided support from
headquarters toward the acquisition of the unit's first aircraft, including a $65,000
grant to get things moving and buy an airplane. NECAF is working on qualifying
pilots and completing paperwork to fly paid rides out of its New Hampshire base.
Infantino is at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida,
pursuing A&P mechanic certification. He says his biggest dream and career goal is to
run a restoration shop for warbirds; the greatest privilege, to him, is to care for and
maintain these historic aircraft. With the passionate support of the Commemorative
Air Force, Infantino is proving warbirds are for everyone. Luc Zipkin is president
and founder of Young Pilots USA.
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022
