AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2025 - T-14

By keeping some of the original gauges and
switches, Cal-Aerosport kept the original look
and feel of the panel while modernizing the
avionics with Garmin glass like the G600 TXi
and GTN 750 Xi.
a name for himself in the aviation industry,
co-founding FAA-certified maintenance,
repair, and overhaul company Leading
Edge Aviation Services and Leading Edge
Avionics. Finally in the position to buy his
dream aircraft in 2016, Manclark found
and bid on a Bronco at a trade school in
Vermont, which he ultimately lost. He
knew of six more Broncos available in
Texas and purchased those, laying the
foundation for his OV-10 " squadron. "
Shortly after, he received word that the sale
of the original Bronco he'd attempted to
purchase had fallen through; this became
Manclark's seventh Bronco.
" He's [Manclark] a Vietnam supporter, "
Nightingale said. " He supports everybody
that's been over there. It's been a real good
eye-opening journey for me because I've
been able to work with a lot of Vietnam
veterans that flew the airplane in Vietnam. "
California Aerofab, Aerosport's sister
company that focuses on aircraft restoration,
has been restoring airplanes since
1997 and got its start in aircraft fabric work,
like the Bronco, in a garage.
What makes the Bronco so distinctive is its
ability to thrive as both a light attack and
reconnaissance aircraft.
" In the early 2000s, I had an opportunity
to restore a veteran of World War II, I
would say, " Nightingale said. " It was a Pearl
Harbor P-40 that was on Wheeler Field
when it was attacked, and fortunately was
preserved. It crashed in an accident about
three months after Pearl Harbor and was
recovered back in the '80s. A group had
started the project, and they just couldn't
finish it. One of the current customers that
I was maintaining and building his aircraft,
Stephen Gray, asked if I wanted to restore
it. That's how Aerofab started. "
Nightingale, the son of a pilot, practically
grew up at Chino Airport and the
Planes of Fame Air Museum, now located
in Santa Maria, California.
" I started flying airplanes about 1984,
at 15 years old, " Nightingale said. " My
father would bring me down to the airport
every single day after school. He
didn't want me to get a job at the airport,
he wanted me to do something different,
but every day he'd bring me to the airport.
He had a couple airplanes, so I was able
to start learning how to fly with him and a
few of the people around here....I've been
flying ever since. "
A full-service restoration and repair
operation, Cal-Aerofab's multi-hangar
facility is packed with warbirds and bombers
that span more than 80 years of aviation
history like P-40s, Corsairs, and F-86s as
well as a surplus of parts and pieces integral
to the restoration of these storied aircraft.
The OV-10 Squadron's Broncos were
all complete aircraft when they arrived
at Nightingale's apron and required what
he calls " an intense IRAN, or inspect
and repair as needed. " The Broncos also
received updated wiring and avionics
that include Garmin's G600 TXi and GTN
750Xi, GTN 625, and the G5. These aircraft
were last updated in the early 1990s.
" The restoration business has changed
to where you get a complete airplane, "
Nightingale said. " Now you're having to
repair things that guys wanted to throw
out back in the '90s and early 2000s. And
it becomes a very, very interesting trade,
interesting adventure. You build a relationship
with every single airplane you put
together. So, you like to build it for guys that
like what they're doing. "
Nightingale has always had a soft
spot for the OV-10. He grew up watching
them at airshows like the El Toro Airshow,
which took place from 1950 to 1997 at the
now-decommissioned Marine Corps Air
Station El Toro in Orange County.
" It was cool to see servicemen parachute
out of the back of them. And it's a
unique airplane, utility-wise. Everything
is just absolutely, you know, it's different
from everything else, " Nightingale said.
What makes the Bronco so distinctive is
its ability to thrive as both a light attack and
reconnaissance aircraft. The OV-10's low
and slow STOL capabilities allowed it to
operate in a variety of environments, from
aircraft carriers to the battlefield where
it was often used for troop and medical
transport. From the outside, you wouldn't
T-14
AOPA PILOT / March 2025
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - March 2025

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