Heber Valley Airport - Russ McDonald Field (36U)

[Matt Ottosen]

Cirrus SR22 G3 GTS

[Matt Ottosen]

Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon "Attu Warrior"

[Matt Ottosen]

Rylan and I visited an old friend while we were in Heber, Utah last week.  Unfortunately, she was a bit of a sad sight...  Attu Warrior has been grounded for about three years, needs two new props and an annual inspection, her owner, Dave H., has passed away, and she is currently just sitting across from the CAF Utah Wing hangar rotting in the sun and it appears that they don't have any plans for her.  When I asked what the plans were, I was told that the funds currently don't exist to restore her, but at least, they make money off of tickets and people wanting to see her during CAF functions.

I was very sad to see the current state of the aircraft, but I truly hope that someone saves this beautiful warbird in the near future and restores her to flying status.  With only one other example out there flying, people need to see Attu Warrior and learn of the story of the men that flew these great airplanes during World War II out of Attu Island, Alaska.

Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon "Attu Warrior"

[Joe Copalman]

What a bummer.  AW is easily one of the best-looking Harpoons out there.  Hopefully someone will find the scratch to get her airborne again.

[Matt Ottosen]

What a bummer.  AW is easily one of the best-looking Harpoons out there.  Hopefully someone will find the scratch to get her airborne again.

The really shitty thing is that not only Dave passed away, but Steve also passed away.  During the CoNA Parade of Planes at North Island in 2011, Steve flew left and Dave flew right, and we lost both of them in 2018...  Dave was the owner, and Steve had been the CAF Utah WIng's Wing Leader.

I truly hope that there is some driving force/motivation to keep Attu Warrior in the air and touring.  She is one of the truly amazing warbird examples that are currently airworthy, and she needs to continue to keep telling her story.

Dave's dream was always to take her up to Alaska and out to Attu Island, he wanted to share her history with the people of Alaska.  This was something that I had been working with him on before he got sick.  I truly hope that his dream for Attu Warrior is something that can happen in the future.