Association gets to work restoring 1940s airplane

A piece of aviation history, a 1940s-era Aeronca Chief, was delivered on Saturday, July 9, to a hangar at the Ocean City Airport, where the Ocean City Aviation Association will begin a lengthy restoration project.

Coleman Bunting, OCAA treasurer, said the recent purchase came about from an attempt to bridge the generation gap with area youngsters.

“We wanted to try to reach some of the kids in the schools,” he said. “I checked with Stephen Decatur (High School) and Wor-Wic (Community College) and told them we were interested in doing this project and we never got any response.”

The OCAA has been in existence for half a century, Bunting said, and its primary mission is to promote safety and education at the airport.

“It used to be we made model airplanes and now everybody is on their computer,” he said. “Not too many of them are interested in mechanical skills. It’s going to be a lost art doing some of this stuff.”

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