Skip to main content
If you are a NATA member, please login to access all website content
HomeNATA Introduction

Introduction to NATA


NATA is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the preservation, restoration and safe operation and enjoyment of military aircraft manufactured by the North American Aviation company (NAA). NATA provides members with acquisition, operational, maintenance, and safety information, formation training, advocacy, and flight training, and parts and repair referrals. Membership is open to all pilots, owners and enthusiasts of these aircraft worldwide, and includes a majority of U.S. owners of these aircraft, and owners, pilots, enthusiasts and historians from 13 countries.


NATA provides type club support for all variants of the P-51 MustangB-25 MitchellT-28 Trojan, and T-6 Texan/SNJ/Harvard, NA-50, NA-64. Other NAA types welcomed include the P-64, L-17 Navion, T-2 Buckeye, F-86 Sabre, and F-100 Super Sabre.


A key mission for NATA is promoting, teaching, and maintaining the skills to fly aircraft in formation. Visit our formation Introduction and FAQ pages for more information. NATA is also a signatory of the Formation and Safety Team (FAST), a worldwide educational organization dedicated to teaching safe formation flying in restored, vintage military aircraft and civilian aircraft. Visit www.flyfast.org for details.


To help keep our aircraft flying for the enjoyment of future generations, NATA awards Warbird A&P Scholarships annually to aspiring, young A&P mechanics who attend an A&P Boot Camp to lean how to maintain warbirds. Our goal is to recruit and train the next generation of warbird maintainers.

During the 2018 Reno Air Races, former NATA president Mike Ginter was interviewed by the Florida Aviation Network, during which he talked about many NATA initiatives, including our scholarship program.


NATA publishes a quarterly magazine called Skylines in March, June, September and December. Skylines provides a wealth of information about NAA trainer aircraft, operation and maintenance of those aircraft, formation training/flying, and related events.

Each year, NATA co-sponsors the welcome reception at the National Warbirds Operators Conference (NWOC). Event recaps and NATA videos are available here.


NATA was founded in 1985 by L. P. "Stoney" and Kathy Stonich.



(Header image: NATA members gather in Culpeper, VA with their aircraft for the annual Potomac Flight over Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.)