The idea behind the company came to shape on a cocktail napkin back in 1997. Founders Graham Meise and Thom Richard decided to max out all their credit cards and buy a T-6. By January 7th, 1998 the company had been formed and the first aircraft purchased in California. It took 6 days to bring it home to Zephyrhills, Florida after which extensive modification had to be done. Four months later, they sat on the ramp with a shiny T-6 waiting for people to come by. The original plan was to barn-storm around the country, but they ended up in Kissimmee by accident and set up shop out of the Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum instead. The rest is history. The operation now has it's own hangar and even it's own Museum. Flying Tigers shut down in 2004 after Hurricane Charley so the new Kissimmee Air Museum was formed in its place. Flights are offered on a daily basis in their three SNJ's and the exhibit is open to the public 6 or 7 days/week (depending on season). Over 30,000 satisfied customers have flown with Warbird Adventures. Perhaps you'll be the next lucky person to experience the flight of a lifetime...
Please scroll down and meet the staff of Warbird Adventures and the Kissimmee Air Museum.
Front office & Gift shop
Sue Duvernois - Office manager
On the front line… Sue is our office and gift shop manager. She is also in charge of flight operations, scheduling, dvd productions, shipping, communications, and museum admissions. If you call us here you will most likely be speaking to Sue, so be nice to her since she has a lot to do during the work day. If you have any questions about flights, what to wear, when to be here, how to get here and so on, she will be happy to assist you.
Sue was recruited to work for Warbird Adventures after many years of serving tasty beverages to the boys at the local pub; after work of course. Managing a bar for all those years has certainly helped in being able to deal with prima donna pilots and their tall tales of how awesome they are. In her spare time (which is very spare indeed) she loves to be in the kitchen creating fabulous food, on the ocean sailing, or traveling to far off places.
Line Pilots
Chuck Gardner - Instructor Pilot
Chuck Gardner comes from a long line of family aviators. His first ride in a plane was as an infant with his dad in a small Cessna. Both uncles fly professionally in jets and helicopters and a great uncle flew Corsairs in WWII. He grew up going to airshows in Texas and was always surrounded by pilots and old planes. Starting his flight instruction at the age of 14, the dream of flying warbirds began. Flying Champ's and Cub's off of grass strips, he learned to master the tricks of the taildragger. Chuck has logged close to 5,000 hours of flight time in old WWII airplanes including the Stearman, T-6, and P-51. Always charming and amazingly good looking, he is now the senior pilot at Warbird Adventures. There is always a personal request from customers that return to fly with him year after year. He has flown over 100 types of planes across the country including the B-17, B-24, and B-25 bombers. With over two thousand hours in the backseat of the T-6, Chuck is sought out by aircraft owners and pilots from all across the globe to give flight instruction. You will find him in the hangar enjoying the shade and talking about himself to anyone who will listen. But don't let his laid-back Texas charm fool you, because behind those brilliant blue eyes lies a modern day "Air Devil."
Jim Harley - Instructor Pilot
Jim Harley is a fighter pilot wannabee "stuck" flying bombers. Wishing to aspire to the level of his mentor, Mustang pilot Chuck Gardner, Jim brings 7 years of bomber flying experience to Warbird Adventures. Inspired by warbird airshows at a young age, Jim grew up dreaming of flying WWII airplanes and learning the history of this great era. During 2002 a chance opportunity to fly with the Collings Foundation lead to a seven year love affair with the B-17, the B-24 and the B-25. Eventually earning type ratings in all three of these great bombers, Jim has broadened his horizons by becoming an instructor pilot in the T-6/SNJ with the hopes of someday getting to fly WWII fighters. Jim is an Ohio native transplanted, like many others, to the great state of Florida. He's flown over 65 different types of aircraft and will be glad to tell you that he doesn't care what he is flying, as long as he gets to fly.
John Sausedo - Instructor Pilot
Due to the repeated request from customers worldwide, John has once again returned to fly with Warbird Adventures after a 7 year hiatus. John hails from California and started flying at the age of 16. Since then, he has accumulated over 8000 hours of flight time in over 100 different types of airplanes, with 1300 hours in the mighty Texan.
John has a dynamic and varied aviation background which includes time as an aerobatic instructor in the Pitts Special to serving as Chief Pilot for a Fed Ex Feeder airline. When he tired of sitting all day behind a desk, he returned to the skies flying the Mitsubishi MU-2 carrying bank documents up and down the west coast in the middle of the night.
John was even awarded the distinct honor of being named 'Worlds Greatest Pilot'. Even though this contest was a product of his imagination, it doesn't let him stop from thinking it. With an ego that rivals Thom Richard's, Warbird Adventures is considering building a third hangar just to house it. When not flying the T-6, John can be found talking about about how great he thinks he is to anyone who will listen or sitting in the cockpits of other airplanes making airplane noises.
Sean Sweeney - Instructor Pilot & A&P
Learning to fly hang gliders at the age of twelve with his father, Sean has always had his “head in the clouds”. Amassing over 10,000 hours in the last 32 years in more than 140 makes and models of aircraft, all he ever wanted to be was a pilot. From hang gliders he went on to design, build and manufacture ultralights with his father. They flew them all over the country demonstrating them at various air shows. He then started flying gliders, soloing at 14, and then getting his private glider license at 16 (before he got his drivers license!). After graduating high school he went to earn his airframe and powerplant license so he could work on the airplanes he was flying. This led him to work at United Airlines as a mechanic in San Francisco until deciding that he really did need to be in the air. He went to Alaska to fly where he instructed new pilots in the finer art of bush flying for MarkAir, then moving back to the “lower 48” to work as a commuter captain, again working as a check pilot and instructor. He worked his way up until becoming a captain, and Chief pilot for a Boeing 727 operator in Orlando. With the airline life, and schedules, taking him away from his family far more than he liked he made another change in his career and came to work for Warbird Adventures working as both a mechanic and pilot. He flies in addition to the 1945 SNJ-6 Texans, the 1956 Taylor Aerocar, the 1941 Ryan PT-22 Recruit, the 1978 Hummingbird, and the Glasair 1TD.
Steve McDevitt - Instructor Pilot
Steve joined Warbird Adventures in April 2008 bringing with him over 20 years of warbird and airshow experience. He has had a love of flying that started at a young age. His father was a WWII Army Air Corps veteran in B-25's, and took him and his brother flying on the weekends in his Ercoupe. As Steve grew up, his dream of becoming a Navy pilot was dashed when his eyesight wasn't 20/20, so he enlisted at 17 to have the G.I. bill pay for civilian flight school. Things didn't turn out for him there either, as the G.I. Bill discontinued flight training in 1977. So he stayed in, paid his own way, and earned all his civilian ratings while on active duty as a radar operator on P-3 Orions. In 1988, he was hired at Provincetown-Boston Airways (PBA) as a first officer on DC-3's. 3 months later he was furloughed, and took a job flying C-47's for Four Star Aviation in San Juan. With over 600 hours in type at the time, he volunteered for the Collings foundation in 1990, and started a 17 year relationship which had him type rated in the B-17 and TBM-3 Avenger. Steve also flew the B-24, B-25, Stearman, and T-6. In 1998 he bought a Yak-52 and started his aerobatic flying and was a member of the Yak Demo Team. To date, Steve has over 5000 hours of warbird time and a total of over 21,000 hours. He traded in the DC-3, and today is a Captain on the 757/767 with Continental Airlines flying mostly to Europe. His love of warbirds is still as strong today as it was 20 years ago. He resides at Spruce Creek fly-in with his lovely wife, Lauren, and cat Zoie
Maintenance
Management
Graham Meise - Instructor pilot & President
One of the founders of Warbird Adventures. Originally from South Africa but permanently moved to the US in 1986. Veteran Skydiver, Aircraft mechanic, Electrical engineer and Instructor in both fixed wing and helicopter. Over 7000 hours of flight experience of which 2000 is in Warbirds and 1000 in helicopters.
Thom Richard - Chief Pilot & VP
Thom claims his first word in the crib was 'Spitfire'... After which he started flying Gliders at the age of 16 in his native country Sweden. Upon arriving in the US in 1989 at 17, he pursued powered flight and learned to fly in various taildraggers in California. Always wanting to turn upside down as much as possible, he learned aerobatics well before he even had a license. After earning all his ratings he barnstormed around the US, flew fire watch and skydivers. He even used to skydive, but he's much better now... before he co-founded Warbird Adventures. With over 8000 hours in everything from gliders to twin turbines and helicopters, the T-6 is his most current office at 3800 hours dual given. Whenever he's not playing with warbirds he can usually be found working on one of his Reno air racers in the hangar.
