Be Safe But Authentic with Your New Old Panel

The restoration of this storied WACO shows it's not hard to enjoy modernly vintage instruments.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 02:14 PM ET

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Vintage instruments above, modern below on a 1934 WACO YMF-3. [Rebecca Rambal]

Key Takeaways:

The Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum meticulously restores vintage aircraft, like the 1934 WACO YMF-3, with the goal of keeping them flying while preserving their original historical appearance.
Master mechanic Bob Johnson employs innovative techniques to integrate modern aviation technology (radios, ADS-B, electric starters) into these aircraft, often hiding devices in plain sight or within period-appropriate disguises such as a faux map case or under fabric.
This unique approach allows the museum's collection to operate safely and comply with modern airspace regulations without compromising the authentic 1930s-1940s aesthetics of the open-cockpit biplanes.

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There is a lot of compromise in aviation.

When a person owns an open-cockpit vintage aircraft, one of the first decisions to make is how radio communications will be addressed. You can utilize a portable battery-operated handheld radio so the instrument panel remains true to factory specs, you could eschew the legacy panel gauges and install a modern radio and the supporting electrical system in the name of safety and convenience—or you can get creative and have the best of both worlds.