Our February monthly dinner has been moved to Friday, February 14th, Valentine's Day. The normal dinner cuisine has will be an all-you-can-eat crab feed! This special dinner has been set aside as not just an opportunity to spend a special event with your favorite sweetheart, but will also serve as fund-raising event for the museum. All profits raised from this event will go directly to the operations of our museum. I would encourage you to make and pay for your reservations now as this is a special catered event. All reservations must be paid prior to 6:00 p.m. on February 10th. We do have opportunities for table sponsors and recognition at this event. I am looking forward to you joining us for this awesome event.

For the next few months I’d like to recognise our paid staff for their contributions to the success of our museum. While all of our staff share the credit for positive visitor experiences, first up is Ken Neuman. Ken started out as gift shop manager and hall rental coordinator. He has excelled in those roles, promoting site rentals in excess of $50,000 for 2024, the most yet. The gift shop has increased sales significantly by diversifying and displaying quality products for purchase by visitors. Check out the gift shop and see for yourself. He also took on the job of Curator and is revamping and reorganising pretty much all of the displays. New and interesting artifacts from military organizations and other museums are largely due to Ken’s diligence in seeking out, maintaining and forming new relationships. All of the above does not begin to describe how enjoyable it is to work with Ken. We are very fortunate to have him doing all that he does for us. Please welcome me in recognising Ken for a job very well done.

• John Couch
• 805 440-1663

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Our Newest Restoration Project Has Arrived

Introducing the Type 97 Te-Ke Tankette. This tankette was used by Imperial Japanese Forces in WWII. There were 616 produced and only 10 are left in existence! It mounted a 37mm gun and was powered by a 65 hp 4 cylinder, air cooled, inline diesel engine capable of reaching 26 mph.

This particular tankette was captured by the 640th Tank Destroyer Battalion (part of the CA National Guard) in 1944 in the Philippines. The tank was brought back to Camp San Luis after WWII and has been on display ever since. Time and weather have done their best to break down this tankette. That's where Estrella Warbirds Museum comes into play. We will be cosmetically refurbishing this tankette to its former self and it will be put on display at the 40th Infantry Divisions HQ in Los Alamitos, CA.

Shown above, Left to Right, Dennis Johansen, Rick Cimino, Greg Heydenreich, John Everett, and Steve Foss. Special credit for help to Scott Stelzle for the expert forklift skills and Josh Nowakowski and Andrew Pate of the National Guard for allowing us to do this restoration! Note the size comparison between the Type 97 and F-16B!

You can follow the progress of this restoration here.

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New Aircraft Have Been Added to our Inventory

Three aircraft, formerly on display at the California Air National Guard Museum in San Luis Obispo, have been transferred to Estrella Warbirds Museum, where they will undergo restoration and placed on static display here in Paso Robles. The aircraft include a 1953 Cessna O1-A Birddog, a 1953 De Havilland U-6A Beaver and a 1956 Hiller OH-23 Raven. If you would like to assist in restoration of any of the above aircraft, we would love to meet with you. Extensive experience is not required but a willingness to learn and participate in a mutual project is appreciated. Stop by any Saturday morning and meet our all volunteer restoration crew.

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