How does someone become the pilot of a warbird? We were asked that question recently, and to answer it, we thought we’d do a feature on our main Warbird Pilot and Pacific Warbirds founder, Bruce Mayes.

Bruce Mayes started Pacific Warbirds, a flight adventure tour company that offers the best Pearl Harbor tour in Hawaii, to help people understand the whole story of Pearl Harbor.

“I saw thousands of people leaving the Arizona Memorial feeling they have a full accounting of the attack. But there is so much more. The Haleiwa Air Field, from where two pilots took off to engage the enemy, is still there. The Opana Point radar site, where they saw the incoming Japanese planes that they thought were B-17s, is still there. Bellows Field where the Japanese midget sub washed ashore, it’s all still here and visible.”

“I thought that maybe I can finish the story,” he says.

So how did Bruce become the pilot of a warbird?

Here are 5 fun facts about Bruce and his path that led him to become the pilot of a warbird:

1. Bruce Mayes is a Leilehua High graduate located in Wahiawa, HI – about 17 miles north of Pearl Harbor. Mayes grew up playing among the wrecks and remnants of World War II, running through the trenches dug into the Koolaus and among the bomb racks on Ford Island. His playground was one of the country’s most important battle sites and home of the nation’s only aviation battle.

2. Bruce is the son of an Air Force pilot, Chuck Mayes.

3. Bruce is a former Aloha Airlines pilot.

4. Bruce began The Admiral’s Warbird Adventure tour in 2010 after he had been giving airplane and helicopter tours for years and thought it may be time to expand his business.

5. Bruce is an Army and Coast Guard veteran who spent 22 years in uniform.

That’s the partial resume of our warbird pilot. Does that help answer how someone becomes the pilot of a warbird?

Photo Credits: Nathalie Walker

Pacific Warbirds offers the best Hawai‘i flight adventure tours available. Be immersed in the details of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor and soar above the important sites that played a part in the “Day of Infamy.” Relive history as you retrace the steps of the Army and Navy airmen in the days following the bombing. Fly on some of the same routes the Japanese attackers used into the airfields at Wheeler, Kāne‘ohe and Bellows. There are many air tours in Hawai‘i, but only one warbird airplane flight. Located in Honolulu, Hawai‘i Pacific Warbirds provides a personal historical experience making it one of the best O‘ahu attractions.

Experience an immersive two hour adventure that allows you to relive history as a Naval Aviator and fly Pearl Harbor like it was on December 10th, 1941. Learn more about the Admiral’s Warbird Adventure.

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