Mark Foster

Foster’s odyssey launched in high school. He was working weekends at a race car shop and riding motorcycles competitively when friends suggested he volunteer to restore warbirds at Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California. After graduation, Foster, who had a talent for shaping metal, went through Chaffey College’s airframe and powerplant certificate program.

Foster also began working at California’s legendary Fighter Rebuilders. He earned his pilot certificate; a World War II Consolidated B–24 pilot did his checkride.

Then he began trading firewall fabrication for flight time in a Stearman N2S.

It wasn’t enough (“I couldn’t just shoot rivets all day”). He took on promotional and front-office duties, including airshow scheduling for Planes of Fame. He spoke fluent A&P, communicated clearly with mechanics and clients alike, blending people skills with deep aircraft systems knowledge. Planes of Fame hired him as a manager. There, he flew warbirds most pilots only dream of. He’s now flown more than 40 aircraft types, with specialized ratings for the North American P–51 Mustang, Douglas SBD Dauntless, and Vought F4U Corsair.

But Foster wanted his own warbird. For a speed junkie, it was a surprising choice: a low-and-slow 1959 Cessna O–1E Birddog. He spent nearly seven years restoring it, piece by piece, from what he calls a “crashed pile of twisted parts.” His logbook now lists more than 100 flights in it.

In 2008 retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. William Lyon recruited Foster to develop Lyon Air Museum in California’s Orange County. A year later, Foster took on additional CEO duties at nearby Martin Aviation, a Part 145 repair station.

Foster enjoys sharing Birddog flights, but considers museum work his finest contribution to aviation. Since 2011, he has coordinated an educational partnership that introduces local students to its displays.

Chad Slattery is a Los Angeles-based photographer specializing in aviation.