South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation

What South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation does

South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation (SCHAF) is a 501c-3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, founded to preserve the state's aviation heritage with a primary focus on stewardship and restoration of a rare B-25C Mitchell medium bomber (tail number 41-13285). The aircraft was delivered to Columbia Army Air Base in 1942 for advanced B-25 training—including crews recruited for the Doolittle Raid—ditched into Lake Greenwood during a June 6, 1944 (D-Day) training mission, and recovered in 1983 after 39 years underwater by a U.S. Navy Reserve diving unit coordinated through Senator Strom Thurmond's office. SCHAF now conducts ongoing restoration of the cockpit, flight deck, instrumentation, and bombardier's compartment in Hangar Y-1 (the historic 1929 Curtiss-Wright Hangar at Jim Hamilton/LB Owens Airport), supplemented by a WW II Turret Project, a monthly email newsletter archived since 2013, monthly open house events, and multimedia historical content including Doolittle Raider oral histories.

The foundation serves aviation and WWII history enthusiasts, military veterans and the Doolittle Raider community, school groups, and the general public. Its revenue model is a diversified nonprofit mix consisting of multi-tier annual membership dues ($40 Basic to $5,000 Raider, plus corporate sponsorships), tax-deductible donations, and preservation grants such as the Richland County Conservation Commission award. Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, leveraging open houses, newsletters, Facebook, volunteer restoration work, and letters of support from the Lt. Governor and Doolittle Raider community. SCHAF has publicly articulated a long-term ambition to establish a South Carolina Aviation Museum and Aerospace Center, but has not yet executed on this expansion.

The organization is governed by an all-volunteer board of seven (Kenneth Berry as President, C. Cantzon Foster II as Legal Advisor and founding member, David McIntosh as Secretary and newsletter editor, Ronald G. Skipper as Restoration Chairperson, Katherine Cuddy as Treasurer, Scott Taylor Linaberry for Development, and Dr. J. Christopher Gillam as Grants & Donations Coordinator), operates without paid headcount disclosure, and holds no patents, trademarks, or AI/ML capabilities.

Name

South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation

Legal name

South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation

Website

https://schistoricaviation.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation is a Columbia, SC-based 501c-3 nonprofit preserving the state's aviation heritage through restoration of a rare WWII B-25C Mitchell bomber, serving aviation enthusiasts, veterans, students, and the public via membership programs, donations, and educational events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aviation Heritage Preservation

NAICS

Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641)

SIC

Aircraft & Parts (3720)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMABAAAI

Fixed-Wing Aircraft Conversion & Modification (STC/Completions)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing/Aircraft Manufacturing (Fixed-Wing)

SECONDARYIMABAEAH

Structural Repair, Modification & Composite Rework (Airframe)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing/Aerospace Structures, Airframes & Composites

SECONDARYIMABAAAB

Military Fixed-Wing Aircraft Manufacturing

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing/Aircraft Manufacturing (Fixed-Wing)

Keywords

• Historic aircraft preservation
• WWII aviation heritage
• B-25 Mitchell restoration
• Nonprofit aviation museum
• Military history education

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership program with multiple tiers ranging from $40 (Basic) to $5,000 (Raider), plus corporate memberships. Members receive newsletter updates and support restoration activities.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Tax-deductible donations to support specific projects like the WW II turret purchase ($3,000 goal) and broader restoration efforts. SCHAF is a 501c-3 organization making donations tax-deductible.
3. Grants: Preservation grants from organizations like the Richland County Conservation Commission to fund B-25 preservation and restoration activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation preserves and restores the B-25C Mitchell medium bomber (tail number 41-13285), a rare historic aircraft recovered from Lake Greenwood in 1983 after 39 years submerged. The foundation offers an eight-tier membership program ($40-$5,000), operates monthly open house events at the Curtiss-Wright Hangar at Jim Hamilton/LB Owens Airport, publishes a monthly newsletter, runs the WW II Turret Project, and conducts ongoing restoration work targeting cockpit, flight deck, instrumentation, bombardier's compartment, and simulated gun armament for future museum display.

Product overview

The South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation operates as a single-focus nonprofit organization centered on the preservation and restoration of a rare B-25C Mitchell medium bomber (tail number 41-13285), one of only a few known C models in existence. The foundation's core offering is the historical aircraft itself, supported by a restoration project, membership program, newsletter communications, and periodic open house events at the Curtiss-Wright Hangar. The B-25C's significance stems from its connection to Columbia Army Air Base, the largest B-25 training center during WWII, where crews for the Doolittle Raid were recruited. The foundation also maintains a WW II Turret Project for acquiring and displaying a period-appropriate gun turret.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SCHAF Membership Program Annual tiered membership subscription program with eight levels from $40 to $5,000 supporting foundation restoration activities and offering members newsletter access, monthly open house attendance, and involvement in restoration projects. The membership is offered to individuals and corporate sponsors interested in supporting South Carolina aviation heritage preservation.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Navy Reserve Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 506coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 1983Naval diving unit from Little River, VA that located and assisted in recovering the B-25C from Lake Greenwood in 1983. Commander Frank Wood led the unit that found the aircraft after 39 years underwater.
• Berry's Air Freight IncminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate sponsor located at 1128 Wattling Rd, West Columbia, SC 29170. Operations Manager Kenneth Berry serves as SCHAF President. Provides support for aviation foundation activities.
• Greenwood Airport AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal organization that helped clean the aircraft and has been instrumental in the care of the airplane since it was taken to the airport. Also assisted with breaking down the aircraft for transportation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Collings Foundation: Nonprofit that operates and preserves WWII-era aircraft including a B-25 Mitchell, conducting nationwide tours and living-history events; directly comparable as a flying-heritage B-25 operator with public education programs.
• Military Aviation Museum: Virginia Beach museum operating one of the world's largest private collections of flying WWII military aircraft with active restoration programs and public events — analogous in B-25/fixed-wing bomber focus and volunteer-driven operations.
• Vintage Flying Museum: Fort Worth nonprofit restoring WWII-era bombers and trainers with volunteer labor and membership support; operates at similar scale and around comparable heritage Bomber/restoration work.
• Commemorative Air Force: National nonprofit operating the world's largest fleet of restored WWII military aircraft, with member-driven restoration, hangar-based open houses, and tiered membership — the closest functional analogue to SCHAF's volunteer restoration model.
• Yankee Air Museum: Michigan-based nonprofit restoring and flying WWII-era military aircraft with volunteer-led maintenance crews, membership tiers, and public open houses — operating at similar scale and using the same volunteer-restoration playbook.

Broad incumbents

• National WWII Museum: Federally designated museum covering the WWII home front and combat theaters; comparable as a heritage nonprofit that exhibits WWII military hardware, hosts reunions, and runs educational programming tied to veteran communities.
• Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA): Large aviation-membership nonprofit with tiered dues, chapter open houses, and museum programming; broader than SCHAF but uses an analogous non-profit aviation-heritage membership model.
• Warbird Adventures: Restoration and flight operations business focused on WWII trainers and bombers; comparable in its hands-on aircraft restoration, though revenue is event-based rather than donation-driven.
• National Naval Aviation Museum: Naval heritage museum in Pensacola restoring and displaying historic military aircraft with educational programming; comparable as a military-aviation heritage institution with educational mission.

Regional players

• Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor: Hawaii-based WWII aviation museum displaying recovered and restored combat aircraft; comparable in scale and revenue mix (admissions, donations, memberships) though focused on Pacific theater aircraft.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/South-Carolina-Historic-Aviation-Foundation-172487942838543
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-carolina-historic-aviation-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation