@ Grass Valley, CA
July 2019
A Harvard Mk II “Tinkertoy” departs Nevada County Airport for a flight demonstration during the 2019 Grass Valley Airshow. First flown in 1935, more than 15,000 of these iconic warbirds were produced and served in air forces around the world as late as 1995. In November 1939, the British Purchasing Commission ordered the first of 1,275 Harvard Mark IIs for the Royal Air Force and RCAF. This Harvard, the name by which the Texan is best known outside the US, wears the colors of the Royal Canadian Air Force which operated a fleet of 2,156 from 1939-1968. This example, “Tinkertoy” was damaged in an accident and surplussed by the RCAF in 1960. The aircraft was sold and rebuilt for a lengthy racing career that began in 1973, racking up a number of first-place finishes at Reno.
