Welcome to IBDA!

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Announcements to Members:

Check Your Personal Info
When renewing or whenever you log into the Members Area using your user name and password, please make sure your contact info is complete. Please be sure to update any of your information that’s changed. Get your dues in early each year so you don’t miss out on any new info and the nearly 300 documents of Birddog-specific maintenance and technical information in the Members Area of this website.

IBDA 2020 Platinum Roundup

Although we’re months away, planning and logistics for this mega event has been in full swing for quite a while. The 2020 Platinum Roundup celebrating the Birddog’s 70th year of operations will be held in Fredericksburg, Texas from Tuesday, September 15 to Friday, September 18. Since it’s in honor of that milestone birthday, it’s called the ”Platinum Anniversary Roundup.”

From early responses, we anticipate 50 airplanes and over 100 IBDA members. Many of our international members have vowed to attend and they’ve been contacted as a part of our long-range planning. The IBDA is making sure that this event will be a real stand-out for Birddog aviation. We’ll continue to provide monthly updates and more information about this outstanding event in our Bark newsletter, emailed monthly to all IBDA members. Look for that Platinum Roundup info each month.

A block of rooms has been reserved for Roundup attendees at The Hangar Hotel that’s located right on the host airport, Fredericksburg’s Gillespie County Airport (T82). The special rate of $119 per night is available when you call the Hangar Hotel and identify yourself as an attendee at the IBDA Birddog Roundup, Tuesday Sept 15 until Friday Sept 18, departing Friday or as you wish. The Hangar Hotel’s website is www.hangarhotel.com and their direct phone number for our IBDA reservations is +1 (830) 997-9990.

You’re invited to spend a few more days in Fredericksburg to enjoy the Texas Wine Corridor and more of the area’s attractions that have made Fredericksburg one of the top visitors’ destinations in Texas.

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A Bit of IBDA History

The concept for an organization dedicated to the Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog originated with Mr. Phil Phillips of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Phil had served as a U.S. Army Aviator in Vietnam and had flown numerous combat missions in the Birddog. Once back in the States and beginning a career in the private sector, he thought affectionately about the humble little warbird from Cessna that had served him so well. Unfortunately, he was also frustrated. There was very little printed material about this noteworthy airplane and worse yet there was not a single flyable example anywhere near his hometown that would allow him to borrow a few minutes of “cockpit time” to reacquaint himself with his old mount. He set about to correct both problems.

So, in 1986, the International Birddog Association was formed as a 501(c)(3) organization. Hundreds of Birddog owners and enthusiasts – former Birddog crew chiefs and Birddog pilots from all services, mechanics, FACs, artillery spotters, observers and current owners and operators joined in order to share information, history and operating tips with other members. Still others who were attracted to this small piston-engined, propeller-driven, battle-tested warbird, joined to learn more of the history of their use in the Korean War, the inter-war period, the Southeast Asian War and beyond. A quarterly magazine, the Bowwow, kept members up to date and presented the Birddog’s history.

In 1998 the IBDA became even more well known world-wide with the initiation of a new website. With the site the IBDA was able to sign up new members and keep track of Birddogs that were for sale, bought, and restored to flyable condition. Parts suppliers were located and members notified of those sources. The organization was serving its members in a way not possible before the website was created.

In 2000, the IBDA, with the assistance of Cessna and the U.S. Air Force, held its first “Birddog Reunion” in Wichita, Kansas to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the aircraft. There were 46 Birddogs and over 250 people in attendance at that first reunion which turned out to be a premier event for all. North American reunion fly-ins have been held every few years with some regional fly-ins held annually. European members also hold annual fly-ins as a part of our non-North American activities. The Birddog’s 70th birthday will be celebrated in Fredericksburg TX in September, 2020. Watch this website for more details before and after the event.

As a member of the International Birddog Association, you’ll be supporting the preservation and history of the Birddog. You’ll have special access to the members’ area of the website containing resources such as hard-to-find technical and authenticity information, history, more than 4,000 photos of thousands of Birddogs (perhaps including yours), and much more. You’ll be able to network with Birddog pilots, owners, and enthusiasts from all over the world.

Joining the IBDA is easy, and the yearly dues are the best bargain in aviation – only $30.

To join as a new member, click here.  For renewing members, click here. For more information about IBDA membership, contact Suzanne Cobb, Membership Director. You may send her a message via the “Contact Us” page. Thank you for your interest. We look forward to your membership in the IBDA as a fellow Birddog enthusiast.