1,164 warbirds are currently on the U.S. civil aircraft registry — ex-military trainers and fighters now flown privately. The largest group is the North American T-6/AT-6 Texan family (including the Navy SNJ variant) at 530 airframes, followed by the North American T-28 Trojan at 205, the Beech T-34 Mentor at 87, and the Soviet-built Yakovlev Yak-52/Yak-18/Yak-3 at 134. Rarer and higher-value types include the North American P-51 Mustang (53), the Czech-built Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros jet trainer (97), Grumman's WWII carrier fighters and TBM Avenger (44 combined), Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraiders (9), and Curtiss P-40s (5).
Why warbirds need a history check most aircraft don't
Warbirds routinely change tail numbers over a multi-decade civilian life — many left military service under one identity, passed through a surplus dealer, and were re-registered under a new N-number when restored or resold. Some were rebuilt from a damaged airframe using another aircraft's data plate or major components. A tail-number-only search shows only the current registration's own accident record; it cannot show whether the airframe wore a different N-number when an incident happened, or whether the aircraft you're looking at is really the serial number the seller claims. At six- and seven-figure sale prices, that gap matters far more than on an ordinary GA airplane.
What a $79 report adds
Current FAA registration status, prior registrants, recent FAA filings (bills of sale, security agreements/liens), full NTSB accident and incident history, and the serial-number cross-match that catches an accident or incident hiding under a prior tail number — the exact scenario a warbird's re-registration history creates.
Check a specific tail number
Use our free tail-number lookup to check registration status and a summary of what a full report would show, or see our pre-purchase inspection cost guide for what to budget alongside a history check.