Restored Spartan Wins 2005 Grand Champion Antique.

Centennial Aircraft Services, Inc. is doing premier work restoring rare Spartan aircraft at the located on the W. K. Kellogg Regional Airfield in Battle Creek. The company even received the highest honor for antique aircraft restoration, 2005 Grand Champion.

Centennial restored Ronald Tarrson's 1940 Spartan Executive aircraft over the course of 20-months. After the exhaustive component-by-component 20-month restoration, the Spartan literally glistens from the hundreds of hours talented Centennial craftsmen/women spent restoring each system and hand polishing each aluminum skin to a mirror finish.

Centennial's work was graded by industry peers of accomplished antique restorers earlier this spring. At the event, Mr. Tarrson's Spartan was rated the best of the best, the 2005 Grand Champion Antique Aircraft..

With its sleek art-deco lines and impressive flight performance, the Spartan was way ahead of its day and quickly became known as the ultimate executive aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. Tarrson's Spartan is likely the most original example in existence as it remained in use for 36 years as the Spartan company's own executive company airplane, transporting many of our nations most noted oil tycoons.

Only 34 of these unique airplanes were made before World War II changed Spartan's priority from aircraft manufacturing to a military pilot training center. About 20 Execs still exist in museums and private collections and only about a dozen are still flying.

While career pilots and aviation enthusiasts would consider themselves lucky to see a single Spartan up close during their life, Centennial currently has three of these vintage machines in their hangar undergoing restoration.

Centennial's Battle Creek facility is a premier vintage aircraft restoration source with four consecutive national awards. It is co-located with the WACO Classic Aircraft Corporation.

FMI: www.wacoclassic.com