GCU CityServe Director Nathan Cooper and Tony Anger, CEO and president of Grounded No More Veterans Flight Lift, have teamed up to showcase a piece of history at Grand Canyon University. An engine from a 1943 WWII-era Fairchild PT-26 trainer plane has been donated to GCU and will be displayed outside Lux Precision Manufacturing on the university’s campus.
The engine, originally used in training World War II pilots, features a unique design allowing it to run upside down. This historical artifact is set to become a focal point for building tours at Lux Precision Manufacturing, an alumni-founded company involved in modern aerospace manufacturing and workforce development training.
Nathan Cooper, who always had a passion for aviation but could not pursue it due to financial constraints, stayed connected with his love for flying through volunteering. He met Tony Anger at an air show in Buckeye, Arizona. Anger was offering free flights to veterans in his PT-26 aircraft. Their collaboration eventually led to the donation of the engine.
Anger’s organization, Grounded No More Veterans Flight Lift, aims to provide veterans with flights in historic warplanes. “A lot who have been in combat don’t want to talk,” said Anger. “But what we noticed after they go up for a flight, they start jabbering like crazy.”
Cooper’s family also benefited from this initiative as both his father and grandfather were among the 690 veterans honored with flights. “We were able to give my grandfather a flight in December of 2023,” Cooper said.
The original Fairchild engine was retired after blowing out a cylinder but now finds new purpose at GCU. The display will include information about its historical significance during World War II pilot training and its role in honoring veterans today.
“It will really showcase what manufacturing was back in the ’40s and the progression of it,” said Cooper about the planned display at Lux Precision Manufacturing.
