You guys are hillarious. How many of those warbirds out there flying were bought from surplus all sparkily shiny new? Not one. If you have ever seen a restoration of a warbird it takes lots of time and money, using many birds to make a good one. The end product though will make you drool for hours. Just one example would be the private T-2 buckeye. Victoria air maintenance on Vancouver island did all the work over a number of years and they started with an airframe from an A&P school. The thing was beyond worn out and now it wins awards.

The warbird community is a very different hobby. Some people would look at you guys and say why would you put $15,000 into a piece of fibreglass and carbon - only to have it possibly crash? - It's just another hobby!