page_title: Commemorative Air Force
section_title: Name
hierarchical_section_title: Commemorative Air Force / Name
caption_attribution_description: English: T-6 Texan Trainer aircraft post conversion to resemble a Mitsubishi Zero Fighter.
context_page_description: The Commemorative Air Force, formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas dedicated to preserving and showing historical aircraft at airshows primarily throughout the U.S. and Canada.
  The CAF has approximately 13,000 members, over 70 units, and over 170 aircraft. The CAF has the largest collection of flying warbirds.
context_section_description: The original name, Confederate Air Force, started as a simple tongue-in-cheek joke, poking fun at the organization's ragtag beginnings. As the collection of warbirds at Central Valley Airport in Mercedes, Texas, started to grow, someone painted the name on the side of the original North American P-51 Mustang Red Nose. The name stuck, and it grew to the point where the airport was renamed Rebel Field, all members were called "colonels" (a tradition which still remains), and it led to the creation of a fictitious leader named Colonel Jethro E. Culpepper. There was even a humorous CAF twist put to the old AVG Flying Tigers World War II "blood chit" that read, "This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him medical care." The CAF version seen on the backs of flight suits and flight jackets stated, "This is a CAF aviator. If found lost or unconscious, please hide him from Yankees, revive with mint julep and assist him in returning to friendly territory. CONFEDERATE AIR FORCE."
  In November 2000, the group voted to rename, using the initials "CAF" until a permanent name was selected. Following a 2001 membership vote, the group changed its name to "Commemorative Air Force," effective January 1, 2002. Many felt the name Confederate Air Force was confusing, did not accurately reflect the purpose of the organization, and was detrimental to fundraising efforts. According to CAF chief of staff Ray Kinney, "In many people's minds, the word 'confederacy' brings up the image of slavery and discrimination. We, in no way, are associated with that kind of stuff. So, it gives us, in a way, a black eye."
caption: T-6 Texan converted to resemble a Mitsubishi A6M Zero as flown by the Commemorative Air Force's Tora! Tora! Tora! group
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D70", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2005:05:08 17:31:20", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "236", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "974", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2229", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/2000", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:05:07 12:45:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:05:07 12:45:42", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "300", "EXIF SubSecTime": "90", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "90", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "90", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2478", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1194", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "848", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 2, 1, 1, 0]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "450", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}