MOUND, La. —The big Pratt & Whitney engine coughed and sputtered before coming to life at the Southern Heritage Air Foundation’s 1942 AT-6 headed down the runway and prepared to take off early Wednesday afternoon.

Since the first AT-6, known as the “Texan” entered service in 1938, the plane has trained thousands of World War II pilots, performed under various identities in war movies and was the first plane to fly into the eye of a hurricane, when Lt. Col. Joe Duckworth flew one into a storm off the Florida Coast in 1945.

Its mission Wednesday was nothing dangerous. The plane was heading out on a community service mission for the Vicksburg YMCA — a flyover with smoke for the opening ceremony of the Y’s Men’s Club’s golf tournament at the Vicksburg Country Club

“The Y’s men are having their golf tournament to raise money for Warner-Tully (summer camp),” air foundation board member Dan Fordice said. “Some of the members have contributed to the Warrior Bonfire Project, so we’re going to help them out.”

The AT-6 is part of the Foundation’s museum collection of five vintage aircraft, including the P-51D Mustang fighter Charlotte’s Chariot II, and foundation president Patty Mekus wants to keep them flying.

She said the foundation is in the process  of conducting a fund drive to raise money to keep the aircraft maintained and in flying condition. It’s one of two current foundation projects. The other is a museum expansion project expected to be complete June 24.

Mekus said the 60-day fundraising project conducted through the national website GoFundMe.com is taking the place of the airshow the foundation holds every other year. So far, the project has raised about $500 towards its $30,000 goal.

“The airshow is our biggest fundraiser, so we needed something in the interim,” she said. “About 60 percent of the funds we raise goes to maintain the airplanes, so we needed something else to offset those costs.”

She said the decision to use GoFundMe is an attempt to reach a broader audience and generate more interest in the museum from people in other states.

“We get people here from all over,” she said. “We’ve had people from Texas, England, New York, Washington State and Florida. These are people who have seen us on Facebook, and contribute when they visit the museum. We have a couple from California who come here every three months and volunteer for two hours, to get a ride in the P-51.”

The main goal of the fundraising project, Mekus added, is to keep the Charlotte’s Chariot flying, and the project was developed around the story of Cary Salter, the plane’s pilot, and the plane’s namesake, Cary’s wife, Charlotte Ezell Salter, whom he married in 1944. Chalotte’s Chariot is probably the most popular attraction at the museum.

The P-51D has been modified as a two-seater to give visitors rides, but Mekus said presently the fighter is unable to fly passengers for fee because it needs to make changes to meet new Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

“We bought the plane after the regulations were changed, so we were not grandfathered in,” she said.

The Mustang now performs at regional airshows, and the cost of maintaining the plane, she added, is expensive. “Each time it goes up, it costs us $1,000,” she said.

While the fundraiser continues, Mekus and the volunteers are adding exhibits to give visitors a glimpse at more than the history of flight. The museum is currently closed during the work.

“We have exhibits on the Tuskegee Airmen, the Bataan Death March and the Navajo Code Talkers,” she said. “When we reopen, it will be a great experience.”