ABOUT US
Lance Aircraft Supply, Inc. was founded in 1967 by Morey Darznieks. Within the company's first year, Lance made a large overseas acquisition of military surplus AT-6 and Harvard planes along with substantial spare parts inventories for the both. Originally, Lance primarily was focused on utilizing their inventory to support the crop dusting industry, but hobbyists have found these planes to be desirable.
Morey, the founder of Lance Aircraft, has traveled to over 40 different countries on behalf of Lance. These trips have resulted in acquiring hundreds of AT-6 and Harvard aircraft along with their spare parts inventories from various international and foreign Air Forces, Ministries of Defense, and various dealers.
Originally there was not much demand for spare parts for these aircrafts, but as time has passed the importance of these planes has become more apparent. The historical impact of the AT-6, Harvard, and SNJ aircraft cannot be understated and are now preserved by many. These are very popular hobbyist planes.
Lance has made it their goal to "Keep all remaining AT-6, Harvard, and SNJs flying!"
Lance continued their pursuit of maintaining these aircraft by purchasing inventories throughout the 80s and 90s. In 1986, Lance made a large acquisition from a Canadian company who carried spare parts for the AT-6, Harvard, and SNJ. This acquisition put Lance over the top in being the biggest and best AT-6 store. At this time, Lance had in possession approximately 90% of the remaining spare parts for these three aircraft. Lance was in a great position to support the needs of future generations of aircraft owners. Finally, in 1998 Lance absorbed the last and most sought after remaining spare parts surplus for these aircraft - the South African Air Force's inventory.
Today, Lance has over 50,000 square feet of warehouse and building space housing AT-6, Harvard, and SNJ spare parts. Additionally there is over an acre of storage containers as well. To this day, Lance is a family owned and operated business with the only 4 employees being Morey, his wife Laurie, and their children John and Deborah.
If you are a AT-6, Harvard, or SNJ owner, Lance aircraft is the place to come for your part needs. You can ask other owners who have seen our space, or better yet come see it for yourself! Then you'll have no doubt as to why other owners and shops come to Lance Aircraft Supply to take advantage of our vast stock and over 50 years of expertise.
Please come visit if you find yourself in the DFW area.
Morey Darznieks
Morey Darznieks was born in 1943 in Riga, Latvia. In 1944 he and his family fled to avoid the Russian occupation of his homeland. From 1944-1949, his family lived in Germany as a refugee. Eventually in 1949 they immigrated to the United States. He lived in Ohio until moving to California in 1963.
He started his aviation career in 1964 working for a company that specialized in selling surplus Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine parts. In 1966 he moved to Texas and a year later started his own company in Lance which originally also dealt in Pratt & Whitney spare parts.
1966 was his first overseas trip which took him to 11 different European countries assessing inventories to potentially purchase. In 1967 his first large acquisition of AT-6 and Harvard aircraft was from the Swedish Air Force. In 1977 he traveled to India and purchased their fleet of 87 of both AT-6 and Harvard aircraft and all of their spare parts inventories as well. In 1985 he purchased the Smith & Smith company, the North American Aviation Licensee's inventories of AT-6 and Harvard spare parts.
He continued his travels throughout Europe and South America from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 1986 he purchased the last remaining major competitor's parts inventories to make Lance the premier AT-6, Harvard, and SNJ parts supplier.
John Darznieks
John Darznieks, son of Morey, was born in 1965 in California. John began his aviation career by spending his high school aged Summers working for his father at Lance Aircraft from 1979-1983. After graduating from high school, John began working at Lance full time.
In 1983, the Darznieks went to the Reno Air Races where John became inspired. Upon returning, John began pulling parts from stock. When his dad asked what he was doing, John replied "I'm going to build me a racer." In 1984, John began building his dream AT-6 WWII era Aircraft Air Racer from the parts in Lance's stock. He worked on the plane whenever time permitted through Lance's busy schedule and finally completed his plane in 1990 - named "Mystical Power". Just a few weeks after completion, John took Mystical Power to the Reno Air Races and placed 4th in the Bronze Race.
Each year thereafter, John strived for improvement as he wanted the coveted Gold trophy. Mystical Power finished 1st in both 1995 and 1997, being the "top qualifier" in both years. John built another AT-6 named "Miss Freedom" which participated in the 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII for "Freedom Flight America", which is a 10 day cross country commemorative flight to honor military veterans - especially those who served in WWII. John has in total built four AT-6s and after 30+ years of experience, John has become one of the more knowledgeable people in the world about AT-6 aircraft.