n5151ts wrote:
it doesnt change much and I can't help but feel that is criminal to hang those machines in the air and not allow them to fly....
Ah, yes, warbirds as evangelical religion...
must fly everything... must fly everything...
None of these aircraft were or near airworthy condition when obtained by the IWM. So, no 'allow', but major rebuild / cost to put them back in the air. Let's have a look at viabilities.
P-51D 'Big Beautiful Doll' (ringer) We need another Mustang?
Zeppelin gondola. First catch your Zeppelin.
(There is one, but I don't think they'll take this 'aboard'...)
Fw-190. This is the top unit of a Mistel combination - too historic to fly, I'd suggest. If you are that keen, buy a far cheaper Flug Werke version. If you must have an original, I'm sure the White 1 team will be happy to meet your wallet.
Spitfire Mk.I. One of the most historic and original Spitfires left, including its 1944 paint, and with combat history from the Battle of Britain. A rebuild to fly would dispose of much of the original metal, most of those rivets and all of the historic paint (irreplaceable to future researchers in all cases). If you want a Mk.I Spitfire, I'm sure HFL will sort you out, and it'd (probably) cost less than the theoretical rebuild here, but this Spitfire is held for the people of the UK by the IWM. Not for sale at any price, yes, really, no,
I'm not arguing about it.
BE-2. Not going to fly, but there's a Tiger Moth based replica being rebuilt in the UK, and I think we'll see BE-2s appear soon from somewhere else...
V-1 & V-2. Gee. What are we waiting for? Should be a blast at shows.
Lancaster nose 'Old Fred', ex-RAAF. Most missing. We have two airworthy Lancs. It'd be nice to have a Lanc flying in, say, Aus, but I don't think it could make ends meet. If it was a serious proposal, you'd not start here, there are better alternatives.
He-162. Wooden wing from 1945... Nope, not going to fly. However, there is plans to get another He-162 rebuilt to airworthy, which is the result of a complex international trade across three continents, and the guy that's planning it has a good track record. Likely to happen. He doesn't sit there talking about it either.
Cully's Camel. Too historic to risk. Want a Camel? You can buy or make one. Engine's tricky, but can be got round (pun intended.)
ATAIU Zero. Some assembly from your own parts required. And that's original paint again, BTW. If you want a Zero, gosh, you just hand over a lot of cash and you can have one. They don't seem to do as well on the market as their historic importance would merit, but silly of me, they aren't a Mustang - who'd want one?
Summary. There's nothing here that would be a best option as a restore to fly if they were for sale (which they aren't). Interestingly, for my warbird fundamentalist friends, if you are prepared to put your money with your religion, there are 'cheaper' alternatives awaiting your cash in most cases, as above -
we aren't missing out anywhere. 'Cheaper' means better value lower cost projects, but that's the only time you'll hear 'cheap' in that context. Otherwise very, very, very expensive with no real return on investment.
Sorry about the rant, no offence intended to N5151TS, but there's a place for both static preservation by national institutions and also others operating ex-military aircraft. Rather than a knee-jerk reaction each time someone posts some excellent shots of a
museum, like here, I'd like people to have a
think about the 'must fly' approach. It's simply silly (IMHO) to believe 'everything' should be flown. I'd like to see a lot more fly, we
will see a lot more fly, but for every interesting historic type there's going to be a bunch of cheaper trainers (great) and more Mustangs. That's no tragedy either. Sadly, though, there's a lot of viable restore to fly projects lacking support, out there, right now, so lay off the museums, find one and get stuck in, if you are a dooer not a talker.
Regards,
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