Warbird Information Exchange

And.....your point/opinion is I believe is that it is a waste of money?
Well, I think it would be great if ya might have said, Hey man, that is cool that someone is saving another Icon of our aviation history, glad somebody has the bucks to save another airframe.
Nobody bats an eyeball when Paul Allen saves a basket case.
Or when someone brings in the remains of a few P-51s to create a "New" or "Rebuilt" -51. or P-38.
I imagine that cost is astonomical, and you'll never hear me shoot down that project. More power to 'em, get it in the air!!
Maybe the new owner has an affection for the DC-3 or this particular DC-3. Maybe, his Dad flew this particular DC-3, or his grandfather. Give him Cu-Doooos instead of shooting this project down like a B-17 over Schweinfurt.

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

I think what it comes down to with the DC-3 is that yes, there are other DC-3s/C-47s, and yes, there are cheaper options. But with our project, there is only ONE real Flagship Tulsa. For everyone who gets upset about aircraft flying in assumed liveries, or painted up as aircraft that don't exist anymore, it's neat (I think) when an aircraft is painted in the livery it actually wore during a critical part of its service. With this DC-3/C-47, it could be, as Gary suggested, that it has a particular pull on the new owner. What that is, who knows? For us, Courtesy has a wonderful looking DC-3 all ready to go, fully restored, in passenger configuration, for less than $300,000. Would that be tons cheaper than the buckets of cash we're getting ready to spend? You bet. Would it be Flagship Tulsa? Nope. For me, that makes all the difference in the world.

kevin

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FOUND the elusive DT-built B-24! Woo-hoo!!!

Hey Kevin-
Can you post some pics of the progress of Flagship Tulsa? Will it be as nice as Delta's Ship 41? (I'm sure it will!)
BTW, many thanks to the fine AA mechanics, baggage handlers and gate agents in Tulsa who had a fresh Super 80 waiting for us as we diverted to TUL last night on our flight from PDX to DFW (FLT 1008). We were on the ground for less than an hour as passengers and baggage were transferred.

-Pat (former Delta and AA mechanic)

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Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Not worth making airworthy?

I think I logged into the BizarroWIX this morning.

Sometimes "passion" is a good excuse for saving a particular artifact, be it an airplane or a deck of playing cards. I'm not saying that is what is driving the individual saving this Gooney, but for whatever reason I say "good for you!"

Kevin contacted me before the TASM acquired Flagship Tulsa and emailed me some photos of her. That airplane is pretty rough right now, but I was able to look beyond the deterioration and see the attachment to the city of Tulsa and told him I thought they should absolutely get her. What happens going forward will be a lot of hard work, but having the airplane is the most important step.

It doesn't really matter what the owners' decision-making process is, the airplane has been saved and to me that is great. If it's restored to airworthy condition, all the better. Same goes for FST.

Scott

Hey Pat,

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm glad that you have such confidence in us! Delta's Ship 41 probably set the bar for restorations of DC-3 aircraft. Amazing work. From what I've seen, when some folks are lucky enough to fly on it, they have to wear white gloves and white booties on their shoes. We will probably be a little less strict on our flights, as we hope to encourage as many people as possible to fly on FST. That will mean more wear and tear, but also will mean more kids will get their first airplane ride on a DC-3!

Progress photos have/will be posted at the following thread under the vintage tab here on WIX:

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... hp?t=21343

So far, the aircraft was located, purchased, dismantled, transported 1100 miles from Wisconsin to Tulsa, some parts stored and the fuselage and center section delivered to the American Airlines maintenance base. From what I understand, the AA folks are going to spend the next several weeks looking at/through the aircraft to get a handle on what the project is going to entail, and then will build a program with a schedule to finish their work on FST. When such work starts, I'll let everyone know.

kevin

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FOUND the elusive DT-built B-24! Woo-hoo!!!

AweSome!!

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

AA is going to do the work?????? OUTSTANDING!!! I am on my last 2 days with my employer (an airline) so no more travel benefits. Next time I do any flying, I will look at AA 1st. Glad they can help get this done!!! I am sure thats not easy. I know we could not do it.

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Long Live the N3N-3 "The Last US Military Bi-Plane" 1940-1959
Badmouthing Stearmans on WIX since 2005

Just for clarification, so that I keep my nose clean...

AA has graciously agreed (and we couldn't be happier) to house the fuselage and center section (essentially the heart of a DC-3) at its Tulsa maintenance base, and to supervise the restoration of those major components. AA personnel and retirees will be invited to work on the aircraft. An AA supervisor has been assigned to the project, and will be supervising/coordinating all of the work. The museum will be in charge of securing partners to restore the outer wing sections, vertical and horizontal, flight control surfaces, engine rebuilds, prop rebuilds, cowlings and interior. The local chapter of the CAF has agreed to use their fabric-covering expertise to cover our control surfaces. We are currently working on setting up an arrangement with a couple of other local partners to do the horizontal and vertical, along with another partner to do the interior. Those agreements haven't been secured yet, though.

AA definately wants this to be a Tulsa aviation project, and not just an AA project. We couldn't agree more, because even though FST is a critical part of AA history, it is a bigger part of telling the story of Tulsa commercial aviation in general. Thousands of Tulsans have maintained, rebuilt, flown, bought tickets for and supported FST and DC-3 aircraft like it for decades. FST will do a nice job of sharing that story with the general public in a very real way. Besides just being fun to fly.

We are so thankful for the generosity and support of the Tulsa AA maintenance base and the TWU local 514 for helping us out with the project, and are proud to have them as our lead partners on this project.

kevin

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FOUND the elusive DT-built B-24! Woo-hoo!!!