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Yankee get 2 more months

Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:56 pm

to save a portion of Willow Run.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/rosie-riveters-factory-month-reprieve-19823736

[urlhttp://yankeeairmuseum.org/hangarhappenings/august2013.pdf][/url]

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:27 pm

Hopefully they can succeed! :D

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:00 pm

It would be really nice for them to have all of their aircraft in one location instead of scattered around the airport. The flying fleet needs a permanent home.

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:41 pm

Hopefully they can succeed!


You would have thought that, based on the burned out hulk of a Jeep w/a big money donation box sitting at the entrance to Thunder for many years, the airshow and funds that are drawn in from the event alone would have been able to cover the $8 million they are seeking.

Hopefully funds from this year's event can help the YAM reach their goal.

As a side note, the FBO on the "opposite" side of the field from where Thunder is held has some really, really neat black & white photos on the walls from when Willow Run was a B-24 production facility. I stumbled through there last year on Friday (arrival day) and thought, WOW! I'll have to come back here and take a closer look. If you're looking for something to do on arrival (or departure) day, feel free to track down the photos I'm speaking of. ;-)

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Fri Aug 02, 2013 1:20 am

If the deal goes through (and I really hope it does!) what's the plan for the library/schoolhouse that was moved near the orignal Yankee hangar location a few years ago, in anticipation of building a new museum campus there? And I assume that the Willow Run Plant facility still won't have enough room to get all the aircraft currently in the airpark out of the weather..will there be ramp space to display them at the new location? For the past year I've been hearing that some of the statics may be scrapped..namely the DC-6 and Argosy, and I recently heard a rumor that the BUFF could be scrapped as well due to its deteriorating condition (although if that's the case, I hope they at least save the forward fuselage.)

SN

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:47 am

DC 6 and Argosy have been scrapped.
Artist rendering shows the restored schoolhouse moved (again) inside the new building.
Buff will remain outside. But it looks like all others are inside or under a roof extension off of the north side of the building.
There aren't many aircraft left at the air park now.

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Fri Aug 02, 2013 11:09 am

Unbelievable..... I don't understand what YAM is doing nowadays. Maybe it's me but an Air Museum is suppose to preserve airframes that they have under their care. Not scrapping them.

I can't believe:

A. That no other museum was interested in acquiring these two aircraft.

B. That YAM wouldn't find a way to keep these aircraft.


They also got rid of the vehicle restorations they we're undertaking. Vehicles that we're used at the airport during the war! How is that not important for that museum?

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Fri Aug 02, 2013 12:55 pm

Chris, sometimes it comes down to a matter of resources. Most museums operate on a shoestring budget with mainly volunteer labor, and we have to make the best use of our precious dollars and our limited talent pool. Sometimes that means we have to let some aircraft go so that the resources can be applied to more relevant aircraft. The cash generated from the scrapping can be put to good use restoring other airframes. In the end, we save the ones we can and try to do right by them.

I recall reading that YAM's DC-6 and Argosy were in pretty rough shape and the cost to restore and preserve them was more than YAM could justify, especially for the level of interest that they would generate. They didn't necessarily fit into the "theme" of the YAM collection, which is mainly aimed at combat types. I know they tried to find them a new home, but they did not succeed. YAM is fighting gallantly right now to save that historic hangar. They need every dollar they can scrape together for that. The scrap money from the DC-6 and Argosy will certainly help.

VFM went through a somewhat similar situation. We recently scrapped two Convair 640 freighters that were donated when their operator went under. These two classics had a long history of operations in the D/FW area, first with S-M-B Stage Line and then with Kitty Hawk Air Freight. One of them was so complete that it could probably have been flown out (when it was donated, it was literally flown in and parked). We tried for months and months to sell them and got no real interest other than some low-ball offers from scrap dealers. The longer they sat, the more they deteriorated, and the more of an eyesore and bird sanctuary they became. We finally worked a deal with an Australian Convair 640 freight operator who sent a crew to our facility to strip the pair for parts, and they left us the empty carcasses. The D/FW Airport Fire Department later bought the hulls for scrap metal price and hauled them away to their training center to be used as passenger extraction training aids, after which they will recover some of their costs by selling the remains to the scrap metal dealer. We hated to see these historic aircraft get broken up, but they didn't fit into our Museum's "theme", and we couldn't find anyone to take them home and give them love. Ultimately, the scrapping generated a lot of cash that we really needed, and the training the hulls will provide could end up saving lives. As much as it hurts, sometimes you have to let 'em go. We can't save 'em all. In the end, we save the ones we can and try to do right by them.

Re: Yankee get 2 more months

Fri Aug 02, 2013 10:05 pm

k5dh wrote:Chris, sometimes it comes down to a matter of resources. Most museums operate on a shoestring budget with mainly volunteer labor, and we have to make the best use of our precious dollars and our limited talent pool. Sometimes that means we have to let some aircraft go so that the resources can be applied to more relevant aircraft. The cash generated from the scrapping can be put to good use restoring other airframes. In the end, we save the ones we can and try to do right by them.

I recall reading that YAM's DC-6 and Argosy were in pretty rough shape and the cost to restore and preserve them was more than YAM could justify, especially for the level of interest that they would generate. They didn't necessarily fit into the "theme" of the YAM collection, which is mainly aimed at combat types. I know they tried to find them a new home, but they did not succeed. YAM is fighting gallantly right now to save that historic hangar. They need every dollar they can scrape together for that. The scrap money from the DC-6 and Argosy will certainly help.

VFM went through a somewhat similar situation. We recently scrapped two Convair 640 freighters that were donated when their operator went under. These two classics had a long history of operations in the D/FW area, first with S-M-B Stage Line and then with Kitty Hawk Air Freight. One of them was so complete that it could probably have been flown out (when it was donated, it was literally flown in and parked). We tried for months and months to sell them and got no real interest other than some low-ball offers from scrap dealers. The longer they sat, the more they deteriorated, and the more of an eyesore and bird sanctuary they became. We finally worked a deal with an Australian Convair 640 freight operator who sent a crew to our facility to strip the pair for parts, and they left us the empty carcasses. The D/FW Airport Fire Department later bought the hulls for scrap metal price and hauled them away to their training center to be used as passenger extraction training aids, after which they will recover some of their costs by selling the remains to the scrap metal dealer. We hated to see these historic aircraft get broken up, but they didn't fit into our Museum's "theme", and we couldn't find anyone to take them home and give them love. Ultimately, the scrapping generated a lot of cash that we really needed, and the training the hulls will provide could end up saving lives. As much as it hurts, sometimes you have to let 'em go. We can't save 'em all. In the end, we save the ones we can and try to do right by them.

extremely well said
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