Tomahawk said
Quote:
the F2A doesn't have any aesthetic appeal, either. It's a butt-ugly design from a mismanaged company. They have nothing to get excited about. There won't be a stampede toward it at Oshkosh, unless there's a P-51D parked behind it! It's a plane no one cares about, not then, and certainly not now. People vote with their feet.
I think if a Buffalo were to unexpectedly fly into Oshkosh there would be the biggest stampede anyone has ever seen in the direction of that aircraft, and no one would be looking right or left at P-51s as they ran by. Oshkosh people know their airplanes and there are whole parking lots full of P-51s there every year. The Buffalo is the rarest American fighter of WWII, with zero surviving examples that saw American service.
Who says butt-ugly has much to do with appeal. Even someone who did not know its history would take a look at the landing gear and barrel-shape and think "this is something special". There are lots of ugly aircraft that would attract an instant crowd (think "Stuka").
The Buffs at Midway were all flown by heros who attacked a force many times their number, while most of the Wildcats involved in the battle flew over empty ocean and many of them then landed in the water (geez, talk about mismanaged!). The only aircraft that I can think might have more appeal would be an original AVG P-40.