Warbird Information Exchange

FAS 217 Folks:

Good day!

...just in as in CNN, the long time missing pic of FAS 217 at the Ilopango boneyard. c.'69. Photo Poss Archie Balducchi via DP Hagedorn.



p.s Happy Holidays & the very best for 2015!!

Zorro what evidence proves that? Im just wondering, it looks similar. Im kinda of seeing the 217 on vertical stab... I don't see the antenna on the spine of the aircraft. I removed it in 2011 it definitely wasn't just tossed in there in 69.

Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña Corsair FAS 217 1970 Bridgeport CT by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr

_________________
Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

CB 13:

Hi! Tks for the info & data provided!

p.s Are you sure you have a FAS 217 aircraft?? Do the paperwork indicates its FAS Reg #??

CB13:

..one more question for you? Did your aircraft arrive in c. '69 with the landing gear on or off?? Do you know??

It arrived wit the landing gear on it.
Jerry

_________________
"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Jerry:

Good day! Tks for the info & data on your CT F4U.

p.s I'm getting 2 conflicting dates of a/c arrival at Bridgeport CT. One pic says c. 1969 & the other one c. 1970. Will you plz clarify it?? Tks in advance.

The Corsair was shipped on May 16 1969 on the SS Costa Rica according to letters from Archie Balducchi.
Regarding landing gear, Nick Mainero said the plane was a "wheels Up job" but it had full landing gear when it arrived at Floyd Bennett Field. With no definite photo evidence of the plane on the ship, or prior to loading I cant say one way or the other. They may have been folded up.

_________________
Andrew King
Air Museum Director with no Museum to Direct
Open to Suggestions

CB13:

Morning!

..I'm working on the VHF antenna Removal/installation detail since it took you some time to remove. You have to remember that your sample is a composite a/c, made of a mix of parts found at the boneyard c. '69. Nick did a swift job securing this machine but I'm also sure he did not spent 2 months in country making the arrangements. Someone else did!!

p.s I'm also puzzle about the E. Coast delivery of the a/c. The easiest way to ship it was via W. Coast to Calif someplace or by truck to Izabal, Guatemala or Cortez, Honduras to the Houston, New Orleans of Fla area. I looked-up the details/info of the SS Costa Rica & found out it was Pax converted ship fm WW II. Scrapped c. in 1967. I also know for the pics taken at CT that the wings came off a dark blue FAS Corsair. Buno 92XXX series.

2 B cont!...

CB 13:

p.s .... when you get a chance will you plz post the best profile R/S pic that you have of your FAS 217?? Color or B/w will do. Tks in advance!

p.s 2: We 'll get to the bottom of things before Dec 31, 2014 24:00 Hrs! You'll see! -)

Do you need Elevators and Rudder for your project? I got a set I am trying to sell.

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"If that's a goddamn 'Jug' in front of me, you sure as hell better wiggle your wings." 80FS/8FG Cape Gloucester, December 1943. And the entire 41st Fighter Squadron rocked their wings.

ALWAYS LOOKING FOR P-38 PARTS

The antenna under discussion--is that an AT-145 UHF antenna?

S45:

Good day!

Don't know the details of the manufacture stock # for now. But perhaps you can help the cause here:

Seek your IT photo-shop expertise to switch the above picture to the negative side of the house & see what you come up at the tail section. We are a bit divided because of the lack of the VHF antenna & a poss FAS 217 0r FAS 207 # being present!! All that we know is tat the last digit is a #7!!

Tks in advance!!

Image is too low-resolution to make out anything clear. looks like 2*7 to me

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Magister Aviation
It's all in my book

See that very unique looing control cable sticking out of the firewall, and that distorted area at the top of the wind screen? That's FAS-211. In the original photo above, the tall grass waving in front of the FAS number on the vertical tail looks kind of like a "7", but if you study the top of the "2", you'll see that the anomaly that looks like a "7" doesn't conform to the size and alignment of the other numbers. Every other aspect of the planes in these two photos matches up, including the missing fuel cell hatch, etc. I've studied photos of all the other derelicts at Ilopango and none are in precisely this state of disassembly...except for FAS-211, which is the correct identity of the plane in the original post above.

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Rob Mears
'Surviving Corsairs' Historian
robcmears@yahoo.com
http://www.robmears.com

That sounds quite reasonable, Rob, thank you. The details you mention in the airframe coincide in both pictures (and as for the non-standard "2" format, there were other Corsairs with the 1957 blue scheme wearing these)

Marco