Warbird Information Exchange

Before christmas last year I spent a week in Barcelona, Spain, and while there I ventured up to Sabadell where the Foundation Parc Aeronàutic of Catalonia is located. They staged an open day which also included fly-by's from some of their aircraft. The most interesting to me was the Hispano Saeta (Arrow) which I had never even seen before. Unfortunately, after a few passes it left for wherever it is based.
I can remember back in the 1980s when there seemed to be a never ending influx of surplus jets coming onto the market cheaply (Vampire/ Venom, Mig-15/ 17, L-29, Provost/ Strikemaster, Fouga Magister, Saeta, etc.). As the years have gone by, parts availability and fuel prices having gone through the roof it seems as though a lot of these jets have been put out to pasture.
So just how many Hispano Saeta's are still flying in the U.S.? I know there have been some accidents over the years, but one or two must still be running, or not?

T J

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano_HA-200

HA 200 https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquir ... 0&PageNo=1

HA 220 https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquir ... 0&PageNo=1

I've seen one somewhere in Texas - maybe out near Austin I think? I always thought it had good-looking lines.

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The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Gary T used to have a Hispano in Houston, but I think he sold it some years ago. He wrote a Never Again about it in AOPA Pilot when an oil line failed on take-off from Hobby and he almost came to grief with a 737 that the controller didn't tell to go around after he declared an emergency and was dead-sticking it in.

I think one of the reasons you don't see as many classic jets any more is that a lot of the guys who had the means and desire to try one got one, and then got the urge out of their system. IMHO (based on my experience with an L-39), jets get kinda boring after a while, relative at least to a nice Pitts or a T-6 or a piston fighter. And you spend at lot less $$$ at the fuel pump.

As with most things, there is a compromise.
A jet will cost you more at the fuel pump, but compared with a Mustang or other WWII fighter, they cost a lot less to buy...and thus, to insure.

You can buy a lot of fuel with the $2 million you save.
Too bad there aren't more turbo-props out there...T-34C, Tucano, PC-9 and the like. Seems like a good compromise...the fun of a fighter with turbine reliability and fuel availability.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Didn't Michael Dorn (Worf} used to operate one?

Did anyone else see the title of this thread and assume it referred to one of the lost nuclear weapons from aircraft during the cold war?

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