Simplex

Wed May 06, 2009 6:31 am

All

Looking for some high res photos of the Simplex 'Red Arrow' to use in a small article, if anyone can help please PM me.
Are there any survivors???

regards
Dave

Wed May 06, 2009 10:04 am

There is a survivor in Illinois. Owner just died in the last year. Was restored back in the 1970's and then suffered some kind of fire....not sure of the extent of the damages. Has sat at least 25 years

Wed May 06, 2009 10:52 am

I saw him at Brodhead a few years ago and he said they were getting it ready to fly again, but I guess it never did. Not sure of the name, was it Earl Adkinsson or something like that?

-

Wed May 06, 2009 2:21 pm

yep...that is who owned it. I have a bunch of Simplex advertisements

Wed May 06, 2009 4:23 pm

Thnaks guys, any idea where to start in tracking the owner down?

Wed May 06, 2009 11:00 pm

ADKISSON EARL M
Street BOX 593
City ATWOOD State ILLINOIS Zip Code 61913
County PIATT
Country UNITED STATES

Wed May 06, 2009 11:25 pm

Thanks, will get a letter off to him this week and post the results ( should I get any!)

Fri May 08, 2009 2:44 pm

Remember...he is deceased

Fri May 08, 2009 9:49 pm

Use the ouija board to get a hold of him.

Jim :-)

Sun May 10, 2009 11:01 pm

I have excellent contacts in another dimension

Still I will try my luck, one of his relatives may be able to help.....

Dave

Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:19 pm

Let me give you some information about the Simplex. Earl Adkisson found it in a barn in Indiana in the early 60's. There had been a fire but the wings were in another buidling so only the fuselage went through the fire and the airplane was pretty much complete. Earl trailered it home and started the restoration. I was in high school at the time and helped some and learned how to weave wicker seats on the Simplex. When he got her flying she had less than 90 hours on the airframe as near as we could figure out. There was a story that some miners used it to drop dynamite on some of the mines during a strike. They went to jail and the airplane sat. Whether or not the story is true, I don't know. Earl flew it for several hours to fly-ins and such and he and his wife became known as Mr. and Mrs. Waffle Bottom due to the way their pants looked after sitting on the wicker seats for a few hours. The airplane flew well and Earl enjoyed it a lot. It was tied down at the Tuscola, Illinois airport which Earl managed and some vandals kicked and punched holes in the fuselage and wings. He took her apart and that's the way she has stayed ever since. He was always too busy with working on other airplanes to dedicate the time to the restoration. The wings have been redone and are in storage but I don't think anything has been done with the fuselage. Before the vandals did their damage Cliff Robertson, the actor, wanted to buy the airplane but, they couldn't come to an agreement. That's a short story about the Simplex. It was #39 out of 39 built as I recall and the last remaining example in the world. Earl gave me my first airplane ride when I was 8 or 9 and was my best friend for over 50 years until he died last year. I can't tell you how much I miss him.