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CF-100 at CFB Trenton and Others

Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:06 am

I came across a good list of CF-100 survivors...

http://www.avroland.ca/al-s-cf-100_locations.html

It happens to list the mystery CF-100 on the south side of CFB Trenton...

18773 former 814B - confirmed Feb 2004

Finally a confirmed ID!

Mike

Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:38 pm

Mike,

I question this list.

1. Wish someone could tell me where W. Soplata College in Ohio is. :)

2. MOF doesn't have a CF-100

3. 18779 is at Colorado Springs not Wright Patt.

4. 18785 is at CWH

5. Where did they get the idea that 18504 is at CWH? It is at Castle AFB.

Jim

Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:59 pm

AirJimL2 wrote:1. Wish someone could tell me where W. Soplata College in Ohio is. :)


Hmmmm... That is a little odd, but I bet the classes there are interesting!!!

AirJimL2 wrote:2. MOF doesn't have a CF-100


Interesting. The note is that it is in storage. The museum's website doesn't list this one, but it may not cover all storage items. It is a little hard to send an email when they don't make their contact information obvious.

AirJimL2 wrote:3. 18779 is at Colorado Springs not Wright Patt.


The one at the USAFM is 18241.

AirJimL2 wrote:4. 18785 is at CWH


Correct.

AirJimL2 wrote:5. Where did they get the idea that 18504 is at CWH? It is at Castle AFB.


Dunno.


At least they have the serial of the mytery Trenton bird.

Mike

Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:58 pm

The entry on that site is kind of fubared, it should read Walter Soplata, Newbury, OH. He has a huge private collection of aircraft (mostly ones just saved from the scrapyards) but the collection is not open to the public anymore. I tried to contact him back in the late 90's, while I was in the Cleveland area, but whoever answered said he wasn't taking any calls.

For more info:

http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/museums/oh/wasac.htm

www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/wix/data/soplata.xls

http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/Fea1/101 ... Fea182.htm

Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:35 am

Well, you guys have a reason for him to allow you to see the collection, I was just another curious airplane nut. My gf was greatly relieved that she didn't have to go wandering around in an (as she put it) "airplane junk yard" as we'd already worn ourselves out on a two-day visit to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and an airshow. We stopped at the MAPS Museum in Akron but they were closed, still meaning to get up there sometime soon...

Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:58 am

Remember Mike we need get some upclose photos of those fenced off trenton Canuck and Voodoo....planes geeks rule....well sort of....

Andrew

Fri Oct 15, 2004 8:34 am

Locobuster wrote:it should read Walter Soplata, Newbury, OH


Yea I know, I was making a joke about the College part. I agree with Mike thought...I bet the classes are interesting! :) :shock:

Jim

Clunk listing/Walt Soplata

Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:44 pm

Hi guys--

Yeah, that Clunk listing is a bit garbled. I emailed the fellow whose site that is with a bunch of corrections and several additions, but nothing's changed on there in a long time. I too found the Soplata College entry a hoot (and yeah, the classes would be quite something); obviously what's happened is the guy's seen 18775 listed as with "Soplata Coll." in a cursory list and assumed "Coll." was an abbreviation for "College" instead of "Collection" as would actually have been the case. Though some of Walt's airframes did come from tech schools!

Incidentally there isn't much left of 18775. Basically it consists of the cockpit section plus maybe 20' of centre fuselage, plus a section of the nacelle structure on one side. I found this chunk more or less by accident in 1983 when examining a bunch of scrapped-out Clunk components at a metals recycler in Etobicoke; one of the scrappies said his brother-in-law had three CF-100s at a scrapyard in Barrie, and I immediately wrote Walt about it. There were the remains of three Mk.5s there; 775, 772 and one I couldn't identify. Have pix of all three. All were in similar state. A few weeks later Walt arrived and acquired 775 as the other two were being taken to the smelter. By my 1984 visit to Walt's, 775 was there; from pix I've seen recently it still is. Would probably make an excellent simulator-type display...and maybe someday it will!

As to Walt's desire for privacy in recent years, that has happened for various reasons, one of which may be his health, which I have heard is now quite poor; but in the 70s and 80s he was as hospitable as could be as long as he knew you were just an enthusiast like him. I remember him fondly as a clever, knowledgeable, and utterly unique individual. And it was certainly neat to read Randy H's report from as recently as 2002 that showed "the real Walt" had not yet disappeared even then...

S.
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