Abandoned B25 Miitchell ??

[peter]

Does anyone know what is happening with the B25 serial number
44-31508 that is sitting minus one engine at Franklin virginia?

[sgt hawk]

I remember that airplane in the late 70's it flew as "chapter XI". I would see it at FT Lauderdale executive airport all the time. I had heard that a group of Piedmont Pilots owned it. I'm not aware of it's situation, It would make a good project.

[peter]

latest warbird digest has an article on her she looks very sad...

[coldaffyduck]

She is still at Franklin, VA with only one engine. From what I understand it is currently owned by an individual in that area. A couple of years ago he asked some of our squadron members if they would be interested in assisting him to get it back in the air. We did provide some help but if I remember correctly the only work that was really done was on trying to get the aircraft tug parked next to the airplane running and no real work was done to the plane itself. I believe he does have a 0 time engine for it stuck in a hanger somewhere, but as long as she has been sitting there the other engine needs some major work on it also. I can imagine that corrision is going to be a real problem for whoever were to restore it as the birds have made themselves at home in it. The plane did sit for a while on its tail until the city complained, now there is a B-4 stand under the tail to keep it from rocking back. I will be in Franklin this weekend and will snap some pics of it and post on here.

[daveymac82c]

Hey Coldaffyduck please do get some pictures of it.

I'd love to see that plane get back into the air again, or at least put inside and be taken care of.

How long has the plane been sitting at Franklin? What are the intentions of the current owner?

I don't want to put words into anyone's mouth, but do you think it might be that the owner bought it with the intention of sitting on it until appreciated enough for resale? I have no idea, but that thought popped into my mind.

At a local airport around here there's a big cabin Waco that's been sitting in a hangar for who knows how long, but at least a couple decades. It's covered in dust and hasn't been run or worked on since it's been there. Some people think that the current owner bought it a while back expecting that there will be a day that it will appreciate in price so he could make a profit. But, to get the thing flying, it'll probably need the engine overhauled, and I imagine the airframe will need to be thoroughly inspected. It's sad to see the airplane like this, but at least it's inside.

Sorry about the tangent.

Cheers,

David

[peter]

That would be great if you can get new pics of her. I forgot to mention that her bomb doors are hanging open and the birds have built a large nest inside

[eric_stevens]

When I was with the Squadron back in 96-99, The gentleman who took care of the airplane was not really the owner, but asked the squadron to help, I tried and all he really wanted to do was polish the airplane. The engine at the time was under a tarp in front of the aircraft. Years later in 02, I went back on a long cross country building multi time and he had moved it into a hanger with a PT-19. The same hanger I thing Decostas Aviation has, or the squadron uses for maintenance. And it was once again just being polished, and the engine was still next to it.

So the imporatnt question Craig how is the Lady coming along, I have a setimental attachment to her!

[coldaffyduck]

I would say it has been sitting out for at least five years and actually his PT-23 is sitting out on the ramp too. The elements are hitting the PT pretty hard also because the prop was actuaaly starting to de-laminate so I can imagine what the rest of the plane is like.

It is real hard to say what the owners intentions are, I do not believe it was to let it sit derelect. I do know that the owners job has him spending most of the time out of the country so he never really has much time to work on it. The only hanger on the field big enough to hold it is the old navy maintenance hanger that DeCosta Aviation rents from the city. I do not blame the guy for not storing the plane in there, I would rather let it sit outside too.

The Lodestar status is real slow (read as lack of funds). We do have a possible lead on a parts plane so we can save time and money replacing parts on our bird. If I were to guess and we get the spare airframe and the planets line up just right, she might be ferryable in about a years time and possibly ready for the airshow circuit in another 2-3 years. Those figure are probably wishful thinking but you never know.

[eric_stevens]

Is the parts plane you are looking at the one up here in Bowman field. It has been here for a while. I look at it everytime I fly into Bowman field in Louisville.

[Coert Munk]

Hi, are you sure about the serial? 44-31508 is flying as N6578D `Lady Luck`

[T J Johansen]

Hi, are you sure about the serial? 44-31508 is flying as N6578D `Lady Luck`

Apparently not. "Lady Luck" is the old Dave Brady machine, while this is "Lucky Lady" the former BoB movie camera ship. Doesn't seem to live up to either name though. Or maybe the mere fact that the a/c refuses to die means that luck is still on its side..

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b25regis ... 31508.html

T J

[Jase]

Not only was the prop on the PT delaminating, there was a couple of mushrooms growing out of it in 05 when I was at FKN.

As far as the B-25, if you look into the bomb bay (doors are open), you can see sunlight thru parts of the skin. Also missing the structural tunnel cover.

[Coert Munk]

T J, you're right, she's named "Lucky Lady", but has the serial 44-31508 and that's more important. Could someone publish a picture of the plane as she is now?

[noizeedave]

Heres the aerial view of wheres shes parked.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&c ... &encType=1

go to birds eye view option and you can see a little better.

Dave-

[slinky]

And maybe a pic of the PT-23 too!!!!