P-38G 42-13400 sitting outside in Alaska ... Why???

I was reading about P-38G 42-13400 (see links) recovery & subsequent restoration to static display and I'm baffled as to why the folks who seemingly went to great lengths & money to recover & restore this aircraft would display it outside in the very harsh weather in Alaska. I can't imagine this aircraft will last too long under those conditions. I'm just not getting the Military's attitude towards leaving such rare and valuable aircraft outside when it would seem to me that there could be so many better ideas as to how to display and hanger them. Why not loan them out to private museums that would be willing to shelter them from the elements that are slowly destroying them. I believe there are a few loaned out in various museums and I can understand the large bombers such as the aircraft at Lackland AFB being outside, but why not loan out and shelter the various fighter examples sitting outside? It's a shame to see that P-38 up north outside. Any other examples outside that you would like to see come inside? List away WIXers.

http://www.hlswilliwaw.com/aleutians/Ai ... overed.htm

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p38regis ... 13400.html

[kenlyco]

Were you been ,heard you became a Monk.

[Thomas]

Well sadly there are a lot of birds in the wrong spot....like this B-17 below on top of a gas station. I understand that this B-17 is in a worse condition now than this older picture shows. It has been hit by trucks and subject to vandalism. I think it's still there and the owner won't give it up.

[Tigercat]

IMHO......That is ridiculous to spend the time and effort to restore that P-38 as they did, and then store the aircraft outside in an environment which is with out a doubt, extreme.

Go figure!!


Ted

Were you been ,heard you became a Monk.

Close ... I was in China though.

As for the B-17 gas station, I believe I recently saw a magazine article with photos showing a very sad state of affairs with that aircraft. Not sure what's going to become of it.

And is this true? ..... Sounds a little shaky to me ....

Milwaukie, Oregon - only in America can you beat a B-17 into a gas station.

Shortly after WWII a guy named Art Lacey (he had a British wife) went to Kansas to buy a surplus B-17. His idea was to fly it back to Oregon, jack it up in the air and make a gas station out of it. He paid $15,000 for it. He asked which one was his and they said take whichever you want because there were miles of them. He didn't know how to fly a 4 engine airplane so he read the manual while he taxied around by himself. They said he couldn't take off alone so he put a mannequin in the co-pilot's seat and off he went.

He flew around a bit to get the feel of it and when he went to land he realized he needed a co-pilot to lower the landing gear. He crashed and totaled his plane and another on the ground. They wrote them both off as "wind damaged" and told him to pick out another. He talked a friend into being his co-pilot and off they went.

They flew to Palm Springs where Lacey wrote a hot check for gas then they headed for Oregon. They hit a snow storm and couldn't find their way so they went down below 1,000 feet and followed the railroad tracks. His partner sat in the nose section and would yell, "TUNNEL" when he saw one and Lacey would climb over the mountain.

They landed safely, he made good the hot check he wrote, and they started getting permits to move a B-17 on the state highway. The highway department repeatedly denied his permit and fought him tooth and nail for a long time so late one Saturday night he just moved it himself. He got a $10 ticket from the police for having too wide a load.

Last edited by Hellcat on Wed Aug 27, 2008 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[N3Njeff]

Anyone else notice the props???? Both the same rotation??? Is that the "rare" one???

[JOHN MILLER]

Last I heard they had "removed" the nose section to restore it, but ran out of funds or ? and a/c is still up there but now without it's nose.

[airnutz]

Anyone else notice the props???? Both the same rotation??? Is that the "rare" one???

IIRC Jeff..since it's not a flyer, it doesn't matter.

[Django]

That does seem like a waste for such beautiful work.

[kenlyco]

[Thomas]

Were you been ,heard you became a Monk.

Close ... I was in China though.

As for the B-17 gas station, I believe I recently saw a magazine article with photos showing a very sad state of affairs with that aircraft. Not sure what's going to become of it.
[/i]

Yep Article in Sep/Oct issue of Warbirds International. Article titled "The Long Goodbye"

Sad story there. The article has Tom Reilly (Liberty Belle) stating that it can indeed be restored to flying condition.

Tom

[chaser]

B-17 44-85790 (on top of a gas station) - to Art Lacey of Milwaukee, OR 1947 and ferried from Altus AFB, OK to Portland, OR Mar 8-10, 1947. By Sept 1947 was on display above Lacy's Gas Station in Milwaukie, Oregon. Reported still there in 1980. 44-85790 nose section was removed in 1996, restored and now at the Wings of Freedom Showcase, Milwaukie, Oregon. Rest of aircrast still at the gas station. The gas station is now closed but The Bomber Restaurant at the same site is still open.

As reported by jbaugher/usafserials

Last edited by chaser on Wed Aug 27, 2008 6:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Tom Crawford]

Years ago, I mean maybe 10+ years, I read an article in Air Classics about this fine gentleman who was privileded to have the money and access to one of the depots for B-17s scheduled for scrapping. It's a story that needs to be repeated and read. Flying down a highway, fog and worst... I'm sorry i don't remember all the particulars but I'm proud of what he preservered...Tom

[Stoney]

Unforuteately the Lacey story is just that a story, the real pilot was Bob Sturges (sp) a former USAAF pilot who later became the mayor of Troutdale, OR and owned Comlumbia Airmotive. Both are gone now.

[n5151ts]

IOW wankers