Ezell Aviation Tour (10/7/2008)
Thu Oct 09, 2008 12:04 pm
I took advantage of the cool, clear afternoon weather last Tuesday (10/7/2008) and decided to make a visit to Ezell Aviation for a look at their current projects. I was amazed at the level of activity that was taking place on an otherwise unremarkable Tuesday afternoon. My first surprise was finding the F4U-4 that had recently arrived from France, parked adjacent to the hangar’s main entrance. I had never seen this plane in person before, and though it had already been largely disassembled, it was a very welcome “hello” for this Corsair buff.
A quick scan of the ramp, and it became apparent that the Lonestar Flight Museum was wasting no time sending up a selection of its hurricane damaged fighters for much needed TLC. The F3F and Spitfire had just arrived, and the crew was wasting no time getting both of the planes offloaded and into the hangar. Also, the Sea Fury that suffered a forced landing at Reno last month was also arriving by truck that day. The shop hands were bustling to rearrange the hangar in order to make room for the overwhelming load of new material. A second F4U-4 (BuNo.97302) was being wrapped in plastic and relocated outside onto the ramp as the F3F was offloaded and rolled indoors to take its place.
At the center of it all was the unmistakable centerpiece of the facility – the “Red Bull” P-38 Lightning. If there ever was a jewel of the warbird world, this no doubt is it! It’s hard to describe the conceptual brilliance behind this restoration, but it left little doubt in my mind that pure excellence can in fact be realized with enough blood, sweat, dollars & tears!
On to the photos…
The Lonestar Flight Museum’s F3F arrived on the day of my visit to join the Spitfire, which was already disassembled in Ezell's main hangar. It was a treat to see the crew scrambling to manage the arrival of these arriving airframes.
The Lonestar Flight Museum’s Spitfire fuselage was freshly parked indoors along the hangar’s north interior wall. It’s wings still resided on their trailer on the main tarmac outside. The airframe had obviously been thoroughly washed before arrival and didn't really look that bad considering the circumstances. From what I understand, the work on these airframes begins immediately.
Here’s Dan Friedkin's recent acquisition - F4U-4, BuNo.97264 that recently arrived from France about 4 months ago. The plane was originally scheduled to receive new radios, then it was decided to detail of the firewall forward, wheel wells, etc. The project has now become pretty much a through & through refurbishment. It will be interesting to see what paint scheme the owner eventually decides to apply.
This is F4U-4, BuNo.97302 previously owned and popularly flown by Howard Pardue, now under new ownership. Work on this one has slowed to a crawl, and during my visit it was being wrapped in plastic and tugged outside to make room inside for the new arrivals from LSFM.
The Red Bull P-38 of course
I knew it was going to be astonishing, but you just don't get it until you see it. It’s extremely difficult to capture the true brilliance of this plane in photographs. Nelson was respectably humble in regard to the shop’s work on this one, but he has much to be proud of!!! Exceptional effort by an exceptional crew.
Some of the staff hard at work at their stations. The gentleman in the foreground is fabricating new hydraulic lines for the wheel wells of F4U-4, BuNo.97264.
The Seafury that crashed at Reno this year also arrived on this day. Nelson wheeled the tail section around with a forklift to have his guys remove some bits before placing it into storage. Howard Pardue arrived for a chat and to survey the damage. Glad to hear the pilot (Randy Gardner, I believe) was okay. The rest of the plane was being stuffed away in a separate storage hangar.
This is the "Gulfhawk" Bearcat previously owned and restored by Elmer Ward as a two-seater. Following it's crash at Oshkosh quite a few years ago, it's finally enjoying a slow restoration back to single-seat configuration for Stephen Grey in the UK. Ezell Aviation is utilizing the fuselage jig previously used for Howard Pardue's XF8F-1 restoration to get the aft fuselage back in shape, and then the plane will return to Fighter Rebuilders in Chino for completion.
Howard Pardue's FM-2 Wildcat suffered some relatively minor damage during the recent tornado at Breckenridge. The crew was repairing metal along the leading edge of the starboard wing, as well as some fabric damage to the elevator I believe.
The wing of a P-51D was mounted in a jig and receiving repairs. I didn’t catch the name of this particular Mustang, but it apparently bellied in on the runway during departure in the recent past.
My good bud Randy Tait who’s been with Ezell Aviation for about 20 years now. He was fabricating new side consoles for F4U-4, BuNo.97264 during my visit.
The CAF’s P-63 King Cobra was stored away at the north end of the airport in the hangar that previously housed Bill Arnot’s B-25 “Silver Lady” back in the day. Many a good memory from that hangar, and the post-show BBQ dinners that were hosted there during the airshow years.
A Wilga PZL-104 was also tucked away alongside the CAF’s P-63 fuselage. An obtuse and ungainly aircraft design, but kinda cool IMO.
And lastly, and unidentified wing that I was hoping someone might be able to identify.
A quick scan of the ramp, and it became apparent that the Lonestar Flight Museum was wasting no time sending up a selection of its hurricane damaged fighters for much needed TLC. The F3F and Spitfire had just arrived, and the crew was wasting no time getting both of the planes offloaded and into the hangar. Also, the Sea Fury that suffered a forced landing at Reno last month was also arriving by truck that day. The shop hands were bustling to rearrange the hangar in order to make room for the overwhelming load of new material. A second F4U-4 (BuNo.97302) was being wrapped in plastic and relocated outside onto the ramp as the F3F was offloaded and rolled indoors to take its place.
At the center of it all was the unmistakable centerpiece of the facility – the “Red Bull” P-38 Lightning. If there ever was a jewel of the warbird world, this no doubt is it! It’s hard to describe the conceptual brilliance behind this restoration, but it left little doubt in my mind that pure excellence can in fact be realized with enough blood, sweat, dollars & tears!
On to the photos…
The Lonestar Flight Museum’s F3F arrived on the day of my visit to join the Spitfire, which was already disassembled in Ezell's main hangar. It was a treat to see the crew scrambling to manage the arrival of these arriving airframes.
The Lonestar Flight Museum’s Spitfire fuselage was freshly parked indoors along the hangar’s north interior wall. It’s wings still resided on their trailer on the main tarmac outside. The airframe had obviously been thoroughly washed before arrival and didn't really look that bad considering the circumstances. From what I understand, the work on these airframes begins immediately.
Here’s Dan Friedkin's recent acquisition - F4U-4, BuNo.97264 that recently arrived from France about 4 months ago. The plane was originally scheduled to receive new radios, then it was decided to detail of the firewall forward, wheel wells, etc. The project has now become pretty much a through & through refurbishment. It will be interesting to see what paint scheme the owner eventually decides to apply.
This is F4U-4, BuNo.97302 previously owned and popularly flown by Howard Pardue, now under new ownership. Work on this one has slowed to a crawl, and during my visit it was being wrapped in plastic and tugged outside to make room inside for the new arrivals from LSFM.
The Red Bull P-38 of course
I knew it was going to be astonishing, but you just don't get it until you see it. It’s extremely difficult to capture the true brilliance of this plane in photographs. Nelson was respectably humble in regard to the shop’s work on this one, but he has much to be proud of!!! Exceptional effort by an exceptional crew.
Some of the staff hard at work at their stations. The gentleman in the foreground is fabricating new hydraulic lines for the wheel wells of F4U-4, BuNo.97264.
The Seafury that crashed at Reno this year also arrived on this day. Nelson wheeled the tail section around with a forklift to have his guys remove some bits before placing it into storage. Howard Pardue arrived for a chat and to survey the damage. Glad to hear the pilot (Randy Gardner, I believe) was okay. The rest of the plane was being stuffed away in a separate storage hangar.
This is the "Gulfhawk" Bearcat previously owned and restored by Elmer Ward as a two-seater. Following it's crash at Oshkosh quite a few years ago, it's finally enjoying a slow restoration back to single-seat configuration for Stephen Grey in the UK. Ezell Aviation is utilizing the fuselage jig previously used for Howard Pardue's XF8F-1 restoration to get the aft fuselage back in shape, and then the plane will return to Fighter Rebuilders in Chino for completion.
Howard Pardue's FM-2 Wildcat suffered some relatively minor damage during the recent tornado at Breckenridge. The crew was repairing metal along the leading edge of the starboard wing, as well as some fabric damage to the elevator I believe.
The wing of a P-51D was mounted in a jig and receiving repairs. I didn’t catch the name of this particular Mustang, but it apparently bellied in on the runway during departure in the recent past.
My good bud Randy Tait who’s been with Ezell Aviation for about 20 years now. He was fabricating new side consoles for F4U-4, BuNo.97264 during my visit.
The CAF’s P-63 King Cobra was stored away at the north end of the airport in the hangar that previously housed Bill Arnot’s B-25 “Silver Lady” back in the day. Many a good memory from that hangar, and the post-show BBQ dinners that were hosted there during the airshow years.
A Wilga PZL-104 was also tucked away alongside the CAF’s P-63 fuselage. An obtuse and ungainly aircraft design, but kinda cool IMO.
And lastly, and unidentified wing that I was hoping someone might be able to identify.
Last edited by Rob Mears on Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:14 pm
Great shots! Thanks for the tour. Looks like they'll be busy for quite some time.
Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:26 pm
WOW! What a bunch of warbirds to play with (work on)!!! Love those shots. Keep 'em coming! Good to see the LSFM stock getting quick attention (read expensive) Guess they won't be ready for WOH 
Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:29 pm
I would assume that P-51D wing was from the "Millie G".
Rich
Rich
Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:32 pm
Well it looks like those boys got there plates plenty full now!
Good luck to one of the best in the biz!
Good luck to one of the best in the biz!
Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:36 pm
Rob,
Thanks for the photo tour. It must be awesome to be around all of that history on a daily basis.
Regards,
Mark
Thanks for the photo tour. It must be awesome to be around all of that history on a daily basis.
Regards,
Mark
Thu Oct 09, 2008 2:09 pm
Absolutely terrific pictures. Thank you, kindly.
From the looks of that Wilga, it must require a take-off roll of about 8 feet.
Mudge the appreciative
From the looks of that Wilga, it must require a take-off roll of about 8 feet.
Mudge the appreciative
Thu Oct 09, 2008 3:49 pm
Please explain. I don't remember a Sea Fury being damaged on landing @ Reno last month, I was there. Argonaut had an engine failure but it's owners can certainly fix it and I thought it made it down fine? What Sea Fury did you see at Ezell's? I don't remember any unlimiteds suffering any damage other than engine failures/metal in the screen/trim tab departing.
John
John
Thu Oct 09, 2008 3:51 pm
The wing in the last picture is for a T-6. There is also one in the jig fixture, shown in the same picture as the one of the Mustang wing. I am not sure of who the owner is though.
Don't forget, the B-29 engine nacelle that is there at Nelson's place, being worked on for FIFI's engine project.
Rob, are you gonna make it down to Midland as well?
Gary
Don't forget, the B-29 engine nacelle that is there at Nelson's place, being worked on for FIFI's engine project.
Rob, are you gonna make it down to Midland as well?
Gary
Thu Oct 09, 2008 3:56 pm
....
Last edited by Yak 11 Fan on Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:01 pm
It was 20 days prior to the races.
http://rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/NEWS18/80820064&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews
If I can finagle an opportunity, then you bet I'll make it out to Midland too Gary. I'm hoping to stay in market on the weekends rather than commuting home, and do my warbird stuff then. I'd sure love to spy the scene out through Midland and even further out to El Paso if possible.
http://rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/NEWS18/80820064&OAS_sitepage=news.rgj.com%2Fbreakingnews
If I can finagle an opportunity, then you bet I'll make it out to Midland too Gary. I'm hoping to stay in market on the weekends rather than commuting home, and do my warbird stuff then. I'd sure love to spy the scene out through Midland and even further out to El Paso if possible.
Last edited by Rob Mears on Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:08 pm
Cavanaughs' Sea Fury that landed short of the runway a couple of weeks before Reno. Poor Nelson needsd some work so I am taking up a collection to get him thru these lean times. Probably going to have to lay off all the help.
Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:38 pm
Gorgeous (or will be) planes and quality pics - thx!
Wade
Wade
Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:01 pm
Amazing pictures. Thankyou very much for posting. Looks like an amazing place. It is great to see the Lone Star birds getting such quick attention.I agree that the Red Bull P-38 is different class. Stunning. The Corsair spar never ceases to amaze me, looks very complex. Quick question, does the open panel under the cockpit of the Corsair (ie the big one) correspond to where the clear panel was in early models?
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Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:12 pm
Thanks Rob. Well duh...I know I saw that and have already totally forgotten about it!!!!!
John
John