Walter Soplata

[agent86]

I have a friend,who will remain nameless,who went with his business partner and flew down to Mr.Soplatas place. he says that Walter picked them up at the Airport in if I remember correctly a Ford Pinto.He said that the floor of the car was covered by McDonalds Cheeseburger wrappers. He also told me he kept Mr. Soplata happy by buying him Cheeseburgers.This comes second hand and could be wrong but I know for a fact that they went to see his collection.The cheeseburgers,I dont know. I think I might have said this before but as I have said,old age sucks

[Randy Haskin]

Mr Soplata was certainly an eccentric individual, so the story could very well be true. The decor of the car would certainly be very similar to what I saw at his place back in '02.

In case it's not obvious, Mr. Soplata certainly wasn't of the current mold of "warbird guys". There were no million-dollar restorations, white-floor hangars, and remnants of a high-power business career hanging in his house.

He was a lot more like the warbird guys of the 60s and 70s -- grass roots ordinary guys who had a passion for the airplanes and their life revolved around them. Much more like Connie Edwards or Junior Burchinal (except Soplata never rebuilt any of his 'collection' to airworthy).

[agent86]

From what I have read,he was quite a character. we can now all enjoy and see his legacy. I thank him and his son for their work.
you gotta love junior and Connie.Like walter,alot of our prized planes would be beer cans without them.gotta thank Mr' Ed Maloney too

[Woodsy Airfield]

What I always thought was interesting is that whenever he decided to stop operating a vehicle, it would become an instant storage container - parts, books, magazines, whatever. I remember when he was breaking down the DC-7 he had bought at the Wakeman, Ohio airport (Ortner's), he was driving a white Ford Mustang (as I recall) and before leaving, he had to put oil in motor. He indicated that it should be enough to get him home (about 75 miles).......

[RMAllnutt]

What I always thought was interesting is that whenever he decided to stop operating a vehicle, it would become an instant storage container - parts, books, magazines, whatever. I remember when he was breaking down the DC-7 he had bought at the Wakeman, Ohio airport (Ortner's), he was driving a white Ford Mustang (as I recall) and before leaving, he had to put oil in motor. He indicated that it should be enough to get him home (about 75 miles).......

That's absoultely true. I remember at least one school bus that was crammed with stuff. There were also a number of cars scattered around the place which had rusted so much that they were barely outlines in the ground. He was one of a kind, and it's really sad he's gone.

All the best,
Richard

[mustangdriver]

I will never forget his first words to me. Keep in mind I had no idea who he was at the time. He said, "Hey do you want to come and see my planes?" I was 14 and was not sure at first, haha. But my friend Clair nodded and said, "GO"! So I did, and man alive. I will never forget it.

[agent86]

I will never forget his first words to me. Keep in mind I had no idea who he was at the time. He said, "Hey do you want to come and see my planes?" I was 14 and was not sure at first, haha. But my friend Clair nodded and said, "GO"! So I did, and man alive. I will never forget it.

I wish I could have seen his collection when intact