Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:38 pm
Its excuisite. Probably one of the finest restorations anywhere (in my opinion).marine air wrote: the attention to detail is exceptional.
Cap'n Eddie's Firefly - Chino, May 2006
Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:51 pm
Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:54 pm
Saw Capt. Eddie's Firefly at Chino last year.
Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it on final. "OMG it's a Firefly!" say I. "It's a what?" says Mrs. Mudge. But by that time I was headed for the parking area. Gorgeous airplane. My little heart went to about 210 bpm.
Mudge the aesthete
ps. Talked to him for a few minutes. Nice guy.
Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it on final. "OMG it's a Firefly!" say I. "It's a what?" says Mrs. Mudge. But by that time I was headed for the parking area. Gorgeous airplane. My little heart went to about 210 bpm.
Mudge the aesthete
ps. Talked to him for a few minutes. Nice guy.
Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:15 pm
Mudge--
Ohhh that is lovely. We have a fairly nice one almost identical to Captain Eddie's at the local airport. I'm pleased, very, that so few people on this continent know--or care--what a Firefly is: it makes the sale of the local one unlikely!
Mike/Jim--
As mentioned, the Shearwater Firefly (FR.1 PP462) isn't finished yet, though she's making good progress. She is still slated to fly--very briefly--when completed, but that'll depend on whether or not there is still a runway at Shearwater by then...CAvM's Firefly (DK545) is still stored and quite possibly always will be, since their Naval display is really quite comprehensive already. Those two FR.1s were recovered from Asmara in Eritrea (formerly part of Ethiopia) circa 1994.
The other two ex-EAF Firefly 1s recovered a bit more recently (circa 1998) came from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia itself, and were another FR.1 (serial anyone??) and the only known extant T.1 dual (MB694 iirc). They went to South Africa along with one or two SAAB 17s and several Safirs; more recently the two Fireflies traveled to New Zealand, or at least were slated to. I haven't heard anything about them for about a year.
S.
Ohhh that is lovely. We have a fairly nice one almost identical to Captain Eddie's at the local airport. I'm pleased, very, that so few people on this continent know--or care--what a Firefly is: it makes the sale of the local one unlikely!
Mike/Jim--
As mentioned, the Shearwater Firefly (FR.1 PP462) isn't finished yet, though she's making good progress. She is still slated to fly--very briefly--when completed, but that'll depend on whether or not there is still a runway at Shearwater by then...CAvM's Firefly (DK545) is still stored and quite possibly always will be, since their Naval display is really quite comprehensive already. Those two FR.1s were recovered from Asmara in Eritrea (formerly part of Ethiopia) circa 1994.
The other two ex-EAF Firefly 1s recovered a bit more recently (circa 1998) came from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia itself, and were another FR.1 (serial anyone??) and the only known extant T.1 dual (MB694 iirc). They went to South Africa along with one or two SAAB 17s and several Safirs; more recently the two Fireflies traveled to New Zealand, or at least were slated to. I haven't heard anything about them for about a year.
S.
Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:58 pm
IIRC 3 or 4 years ago I went in to a crop dusting strip in Jay, Florida (Odom's Flying Service Airport 50FL) to look at an E18 Twin Beech with a friend to purchase, sitting next to it was a Firefly for sale that needed restoring. The man selling the Beech said that the Firefly had been in some kind of a car accident when transporting it on the trailer.From what I could see all the big pieces where there and it didn't look that bad. Any one know what ever became of that Firefly?
Steve
Steve
Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:21 pm
Lone Star had a Firefly early one but it left before I came around. I was told that they had some expert come look at it and the first thing he did was stick his head into the wheel wells. He shook his head and declared it a no-go because of problems with the unobtanium castings that support the whole thing. I don't know it's origin or numbers or what became of it. I hope it got restored static or parted out to a good quality resto.
Canso42
Canso42
Fireflies
Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:29 am
Canso42 wrote,
I remember that bird..she was stored against the wall of one of the display hangars..got some snaps somewhere..often wondered where she went...
Firefly is a big bird, but there's no denying she's a beauty!! Love the Griffon..
Lone Star had a Firefly early one
I remember that bird..she was stored against the wall of one of the display hangars..got some snaps somewhere..often wondered where she went...
Firefly is a big bird, but there's no denying she's a beauty!! Love the Griffon..
Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:10 am
The Firefly that was at Lone Star then went to FLA and is now under restoration in Utah. It is WD840/N1840 the famous multi-seat Firefly.
Jim
Jim
Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:39 am
AirJimL2 wrote:The Firefly that was at Lone Star then went to FLA and is now under restoration in Utah. It is WD840/N1840 the famous multi-seat Firefly.
Jim
Ahhhh...coool..the little-bus Firefly.
Thanks Jim!!!
Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:59 am
I saw Mr. Kurziels Firefly a couple of years ago at Reno.It was parked next to Mr. Steve Patterson's Sea Fury.It is with out a doubt one of the finest restorations that I have ever seen.You have to see it in person to fully appreciate it.
Sat Apr 07, 2007 10:27 am
Just FYI, the name is actually Kurdzeil. Don't think I've seen it spelled correctly on this thread yet!
Sat Apr 07, 2007 11:59 am
My apologies to Mr Kurdzeil.I just jumped on to the misspelled band wagon with the others.Doh!
Sun Apr 08, 2007 2:49 am
I think Eddie Kurdziel is correct. Here a link to his page:
http://www.faireyfirefly.com
And a video made by me at Oshkosh 2002:
http://www.pozefilm.de/video/firefly.wmv
http://www.faireyfirefly.com
And a video made by me at Oshkosh 2002:
http://www.pozefilm.de/video/firefly.wmv
Sun Apr 08, 2007 6:53 pm
[quote="AirJimL2"]The Firefly that was at Lone Star then went to FLA and is now under restoration in Utah. It is WD840/N1840 the famous multi-seat Firefly.
Jim[/quote]
Is that for static or airworthy?
Doug
Jim[/quote]
Is that for static or airworthy?
Doug
Eddie
Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:07 pm
As for the correct name spelling, I usually call him Edsel. I recently talked to Eddie as he was packing to come skiing in Colo. He thought that plane might have been in Minn. and wondered if it really was complete. Years ago I saw the other Firefly at Lone Star and remember it as being pretty rough.