What ever happened to these?

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

I believe that 'FLYING TIGERS', the airline not the group, used the CONESTOGAs for a short while after the war because they had, for the time, huge cargo holds and I think they were almost given away. Being made of stainless they pretty much won't rust and stainless has a scrap value of ZERO!

It may be worth something now. A guy near us was arrested for trying to steal live power lines for scrap. He suffered 2nd and 3rd degree purns when he took a bolt cutter to a live line at a power station.

[Michel C-GNCJ]

Yup, the Budd was still at Pima last time I went (last year). Here's how it looked:


Must have been a pain to build out of stainless steel !

[The Inspector]

BUDD built most of the stainless shiny railroad passenger cars and had extensive experience with forming and welding stainless, and most of the CONESTOGA was spot welded-and if you ever went down on a desert island, you had a never ending supply of razor blades and ginsu knives-

[Cking]

Thanks for that team.
The Budd has always been a favorite of mine. Shame she has not been put back together but I suppose with limited resouces....
Also I dont suppose they are any corrosion issues to worry about!

Rgds Cking

[RareBear]

Second Air Force,

I think the plane on the edge of the lake in Canada is a Bristol 170. It's documented in Ruud Leeuw's website under "Abandoned Plane Wrecks of the North". It's about half-way down the page.

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/search116.htm

Walt

[Second Air Force]

That's it, Walt. I saw a little image of the top photo of the Bristol on some other story a while back and filed it in my "internal attic" as a possible Conestoga.

Most of the Budds were consigned to the storage field at Stillwater, Ok. at the end of hostilities. I believe the ones that Flying Tigers purchased were already gone when Paul Mantz acquired the rest of the inventory.

Scott

[Django]

Is that the only Budd surviving? No wings or tail?

[Matt Gunsch]

Is that the only Budd surviving? No wings or tail?

Yes, that is the only one, and that is all there is to it. No wings or tail were with it when they found it in Douglas, Az

[airnutz]

True, this is the only known surviving RB-1. The first Budd stainless bird, the BB-1 Pioneer, is still on
outside display in front of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia since 1935.

[retroaviation]

True, this is the only known surviving RB-1. The first Budd stainless bird, the BB-1 Pioneer, is still on
outside display in front of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia since 1935.

Picture?

[Second Air Force]

[gilt]

The Pioneer was originally covered with woven SS fabric which was quickly replaced with cotton or linen.

Tom-

[Cking]

Second Air Force,

I think the plane on the edge of the lake in Canada is a Bristol 170. It's documented in Ruud Leeuw's website under "Abandoned Plane Wrecks of the North". It's about half-way down the page.

http://www.ruudleeuw.com/search116.htm

Walt

I got pictures of one of them too!





anit' she lovely!!!!
This one was written off shortly after this picture was taken

Rgds Cking

[marine air]

In the first photo it is of course now a Budd Conestoga with a Douglas C-47 on the left.
the second photo has in the center a fuselage of a Hunting Pembroke, to the right a fuselage of a Curtiss C-46, and to the left of the Pembroke is a Fairchild C-82 Packet fuselage. the small fuselage in the middle is a North American Bt-14 (Yale) and the fuselage to the far left is a Lockheeed F-94 Starfire.
These are just guesses for now.

[jamesintucson]

Is that the only Budd surviving? No wings or tail?

Yes, that is the only one, and that is all there is to it. No wings or tail were with it when they found it in Douglas, Az

No, we have the wings and tail. They were removed to transport the plane. The only things missing are the engines, props and cowls. They were stolen while the plane was at Douglas long before the museum acquired it.

James