Warbird Information Exchange

I like it ... the two flying together would look outstanding. I'm partial to military schemes, but these two racers are very cool indeed.

#47 had slight differences in paint scheme in each of the years it was raced. I am not sure which one they intend to use. I will be some form of the blue w/ white cheker board scheme. I really wish #94 had survived. It was the most heavily modded of the three.

I surely will miss this thing if it doesn't return to Reno -- I was just getting ued to it being there. Apparently Bob got a very good offer -- too good to pass up...

_________________
Neal Nurmi

---Wingman Photo---

Every time I see something about this bird I think of Cook.
He was such a great guy! Some years ago when he was
in the hospital I visited him on my birthday. I brought him
a matted photo of "RACE 57" after it was restored. He was
really happy with it. He was very sedated and drifting in
and out when I was there; it is something I will NEVER forget.
When he would drop off into sleep, his hands would grip
the stick and throttle and he would be "flying" again. It is
emotional for me every time I think of it. There he was,
in a hospital bed, reliving his youth.

I brought with me two other things that day: a VB-16
patch and the telescopic sight from an SBD-3. I wish
everyone on this BB could have seen his face when he
held the pieces and explained them to me. It was wonderful!

God bless you Cook Cleland, where ever you are!!!
America owes you much for the J a p s you killed!!!!

Blue skies &
gratitude,
Owen

I really like this shot of Race 57, with the old school helmet you don't know what year it is.

_________________
"I love the smell of racing gas in the morning"
www.timadamsphotography.com

Great guy indeed. I was lucky enough to meet him down at Trader's. It will be good to see the other Corsair back in the air.
Robbie

_________________
Fly Fast Make Noise!

Man, that sucks. The F2G racers fascinate me, and I was really hoping to get a chance to see Race 57 this year. From what I hear, Ron Pratte is a very private guy, and his collection is not open to the public. It seemed like Bob Odegaard enjoyed showing the plane, and taking it to air shows and to Reno.

Well, maybe I'll get to see Race 74 when it's done.

I just watched an interview with Dick Becker on DVD, and it was great to hear his stories about racing the F2G's with Cook.

Has anyone ever made a serious effort to recover the remain of Race 94 from where they're buried on the grounds of the Cleveland Hopkins Airport? Anyone know exactly where it is, or whether there was anything recognizable left after it was burned? It seems like a shame to leave a piece of history like that in the ground.

There was absolutely nothing left to recover. Only the engine and some small pieces remain at the Crawford museum.

Great pix Neal!

_________________
"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

Who is Race 74 being restored for? Or is that information still classified? [/list]

_________________
Matt

Allrightythen...with the new era of not bashing dummies like me for asking stupid questions

Is Race 74 the one that was pulled from "storage" at Walter Soplata's place? I thought I read here that he would only release it if it were to be restored for static only? Was not the Crawford Museum to be where it was to rest after restoration?

As an aside...I love watching the video I have of Mr Odegaard flying at Cleveland with the GeeBee replica...Sept 9, 2001. Glorious day with splendid flying!

_________________
Earn my respect and never lose it.
Demand my respect and never gain it. -Me

...just another plane dreamer.

I remember reading as a kid that "the last one" was at the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico. Later traded to Champlin to be restored to airworthy but not flown.
As an enthusiast, my hat goes off to Mr. Soplata for saving a couple more, and for Mr. Odegaard for putting his money, talent, and time into not only getting another back into the skies but generously displaying it around the country.
as much as I love the orange one, the blue and white one is going to probably make my heart race the first time I see it fly!

That's what I was afraid of. I was hoping they just set it on fire and quickly extinguished it once or twice, dug a nice big hole, pushed it in, and covered it up, more or less intact. It's too bad Walter Soplata didn't get both of them. Why did Crawford remove the engine and scrap the rest? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Apparently Ron Puckett's Race 18 met a very similar fate. I read somewhere that the engine was sold off, and the plane was burned for fire practice, and then scrapped.

I guess I'll just have to win the lottery and build one from scratch. What does an R-4360 go for these days?

That one "454" is at the Seattle Museum of Flight now. I saw it last summer.



I think Race 74 was the only F2G Mr. Soplata ever had, although I thought I read somewhere that he had the FG-1 Corsair "Lucky Galleon" that Cook Cleland raced in 1946. I've never seen any pictures though.

That was the original deal. The Crawford later decided to sell the airctaft, and it was sold to someone who does intend to fly / race it.