Mustang replica

[PinecastleAAF]

Anything that can be jousted, should be

Now that was a good one. Oh those terrible static displays. How shocking.

[Nathan]

...from a slow death in outside (or inside) display is good....airplanes are meant to be flown not to sit around and rot away

Every warbird should be returned to flying. I always thought that as the goal for the warbird movement.

[jet1]

Every warbird should be returned to flying. I always thought that as the goal for the warbird movement.

too many have been "preserved" on poles and end up just corroded rotted scrap metal. The recent corsair that was de-poled is a good example. there was so much corrosion in the center section that it can only end up some day as beer cans (and not too many).....

[JDK]

sounds great - as long as you two are paying.

Fundamentalist warbirding. Funny stuff.

[k5083]

Yeah. Funny thing, I had a business trip between HPN and ORD this week. I got a brief look at a T-33 at one end and an F4F at the other. And the thought that somehow failed to cross my mind was: what a shame that these planes are displayed here for all to see when they could be flyable and hidden in some gazillionaire's private hangar in Texas somewhere. Guess I flunk the warbird orthodoxy test.

August

[PinecastleAAF]

Aircraft on poles ain't that bad. Heck it is sorta like flying in that it is up in the air.

I venture to say if it were not for a few well placed poles that some of these pole dancers would be nothing but re-cycled aluminum by now.

So there you have it, another perspective on historic aircraft preservation.

[Django]

Good grief... here we go again.

There IS however some comedic gold in this thread.

[gale_dono]

...from a slow death in outside (or inside) display is good....airplanes are meant to be flown not to sit around and rot away

Every warbird should be returned to flying. I always thought that as the goal for the warbird movement.

Except that it's often a totally unrealistic goal. I like seeing flying warbirds too, but I also realize the absurd amounts of money it takes to see them flying, which not everyone is able to put out there. And if it were the case, then our heritage would be held by only the few with the money to restore them, and that is not how I, as a future historian, want to see things.

[p51]

...from a slow death in outside (or inside) display is good....airplanes are meant to be flown not to sit around and rot away

Every warbird should be returned to flying. I always thought that as the goal for the warbird movement.

Okay, sure, hand over such historical aircraft as the Enola Gay, the Bell X-1 to folks who'll fly them. What the heck, let's get the Wright flyer back into the air, how about that? NO, there are some airplanes that are too historically significant due to their individual history or rarity to allow back into the air. I've always felt that if an airplane is the very last of it's type, it's better off inside a museum than flying around, waiting for someone to goof up and plant her into a field. Remember the rash of crashes the CAF was having there for a while? I can't help but think of the crash of B-26 N5546N in 1995. The FAA cited inexperience on the part of the pilot contributing to the crash. Think of what would have happened if they'd crashed something irreplaceable? Besides, any pilot can screw up, no matter how good they are.

[Warbird Kid]

Every warbird should be returned to flying. I always thought that as the goal for the warbird movement.

too many have been "preserved" on poles and end up just corroded rotted scrap metal. The recent corsair that was de-poled is a good example. there was so much corrosion in the center section that it can only end up some day as beer cans (and not too many).....

With a new spar and almost new everything she could be flyable again. Personally if we were donated a full scale mockup, it would be my personal crusade to see that the fiberglass would go back on the pole!

[Warbird Kid]

Think of what would have happened if they'd crashed something irreplaceable?

They did...


A-20
HE-111
B-26
Wildcat

Even if these airframes weren't as historically significant, i died a little every time we lost one. And Im all the way up here in CT! The only time I've set foot in TX was when i had a 1 hour layover in Dallas when i was 11!

[Forgotten Field]

We should put all you fans of static aircraft and pole aircraft in charge of economic recovery and see how well you resuscitate it...

They flew, they can fly, they still should fly. Enola Gay, X-1, or anything else.

[k5083]

We should put all you fans of static aircraft and pole aircraft in charge of economic recovery and see how well you resuscitate it...

We would restore the economy so that it looks great but doesn't go anywhere. We really have no choice -- you everything-should-fly guys have crashed it too many times. If we were to rebuild it to operational status now, it would just be a dataplate economy, with no historical authenticity left.



August

[jet1]

Every warbird should be returned to flying. I always thought that as the goal for the warbird movement.

too many have been "preserved" on poles and end up just corroded rotted scrap metal. The recent corsair that was de-poled is a good example. there was so much corrosion in the center section that it can only end up some day as beer cans (and not too many).....

With a new spar and almost new everything she could be flyable again. Personally if we were donated a full scale mockup, it would be my personal crusade to see that the fiberglass would go back on the pole!

from what Ive seen I think it would be almost impossible to restore that one...perhaps putting it inside so it would last a bit longer might be monet better spent! I found a t-33 stored outside and when it began to corrode they filled it with concrete to "save" it....oh well

[51fixer]

from what Ive seen I think it would be almost impossible to restore that one...perhaps putting it inside so it would last a bit longer might be monet better spent!

My opinion, that would be an excellent bird to restore.
Not 2 long ago there was a thread featuring a Corsair that was used as a wind machine that is in worse condition to begin with.
Bob Odegarrd's -4 he is restoring was buried IIRC.
The right people and money would get that thing flying.
Look at the Swedish Mustang being built out of a swamp.
Rich