Homeland Security 'shoots down' a Skyraider

Matt Gunsch · **Posted:** Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:30 pm

51fixer wrote:

BHawthorne wrote:

What is a "form 6" and should I be worried about one? I bought my fuselage as a private sale in Texas with just a signed receipt of sale.

You should be ok as it has to do with importing into the US.
http://www.cjrpc.com/atf/form6-usa.htm
Rich

Strange, I don't see anywhere on there anything about aircraft.....
I wonder if Hans is going to get visited about his PBY importation from Canada.

F3A-1 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:45 pm

Importation of former military aircraft are considered "weapons of war" and a number of requirements must be complied with. There are no interstate rules other than individual state's tax and registration (fund raisers) statutes.

We as concerned citizens need to write the contacts we have in the media and ALL of our members of U.S. Congress. I have sent a few emails this morning and intend to write a few more. Posting on this board will not solve the problem. I have a high regard for Walt and have spoke with Claude this last winter a couple of times. I believe that we need to act immediately and not delay.

Regards
Lex Cralley
www.BrewsterCorsair.com

51fixer · **Posted:** Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:47 pm

Matt Gunsch wrote:

51fixer wrote:

BHawthorne wrote:

What is a "form 6" and should I be worried about one? I bought my fuselage as a private sale in Texas with just a signed receipt of sale.

You should be ok as it has to do with importing into the US.
http://www.cjrpc.com/atf/form6-usa.htm
Rich

Strange, I don't see anywhere on there anything about aircraft.....
I wonder if Hans is going to get visited about his PBY importation from Canada.

The use of this aircraft is military in nature that makes the aircraft a weapon in the eyes of the government.
We went through this with both Princess and the Spit in the last couple years.
Rich

famvburg · **Joined:** Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:41 am **Posts:** 540

Coincidentally, Claude stopped here at VKS yesterday afternoon in his T-6 for some go-juice on his way from Tx. to Al. We talked about this a few minutes. He had met with some attorneys earlier & told me that some congressman from Mo. had even called him. One of Claude's concerns is criminal action against him. He almost seems more concerned about that than actually losing the AD. He asked me to ask everyone around these parts to call their congressman & whoever else might can help get this mess under control.

PinecastleAAF · **Joined:** Fri May 25, 2007 4:50 pm **Posts:** 1028

I can tell you exactly what is going on here. Some Fed somewhere screwed up and didn't get the correct paperwork for this Skyraider and now they have their ass on fire so they will try and hang the owner. I have seen ex military pickup trucks stopped at the dock for lack of a form 6 so the fact ( if accurate ) that they let a Skyraider in without one is a big screwup. Add to the fact that the ball was really dropped somewhere along the line in order for it to have no paperwork is really, really bad. This is the kind of stuff you need to scrutinize bigtime so you don't have something exactly like this happen down the line.

Just my .02

A2C · **Posted:** Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:07 pm

I'll drop my congressman a line. Can somebody post the name, address of the Skyraider owner? Also need the N number of the plane. Let's kick some a%&. The dumb beancounters work for us, we are not subservient to them. Let's kick the snot out of them. I mean on paper of course.

Has the Skyraider owner contacted the EAA Warbirds of America? AOPA Gumint Advocacy? I'll contact each one when I get a few minutes before the end of next week.

engguy · **Joined:** Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:45 am **Posts:** 442

Can we all figure out whats wrong here?

Dave Lindauer · **Posted:** Thu Apr 30, 2009 6:14 pm

I would contact my congressmen if I had sufficient facts.

A template letter prepared by someone very close to the situation and having all the hard facts would surely be helpful to group members who are willing to do what they can to help. Letters containing misstatements or incorrect assumptions won't help anyone's cause.

Hopefully members from Arizona are contacting their ex-Skyraider pilot Senator.

fotobass · **Posted:** Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:08 pm

Dave Lindauer wrote:

I would contact my congressmen if I had sufficient facts.

A template letter prepared by someone very close to the situation and having all the hard facts would surely be helpful to group members who are willing to do what they can to help. Letters containing misstatements or incorrect assumptions won't help anyone's cause.

Hopefully members from Arizona are contacting their ex-Skyraider pilot Senator.

Best post in the thread.

RickH · **Posted:** Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:10 pm

The Senator from Arizone is an ex A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 pilot. I'm not sure he'd be all that willing to help anyway....

Matt Gunsch · **Posted:** Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:30 pm

RickH wrote:

The Senator from Arizone is an ex A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 pilot. I'm not sure he'd be all that willing to help anyway....

He is also anti general aviation, and was one of the first to propose user fees

The Inspector · **Posted:** Fri May 01, 2009 2:28 am

....no, he left an AD in Tampa Bay as a student, and didn't get tossed out on his heiny because of who Daddy and Grandpa were........

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Fri May 01, 2009 7:57 am

Quote:

he left an AD in Tampa Bay as a student

got the accident report handy to show fault to back that one up :?:

bdk · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am **Posts:** 11336

Quote:

Why Did The Feds Seize Claude's Skyraider?

By Russ Niles

Well, we don't have the whole story yet but what we do know is disturbing at best and a threat to the individual freedoms the federal government should be trying to protect.

According to Claude Hendrickson, of Bessemer, Ala., the feds simply seized his Douglas AD-4N Skyraider about six months after he flew it here from France, and they're not saying why.

The aircraft is sealed in a hangar at the Bessemer airport and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information coming from either Bessemer or the government. EAA is involved a little and says it's a paperwork issue.

Theoretically that should be easy to figure out, since the FAA has already approved the import deal and the aircraft, which is magnificent, has been flying.

AVweb writer Mary Grady contacted the Department of Homeland Security and so far everyone she's talked to claims to have no direct knowledge of the seizure. Seems odd, considering the unusual nature of the item seized. Don't these folks have water coolers to gossip around?

And that's the bottom line with any dealings we've had with the DHS, of which ICE is a part. It's such a powerful agency that it doesn't answer to ordinary people who ask perfectly reasonable questions, such as: What possible national security threat does a 60-year-old warbird present that the hundreds of other warbirds flying daily in the U.S. don't.

For my money, I'd take the P-51 over a Skyraider any day in any kind of fight (or terrorist application) and there are hundreds of them flying. And what about the plethora of domestic and foreign-built jets that fly every day in the U.S. Heck, there's even a privately owned and operated Harrier approved for flight in the U.S.

Is it because this plane came from France? God, I thought we were over that. I haven't seen Freedom Fries for a long time.

Maybe the government has a perfectly good reason for impounding the aircraft and denying Claude his asset.

We'd just like to hear it.

http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/Why_Did_TSA_Seize_Skyraider_200420-1.html

A2C · **Posted:** Tue May 26, 2009 12:46 am

Well remember who runs Homeland Security, and remember what she said to loacal authorities, (source CNN):

"The report, "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," said right-wing extremist groups may be using the recession and the election of the nation's first African-American president to recruit members.
and said real-estate foreclosures, unemployment and tight credit "could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past."

"Right-wing extremism may be on rise the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorist cells is more pronounced than in past years."

"It warned that the groups may use proposed restrictions on firearms and the debate on immigration as recruiting tools, and said the groups may try to reach out to veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan".

"The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today,"

Just add "and people who own Skyraiders"

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