Kermit's F6F & P-38

[P51Mstg]

That would require having pilots other than Kermit fly his splanes (beyond a few very light (Storch and smaller) airplanes. Not going to happen.

[k5083]

Well, his two Mustangs have been in the air together fairly often. Kermit's a great pilot, but he can only fly one at a time.

The comments about how Kermit handles his collection echo those that were made about Ed Maloney for many years. Ed didn't listen, he sat on the planes until he could get them restored and look what he has now. The complaining has stopped; though I wonder how many apologies Ed ever received.

We also should not forget that Kermit's airworthy total would be a lot higher if not for that hurricane. That was just a bad break.

Instant gratification is the thing these days. A lot of us want to see shiny new planes and none of us is getting any younger. I imagine nobody wants to see all the planes restored more than Kermit, but he knows that hardly a fraction will be in his own lifetime. Sometimes you have to take the long view. These airframes are preserved and they aren't going to disappear. They'll be rebuilt someday by Kermit, his heirs, or someone else. It's a pool of planes that buffs can look forward to seeing restored later in this century, by which time almost everything else we'll be seeing "restored" will be a near 100% replica.

August

[seabee1526]

On a whim, I emailed them about thier B-24. The return note made it sound like the B-24 will never fly again.

[rwdfresno]

A couple of years ago, while on a Learjet charter, I drove over to see the Red Bull P-38 being restored. Me and the other pilot were invited to dinner with Nelson, his wife and the two other visitors that were from the Austrian version of the FAA. We talked all things aviatoin and especially how it would be ideal for the Ezell group to do another P-38 as the expertise, and equipment were all in place. I mentioned that Kermit had a P-38 and it didn't seem to spark any conversation.

While there is no doubt that Ezell can restore just about anything to prestine condition, I wouldn't be surprised if WestPac was a more likely candidate. WestPac has all of the fixtures to rebuild a P-38 that has been chainsawed in pieces such as Kermit's P-38. They also have a stack of newly extruded spar caps and longerons sitting in one of their storage rooms. They are certainly geared up for several P-38 restorations. They have I think a total of 5 P-38s onsite in various conditions.

[richkolasa]

Last I knew, Kermit and Elliot Cross were the two pilots who regularly flew his "heavy iron". Kermit's a good guy, imho, but he's been more occupied with family and business in the last 5 years or so. Maybe as his daughter grows up, he'll devote more time to the warbirds? One can hope. I think the Spit flew not too long ago, and he regularly flies the Mustangs, Wildcat, Duck, and P-40 from the pics I see on the 'net.

Rich

[Dwhart24]

and he regularly flies the Mustangs, Wildcat, Duck, and P-40 from the pics I see on the 'net.

Rich

You are correct about those aircraft. It was great to see him flying the P-40 with 2 others at TICO this year.

[T-28mike]

I have known Kermit since the mid eighties. Kermit has a plan, and Kermit does things on Kermits schedule.

Many said that Polk City would "never be built" while he was still in Miami. Looks like they were wrong about that one also...

It continues to amaze me how many "experts" on this site (and others) profess to know what is best for someone elses personal property.

[richkolasa]

I have known Kermit since the mid eighties. Kermit has a plan, and Kermit does things on Kermits schedule.

Many said that Polk City would "never be built" while he was still in Miami. Looks like they were wrong about that one also...

It continues to amaze me how many "experts" on this site (and others) profess to know what is best for someone elses personal property.

Gee, I thought people were able to express opinions on things? Sorry...cripes.

These are also historical artifacts, hence OUR INTEREST IN THEM. Are there a lot of people on the internet talking about what color Kermit's living room table should be? Didn't think so.

I also don't see anyone on WIX lobbying their congress-person to seize Mr. Weeks' assets as "eminent domain", I simply see people who'd love to see more of his collection in the air or under restoration. Seems reasonable to me. If I announced that I'd made or won $100 million dollars and was going to start buying up historical aircraft, I certainly would have no problem hearing people's opinions on how they should be painted, flown, and maintained.

Rich

[T-28mike]

Not sure why you are assuming that any or all of my post was directed at you Rich, but one should never assume....
No where did I say you were not at liberty to express your opinion.

We are obviously all interested in these aircraft, or we would not be here.

Yes they are historical artifacts, but they are not ours.

If any owner wishes to restore their aircraft titty pink, or just tow it on the ramp, open the fuel drains and light it on fire, it is entirely their perogative, period. That is my point.

There seems to be a continuing theme on more threads where owners are blasphemed for decisions they make regarding their aircraft. It is this that drives owners and maintainers away from this and other sites.

Not even sure where to start on the gov't siezure line, but it sure seems like what they would like (see thread on new FAA rules for Warbirds).

[John Dupre]

Everyone knows living room tables should always have black and white "invasion stripes"!

One thing to consider is just how much capital does Kermit have versus projects needing attention. It is none of my business but there probably is only so much money to budget for restorations.

[T-28mike]

Everyone knows living room tables should always have black and white "invasion stripes"!

Only if applied with absolute precision using absolutly even and equal stripes applied with fine-line tape.....

Kind of like was actually done in the field during WWII (or Dubya, Dubya Eye Eye as Mr. C used to say)

[Rob Mears]

One thing to consider is just how much capital does Kermit have versus projects needing attention. It is none of my business but there probably is only so much money to budget for restorations.

That's something everyone should consider before presuming what the wealthy could or should be doing with their money. If I were custodian of a few million dollars, I'd be wise to keep the bulk of it safely ensconced in long term and other not-so-liquid investments. I'd attempt not to spend or jeapordize any money other than what the underlying wealth had produced. With only that small fraction on hand for life expenses, fun, and frivolity, the idea of casually spending millions each year to fly every aircraft in an extensive collection would almost seem downright irresponsible. I can just imagine how many millions I could blow through in one year trying to actively maintain, insure, feed, and fly a huge collection of rare aircraft...if it were someone else's money! Me personally, I'd probably end up investing in a maximum sized collection, maintain it on as modest a budget as possible, and pick and choose my projects one at a time according to my creative whims. When your days are done, if everything is in better shape than it was when you took it in, you've done your bit to make the world a better place.