Tulio wrote:
I acquired today, a log book for a Vultee SNV-2, that is in excellent shape, and although the paper has yellowed with age, all the pages are there, and the data and general appearance are outstanding.
My question is:
Is this a book that would be of use to "document" a restoration? Or do you have to have the data plate, too?
If this book is of use . . . how much could it be worth? (Just asking).
My opinion is that this is a piece of ephemera. Unless you have the bill of sale for the aircraft that the FAA requires, with complete traceability from when the aircraft was sold surplus (or the last registered owner), you can't use this as the basis for a "data plate restoration." In fact this is a common misnomer. You can make a replacement data plate any time you want. It is really the chain of ownership of the registration that is important.
You can start a new logbook for your registered SNV if you lose the old one. Any time replacement items or AD notes will have to be re-done and documented however. When aircraft are seized the logbooks often turn up missing. There is an established process for recreating the required documentation.
I repeat, in the US there is no specific importance attached to a dataplate as far as the FAA is concerned- no different than any other placard. It is not the VIN for the aircraft like a car has. It is the documented chain of ownership that entitles you to register an aircraft.
As to value, I have no idea unfortunately. Cool find and definitely worth preserving. I'm sure there are many museums that would like to include it in their display along with old Mae Wests and silk parachutes with cotton straps. Few of these documents survived at all, let alone in the condition you describe. If you find that the serial number matches a surviving aircraft, it would definitely be of value to the owner.
I've had a few aircraft where only the current log was available and the ones all the way back from when the plane was built were missing. Not a desirable situation, but one that can be dealt with. I might have paid $500-$1000 just for the extra documentation, but that would have been associated with an existing aircraft and would have helped to document the provenance.
Maybe it is a survivor but most likely it was stripped of its engine for use in a crop duster.
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