David Tallichet Passes

RickH · **Posted:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 6:52 pm

Sadly, I have been asked to let the War Bird community know that David Tallichet passed away about 2 and a half hours ago. He has been suffering from a terminal condition for some time. He was 85 years old.

David was one of the cornerstones of the warbird movement, because of his efforts many of the warbirds we know were saved, when others saw them simply as scrap.

mustangdriver · **Posted:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:18 pm

David really did love aviation and warbirds. Like Rick said, without him, there would be a lot less warbirds out there. Working at Air heritage, I met him several times, and he was always real cool to talk to.

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:32 pm

Sad to see him go, if you spend any time at all in the registry you will soon realize how much this man affected the Warbird movement. My thoughts go out to his family and friends

AIRIC · **Posted:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:51 pm

I had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Tallichet several times at Geneseo over the years. He was very interesting and will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Eric

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:55 pm

he was 1 of the grandaddies & royalty of the entire warbird movement. in many respects the progress that the whole movement has made to date is owed to him!!! he left an indelible mark!! god speed!! mr T!!

Rob Mears · **Posted:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:46 pm

OMG!

The end of an era.

Kind of at a loss for words. I didn't see that one coming at all. Like Scott said, if you speak 'fluent warbird', Tallichet is a name that lost likely crosses your lips on pretty much a daily basis. He's done an immense amount of work to salvage and preserve just about every kind of warbird over the years. I believe his original goal back in the 1960's was to own six of each type!

Think about all the stuff that came back from the South Pacific in the 1970's, the Canadian Marauders recovery, etc. The man had over 120+ warbirds in his collection at one time, scattered far and wide at different locations around the country.

He also bought and recovered entire squadrons of aircraft (Sea Furies, Nords, etc) from countries as they came up for scrap - and most would certainly have become scrap had it not been for him. He had the insight way before the market began to reflect the deserved value of these planes.

If a book hasn't been written about his exploits (which span all the way back to WWII), then one should be. I hope someone close to him was wise enough to capture his story before his passing. A great loss, but he's one of those guys who we can celebrate having lived a long, fruitful, and very rewarding life. Thanks Dave!

Mike · **Joined:** Tue May 04, 2004 8:54 am **Posts:** 3331

Sorry to hear that news. I had the pleasure of flying with him, as 'waist gunner' in his B-17 during the making of 'Memphis Belle' in England in 1989. As others have said, you can't talk about warbirds for long without his name coming up. His legacy will be the many, many airframes which have passed through his hands over the years.

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Thu Nov 01, 2007 2:05 am

Sad news..definately the end of an era.

SN

TimAPNY · **Posted:** Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:30 am

It is very sad to hear this news. My prayers and thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Tim

Karpis · **Posted:** Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:32 am

Actually, "end of an era" is the last phrase to be used. He left quite a legacy which will (hopefully) continue to live and fly on

RickH · **Posted:** Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:23 am

If ever a guy deserved a warbird missing man,....

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David Tallichet Passes

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