Warbird Information Exchange

I had this thought when I posted the topic about our Ercoupe.

I know we've all seen them. the Grumman Yankee with a sharks mouth and invasion stripes, or the sky blue Seabee with Navy markings.

What opinion do people here have about civilian aircraft painted as warbirds?

I've intentionally kept the poll simple and to the point.

Lets see some photos as well, the good, the bad and the ugly.




My easy contribution.

_________________
Curtis Block

I've seen too many airplanes destroyed by the term "Static Restoration."

When I was in training for my Private Pilot's license this was my favorite aircraft. Sadly it was involved in a non-fatal accident and is no longer with us, but it was really fun to fly that as a student!



Ryan

_________________
Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

my son soloed this plane a year before the flight school shut down
bill

The was a X-P-51 pilot up at Aurora who has a Grumman Trainer (not Tiger or Cheetta) with a 150 lyc. He painted it red with stars and bars and had the codes from his old sqd 343rd FS 55th FG 8th AF plus the prancing mustang on the vertical. It was cool!
To answer the question though I don't mind has long has your honest.
There was a guy out here with a 337 painted gray with stars and bars and USAf on it that said it was a O-2 and tried to market it that way

_________________
Don't touch my junk!!

A good horse is never a bad color.

_________________
Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

A bit funny but what the heck

_________________
Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Join us for the Texas Warbird Report on WarbirdRadio.com!
http://www.facebook.com/WarbirdRadio
Listen at http://www.warbirdradio.com

This was at HHG last year. Too rare to pass up a picture of!



TC

_________________
"There are two types of people here; airshow whores and airshow prostitutes. The whores, like you and I, do airshow stuff for free, whereas the prostitutes are paid" - Reg Urschler

No way to change my typo in the poll question?

Good photos so far. I think this is going to be fun.

_________________
Curtis Block

I've seen too many airplanes destroyed by the term "Static Restoration."

[Mod Post - fixed. JDK.]

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

I have no problem with it.

IIRC this (below) was an optional Grumman factory paint job.

_________________
Wow, has it really been that long since I last visited?

Here are two more from my files.

The RV was shot at Boerne Stage Airfield and the Luscome was visiting at Hooks in Houston.





Ryan

_________________
Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

In general I don't have a problem with it and as some of the photos show it can be more fun and whimsical than it might seem. I have often thought of building a homebuilt and painting it in RAF colors with the yellow P within a circle that denoted prototype aircraft.

On the other hand I have seen Navions that were never L-17s painted as such and as mentioned the Cessna 337 in an O2 paint job is another example. That could lead to another thread about poseurs in the warbird community but I don't know if we really want to go there.

_________________
"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

Having flown several of both categories, my opinion is mixed.

The CAF YO-55 was a type that had military history; however, that particular one did not and the paint scheme on it was definitely not in any way resembling anything that might appeared on the military YOs. (Ober, start your rant about invasion stripes...LOL) I was not responsible for the paint (done by the previous CAF Unit which gave it up to ours); I do have to say that I perpetuated the "crime" by having it reskinned and repainted in the same matter in later years. This was mainly due to the fact the plane had become recognizable and "invited" on the airshow circuit because it was "cute, interesting scheme and little."

I do get a bit incensed with the civilian 337s that portray themselves as combat vet O-2s. The 0-2B models were off the self and I do not have a problem with someone copying that scheme but "claiming" the history is wrong. I constantly have to counter questions about mine, which is a combat vet O-2A with a weird paint scheme. The black with red was it's actual scheme when based at NKP, Thailand as a Nail Night Bird. I have the history and have met 23 guys that flew my plane during the war - while it was black/red and later when it was changed to AF gray at Bien Hoa, SVN, so I'm fairly sure that it is close to the same albeit shiny rather than matte.

Off my ranting soapbox now.

Can we have a poll catergory of both depending on circumstances???...

I can't specify 'like' or 'dislike' because to me it depends on the civie a/c to begin with. Correct schemes & markings mean a lot no matter what. Sometimes, the appropriateness makes a diff, too. I also see it the same as I see incorrect or inaccurate schemes on warbirds. As long as the owner's happy, it really doesn't matter what I think.

It is a silly, but harmless practice.

August