Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 7:53 am
Does anyone have an update on the status of the Fighter Factory?
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 8:11 am
Posts about the newly acquired aircraft and projects being brought from storage to be completed have been posted -> viewtopic.php?f=3&t=50076&start=270#p509574
The Warbirds Over The Beach has been scheduled for May 16-18, 2014.
The Warbirds Over The Beach has been scheduled for May 16-18, 2014.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:01 am
Are any of their aircraft still for sale? Do they have the resources now to remain open? That was the issue a few months ago as I recall.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:05 am
I visited the Fighter Factory over the holidays and talked to several of the docents...
While they don't know to what extent, they are definitely returning to flight in the Spring. They are selling rides in the Stearman and T-6 (or SNJ, don't recall which it was).
The docents are disappointed that several of the WWI aircraft were sold (in addition to the B-17 and FW-190), but are very happy to have the fleet returning to operational status.
For those of you who are passing through the area, it is definitely worth the half day or so to visit. If you live in the area they have a Valentine's Day Hangar Dance that sounded spectacular. The docents were very knowledgeable and eager to give impromptu tours or just let you wander.
Hope this helps,
Chris
While they don't know to what extent, they are definitely returning to flight in the Spring. They are selling rides in the Stearman and T-6 (or SNJ, don't recall which it was).
The docents are disappointed that several of the WWI aircraft were sold (in addition to the B-17 and FW-190), but are very happy to have the fleet returning to operational status.
For those of you who are passing through the area, it is definitely worth the half day or so to visit. If you live in the area they have a Valentine's Day Hangar Dance that sounded spectacular. The docents were very knowledgeable and eager to give impromptu tours or just let you wander.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:47 am
Is there an airshow planned for this year?
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:57 am
Mike, as discussed by Liza, Warbirds Over the Beach will be the 16-18 May, 2014. Everybody start hoping for good weather! Ma Nature owes us one!
Pat, according to Mr. Yagen, nothing is for sale.
Pat, according to Mr. Yagen, nothing is for sale.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:59 pm
Projects are still for sale last I knew, but not any of the restored aircraft.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:53 pm
I do not understand the docents comments about the sale of the Fw-190 A-8 which was a new build, when in its place is a combat vet Fw-190 A-8 (needs overhauled to be flight ready).
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:17 pm
planenutti wrote:I do not understand the docents comments about the sale of the Fw-190 A-8 which was a new build, when in its place is a combat vet Fw-190 A-8 (needs overhauled to be flight ready).
It sounded more like he was disappointed to lose something that was currently flying. Is the plan to restore the FW-190 A-8 to airworthy?
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Sun Jan 05, 2014 7:39 pm
I was told by one of the mechanics that both the A-8 and the Dora are to be redone but he was not sure of the timeline or the sequencing.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Mon Jan 06, 2014 4:26 pm
planenutti wrote:I do not understand the docents comments about the sale of the Fw-190 A-8 which was a new build, when in its place is a combat vet Fw-190 A-8 (needs overhauled to be flight ready).
'Overhauled' would be a major understatement- it would also be a new build if returned to flight.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Tue Jun 17, 2014 12:47 am
sheeze...
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/06/yagen-m ... collection
By Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 16, 2014
VIRGINIA BEACH
Millionaire entrepreneur Jerry Yagen has loaned a portion of his vintage plane collection to the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo since it opened in 2008. It's where they're displayed, worked on and flown for air shows, fun and - for some visitors - a fee.
Yagen never received a personal property tax bill for the aircraft, for which he's now seeking a tax exemption, and could end up owing several years of back payments, Chief Deputy Commissioner of the Revenue Eric Schmudde said Friday.
City officials realized the oversight last fall after Yagen announced he was in financial trouble and would have to sell the planes, Schmudde said. Yagen sold a dozen before taking them off the market when he said his finances improved.
The Commissioner of the Revenue's Office is auditing how much he should have paid. It can legally bill Yagen for up to three years of back taxes, in addition to issuing a tab for the current year, Schmudde said.
It's difficult to put a price on one-of-a-kind aircraft, Yagen said. They've been valued between $20,000 and $7 million each, which would mean a tax bill of $740 to $259,000 per plane per year. The museum has about 60 aircraft, Director David Hunt said.
Yagen said Friday that he's working with the city on the issue and believes the planes should be exempt from taxation because they're used by the museum, which is a nonprofit.
Schmudde said the Commissioner of the Revenue's audit won't be complete before Tuesday, when the City Council is scheduled to take up Yagen's request. The proposed ordinance would exempt Yagen from paying personal property and real estate taxes pertaining to the museum. He owns its planes, buildings and land, totaling about 80 acres.
The real estate tax bill was $81,501.48 this year, according to city records.
The city would make up the revenue the first year by taking it from the reserve fund, city spokesman Marc Davis said in an email. In future years, officials would account for the reduction in revenue when they drafted the city budget.
The request - enabled by a state law crafted specifically for the museum - has brought to the surface tensions between the museum and its neighbors.
Adjacent property owners are worried that the vintage warplanes flying over their homes aren't safe, said Councilwoman Barbara Henley, who represents Princess Anne and Pungo. The flights are becoming more frequent, with the museum now selling rides to the public, she added.
Those concerns should be addressed before the city agrees to subsidize the operation, said Daniel Franken, who lives about a mile away on West Neck Road.
"I'm opposed to granting them that status," he said. "It's a free ride for something that shouldn't have ever been approved."
The retired Navy pilot watches from his backyard as the planes - a yellow-and-red 1941 Boeing-Stearman trainer, a wooden Mosquito fighter-bomber and others - take off and land. Franken said he loves the view but worries a crash could endanger himself, his wife or his granddaughters, who often visit.
The Frankens have lived there since 1996, 12 years before the museum opened.
Del. Barry Knight, a Virginia Beach Republican who carried the enabling legislation for the tax exemption, also lives near the museum. He said the Frankens are in the minority of residents who take issue with it.
"I love it," Knight said. "It's an absolutely tremendous amenity for Virginia Beach."
The museum contributed about $25,000 in admissions taxes to the city in 2012, according to its most recent tax filing available online.
State law already allows nonprofits to apply for exemptions on their real estate and property taxes, but a change was required for the Military Aviation Museum because it's a nonprofit that is located on and uses privately owned property.
"It is a unique situation," Schmudde said.
Knight sits on the museum's board but is not compensated, according to the museum's tax filing. Yagen and the museum have contributed $7,000 to his campaign since 2008, most in the form of hall rentals for events, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks political spending.
Yagen also has made small contributions to Mayor Will Sessoms and council members Jim Wood, Shannon Kane and Rosemary Wilson.
Yagen, who owns several private, for-profit colleges, said he has subsidized the museum for a long time, sometimes to the tune of $2 million a year. A tax exemption could save the museum if he died or ran into dire financial straits again, he said.
"The sole purpose of that museum is to operate those airplanes," Yagen said. "And the taxes is a very big expense."
Kathy Adams, 757-222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/06/yagen-m ... collection
By Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 16, 2014
VIRGINIA BEACH
Millionaire entrepreneur Jerry Yagen has loaned a portion of his vintage plane collection to the Military Aviation Museum in Pungo since it opened in 2008. It's where they're displayed, worked on and flown for air shows, fun and - for some visitors - a fee.
Yagen never received a personal property tax bill for the aircraft, for which he's now seeking a tax exemption, and could end up owing several years of back payments, Chief Deputy Commissioner of the Revenue Eric Schmudde said Friday.
City officials realized the oversight last fall after Yagen announced he was in financial trouble and would have to sell the planes, Schmudde said. Yagen sold a dozen before taking them off the market when he said his finances improved.
The Commissioner of the Revenue's Office is auditing how much he should have paid. It can legally bill Yagen for up to three years of back taxes, in addition to issuing a tab for the current year, Schmudde said.
It's difficult to put a price on one-of-a-kind aircraft, Yagen said. They've been valued between $20,000 and $7 million each, which would mean a tax bill of $740 to $259,000 per plane per year. The museum has about 60 aircraft, Director David Hunt said.
Yagen said Friday that he's working with the city on the issue and believes the planes should be exempt from taxation because they're used by the museum, which is a nonprofit.
Schmudde said the Commissioner of the Revenue's audit won't be complete before Tuesday, when the City Council is scheduled to take up Yagen's request. The proposed ordinance would exempt Yagen from paying personal property and real estate taxes pertaining to the museum. He owns its planes, buildings and land, totaling about 80 acres.
The real estate tax bill was $81,501.48 this year, according to city records.
The city would make up the revenue the first year by taking it from the reserve fund, city spokesman Marc Davis said in an email. In future years, officials would account for the reduction in revenue when they drafted the city budget.
The request - enabled by a state law crafted specifically for the museum - has brought to the surface tensions between the museum and its neighbors.
Adjacent property owners are worried that the vintage warplanes flying over their homes aren't safe, said Councilwoman Barbara Henley, who represents Princess Anne and Pungo. The flights are becoming more frequent, with the museum now selling rides to the public, she added.
Those concerns should be addressed before the city agrees to subsidize the operation, said Daniel Franken, who lives about a mile away on West Neck Road.
"I'm opposed to granting them that status," he said. "It's a free ride for something that shouldn't have ever been approved."
The retired Navy pilot watches from his backyard as the planes - a yellow-and-red 1941 Boeing-Stearman trainer, a wooden Mosquito fighter-bomber and others - take off and land. Franken said he loves the view but worries a crash could endanger himself, his wife or his granddaughters, who often visit.
The Frankens have lived there since 1996, 12 years before the museum opened.
Del. Barry Knight, a Virginia Beach Republican who carried the enabling legislation for the tax exemption, also lives near the museum. He said the Frankens are in the minority of residents who take issue with it.
"I love it," Knight said. "It's an absolutely tremendous amenity for Virginia Beach."
The museum contributed about $25,000 in admissions taxes to the city in 2012, according to its most recent tax filing available online.
State law already allows nonprofits to apply for exemptions on their real estate and property taxes, but a change was required for the Military Aviation Museum because it's a nonprofit that is located on and uses privately owned property.
"It is a unique situation," Schmudde said.
Knight sits on the museum's board but is not compensated, according to the museum's tax filing. Yagen and the museum have contributed $7,000 to his campaign since 2008, most in the form of hall rentals for events, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks political spending.
Yagen also has made small contributions to Mayor Will Sessoms and council members Jim Wood, Shannon Kane and Rosemary Wilson.
Yagen, who owns several private, for-profit colleges, said he has subsidized the museum for a long time, sometimes to the tune of $2 million a year. A tax exemption could save the museum if he died or ran into dire financial straits again, he said.
"The sole purpose of that museum is to operate those airplanes," Yagen said. "And the taxes is a very big expense."
Kathy Adams, 757-222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:37 am
Interesting that they think that planes are taxable as property. Property taxes in this country are for roads, sewers, water, garbage collection, and the like. I'm not sure how an airplane needs any of those services. The province sometimes tries to tag us for sales tax when we buy a plane like they do for cars, but it's a bit of a challenge for them as they have no jurisdiction over aircraft as it is federal area.
Terry
Terry
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:46 am
We are charged personal property tax in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have to pay a tax every year for my car.
Re: Fighter Factory 2014 update?
Tue Jun 17, 2014 8:06 am
Liza wrote:We are charged personal property tax in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I have to pay a tax every year for my car.
As well as we here in California. It is included on our annual registration renewal and is based on the value of the car. Our horses are taxed as well. And every time I flush the toilet I'm taxed for it. (Water use)
CA has personal property tax and it is worse than VA. The Commonwealth of VA was reimbursing the municipalities between 66.5% and 69.5% percent. It worked out differently for each and every taxpayer. CA personal property is high, but not as high as the 9.3% tax on capital gains.