Warbird Information Exchange

Hi all--

Question 1: Could Cook Cleland have had an F2G that was never raced or civilianised? Reason is--and memory COULD be faulty but I think not--I was shown some photos years ago, said to date from about 1950 or '51, taken at Cleland's airfield in Willoughby OH; besides a couple of the well-known Corsair racers, I'm quite certain there was at least one F2G shown still in Navy livery, looking rather like the eventual Champlin/MoF one. And of course if the date was correct that puts an unconverted F2G at Euclid Avenue Airport after the cessation of the National Air Races...

Question 2: Anyone know anything about, or even heard of, a gent named Louis Anderson who lived in Mansfield, Missouri? Reason for this query is a cryptic reference I ran across, dating from the early 70s, stating that this Mr Anderson had a farm at that location "crammed" with old aircraft. Did Missouri have its own "Walt Soplata"? And if so...what became of the man and his collection?

Cheers

Steve T

F2G-1D BuNo.88458 resided at the Euclid Avenue Airport in it stock military scheme for what I figure was close to a year before it was finally modified into the infamous red & white racer #57. Cleland acquired it following the crash of BuNo.88457 and the death of its pilot Tony Janazzo during the 1947 racing season.

BuNo.88458 was the one Super Corsair supplied to Mr. Cleland under the agreement that he not race it. It theoretically was used as a source for parts to support the other planes, but was ultimately masqueraded as the miraculously ressurected BuNo.88457 and entered in the 1949 Cleveland Air Races.

_________________
Rob Mears
'Surviving Corsairs' Historian
robcmears@yahoo.com
http://www.robmears.com

I recently found some photos I shot of Soplata's place around 1989. I know it has been much discussed but it is incredible to look at the FG-1D he has. It is still painted in NAS Akron markings and is bone stock. This is a real time capsule. I also have shots of the F2G...does anybody know the status of this machine with Bob Odegaard?

Jim

Rob/Jim--

Thanx for the info. Based on this, I'm thinking the person who showed me the Euclid Ave Airport pix was off by a couple years about the date they were taken, and the stock F2G would have been the one now flying with Bob Odegaard. Geez, I wish I could get those pix back long enough to shoot copies of them...

Re the Crawford's ex-Soplata F2G, my understanding is that that restoration is more or less on hold, the museum having more pressing matters to deal with, financially, about their planned expansion. There are doubtless other WIXers with far more knowledge about it than I, though...

Cheers

S.

Jim,

For a fist full of dollars you to can have an F2G come to an airshow near you and do a full aerobatic performance - Mr. Odegaard is incredibly nice and accomodating but commands a high apperance fee.

Tom P.