|
Guys...
I'm new here, but thought you might like to know I own a few P-43 parts!
I spent several years trying to "part together" a P-47 in my hanger, and recovered several wrecks, as well as new parts from all over the world.
One of the guys I knew pretty well was the famous Earl Reinert, and Earl sold or "tossed in" all kinds of aircraft parts for me, many of which I still own, after selling my hanger-full of parts to a man in Nevada.
I currently still own:
1) a box full of P-43 parts, from two different aircraft (one was the famous P-43 that Earl owned)...
2) a couple of panels and the pitot tube from the rare XP-47H...
3) the original canopy and entire windshield of the YP-47M, now at Chino...
4) and at least one other windshield frame recovered from a P-47N crash site on the gunnery range in Hawaii.
I also own a LOT of other intesting parts as well, such as a lot of large XB-70 parts and the tires from #1...a couple of YF-12A tires...some P-80 parts, etc.
Interestingly, I was SUPPOSED to also get both P-43 mainwheels and tires from Earl, but he died, and some guy I talked too several years ago refuses to part with them. Earl also had the entire engine mount and "dishpan" from that same P-43, although I don't know ehere that wound up. I have some great photos of that, however, and I verified it really WAS from a P-43, as it still had the data plate on it!
On top of that, I also have a photo of Earl's XP-47H prop hub and electric prop motor, and that also went somewhere that I can't locate.
He told me he also had purchased the fuselage of the XP-47J (he did, by the way...I verified that, too), and loaned the engine's famous cooling disc to someone in the neighborhood, but he said they never returned it!
Interesting to think it might still be out there somewhere!
Oh, and one final interesting note, that you guys are the first to hear!
You know that newly-restored P-40B, now in England, that was at Pearl during the attack? I once owned the left wing and a few other parts, that I had purchased after the retrieval of many of my P-47 parts. I traded the Curtiss-Wright group those P-40 parts, and they paid to ship my Thunderbolt parts to me here...but here's the cool part!
Those P-40B parts, plus some of my P-47 parts, were put together
as a mock-up for one of the "Magnum, P.I." episodes shot up in the hills! After they used them, I bought the lot, and had them all shipped here.
So, even those guys in England don't know the "Magnum" history of their new plane!! Really!
Dan S., OKC
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
