Warbird Information Exchange

I dunno what made me want to write this but for some reason after looking threw various pages on Pacific Wrecks and other sites off Google it saddens me to know that some people out there are out for these Warbirds as trophy's. I mean i read short articles about P-38 parts being salvaged then the ownerships of them being in lawsuits and going to owners who will most likely never show them to the public. And other instances of illegally salvaged wrecks of aircraft that only a few eyes will see and it makes me upset b/c these aircraft are a symbol of our history. People died for this and I guess I want to say that I'm proud to have found this site and know that there are many many many others who feel the same hopefully as i do. And me being only 25 and an entry level A+P have a serious goal in life in wanting to keep warbirds open to the public eye. I want people to get the same feeling as i do of total respect and awe from these amazing aircraft that take to the sky's and should never be forgotten. Well i think i made me first rant. i hope i don't get any negative reaction. But this is the real reason why i wanted my A+P so i could one day work on warbirds and be like a lot of you older guys on here.

I may be wrong, but for me what really matters for the majority of salvage hunters is what they profit in the end. There’s no connection to the past. It’s just business. I, too, would like an expert opinion on this too.

It's a market economy so if their wasn't a profit involved they'd just sit and rot and Justin would still make a profit
By recovering, preserving, restoring, displaying/flying we all profit in some way
Can you believe that someone paid $60,000 for Buddy Holley's glass frames recovered from his crash site

_________________
Don't touch my junk!!

Firstly, welcome to you and good luck with your career in aviation.

You will probably get a lot of opinions on your post, particularly in regards to Pacific Wrecks. In general, I have remained a spectator in the P.W. / Taylan discussions, although I have shared some of my opinions. Let me say this, as a newbie please invest more time to find more sources of information and opinion from various resources and not just op ed write ups. Some of that information you will find here.

Secondly, your passion for seeing these aircraft in the air is only made possible by those who have invested the time and energy and have taken considerable financial risk to recover and restore aircraft that have otherwise been abandoned to time and the elements. This is not easy to do and in recent times has become far more difficult--a minefield of politics, payoffs, and misinformation. I wouldn't call them trophy hunters, just enthusiasts. You touch on an important point though--greed and speculation have resulted in historical aviation artifacts becoming trade commodities and that is becoming an obstacle to preservation. Also remember that what remains of abandoned airframes at this point is rapidly deteriorating. In some cases, one man's treasure is another man's trash and it is becoming a race to save what can be saved against rapidly growing economic demands for scrap metal, especially in the South Pacific regions affected by mushrooming economies like China and India.

Good luck in your future and welcome to the board.

_________________
"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

By the way it is not a passion; it is a disease an infection if you will. There is no know cure or medication, and the only way to offset its terrible effects to your body and brain is to go submit yourself to hours upon hours of therapy that involves, getting your hands dirty changing out parts, smelling av-gas and oil. Having oil dripped, spilt, and sometimes dumped on you. Busting knuckles, sweating, swearing hours and hours of cleaning, wiping, polishing, and some times waxing. Now mind you there are some short turn therapy cures out there, like visiting WIX several times a day. The up side of things you’ll find an awesome support group network out there, that will be able to help you any time.
Welcome to the board and I wish you the best in your career and remember it is YOU who has to be happy with the work and decisions you make and nobody else.
Scott...........