Warbird Information Exchange

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/c ... e=06200_00

Not sure if the link will make the trip, so you might have to cut and paste it. It should take you to a three minute trailer for the show.

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Mike

Guys, I am torn...I know everyone loves a flier. Me too! But with more pics being shown of the original paint, I'm starting to wonder if that is the wrong thing to do. Preserve what is still there and rebuild/repaint what is missing, put it up on it's gear, replace the canopy and marvel at the chance to see a combat veteran P-47 in original paint.

Obviously my opinion doesn't count for squat... so flame away.

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Sure, Charles Lindbergh flew the plane... but Tom Rutledge built the engine!

Visit Django Studios online or Facebook!

Django
I agree with you. It looks to be in excellent shape for what its been through. Would be big loss in my opinion to change it in any way.

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*When you meet a Veteran shake his or her hand and thank them. They earned your freedom*

No, you're exactly right. There are enough shiny examples to allow Dottie to remain a time capsule. The Naval Museum at Pensacola has some unrestored airplanes sitting on lake-bottom dioramas in a similar attempt to leave well enough alone. Viewing history fully requires flyers, static birds, and, ideally, time capsules too.

Now, the fact that an individual owns the plane and can do as he wishes - that does make this a different story.

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

I am with you two... oddly enough...
If it t'were mine i'd clean it, preserve it and see about trading the AF or somebody for a flyable non-combat history bird and let them park this time capsule.

SPANNER

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

I hope you have better luck with the link than I did. I couldn't get the trailer to finish loading so I could see it.

As far as to fly or not, and to what extent you rebuild it...yes, I agree that it could be the most authentic P-47 around, and I sure hope it's a joke about making it a TP-47! Keeping it as original as possible would be great, but keeping it on the ground would be terrible. So many more people would get to see it, and learn from it, if it were to fly around the country to where they are.

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Mike

Maybe Mr. Croul could get the crew who banged out that Mustang in the background to bang him out a P47, move the data plate over, not molest the original and we could both be happy...

AND scoop up a pile of that Navy Preservative on the original engine and send it to an Admiral somewhere!

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

I'm miffed that I was not consulted first... At least it will start restoration now and perhaps even return to Chino once it is flying. Maybe they can fly it on the drum of original gas they drained out of it. How much more authentic can you get?

Before anyone strokes out, I was only kidding about the TF-47. Sheesh!

suppose all you guys that married a slim looking girl would rather have her keep her weight on after she has had the kid and not have her return the the way she looked before she sat at the bottom of a lake

Big Girls need love'n too


Anyways here's a brief vid of Dottie's recovery (helps if you speak german though)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anu_jveDl_Q

Shay
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Semper Fortis

[quote="big fatty" [suppose all you guys that married a slim looking girl would rather have her keep her weight on after she has had the kid and not have her return the the way she looked before she sat at the bottom of a lake[/quote]

big fatty... that is an interesting analogy even if a leedle twisted.
Man made objects are not living breathing organisms that make babies.
But man made objects have scads of character, some of which are imprinted by the era in which they were made or were used.
If "Dottie Mae" could do it with just some exercise and dieting yeah... What was that Led Zepplin lyric? "Took me awhile to understand... skinny legged woman make me a happy man."

CONVERSELY if it took liposuction, breast implants and more plastic surgery than Stretch Pelosi I might have to ask myself how much original is left and was it worth Daddy's hard earned dollars?

THE OBVERSE TO THE CONVERSE is "Dottie Mae" didn't get that way having kids... she is a one of the kind (P-47D anyway) O-riginal battle veteran and once you tart her up you can never return her to the As She Was state on either side of the equation... either pre or "fresh out of the lake."

I would try and find original New Old Stock interior parts for her even if I didn't intend to let her actually fly again. I would find a "pretty" but non-airworthy engine core to hang off of her (breast implants??? )
But I wouldn't waste or tie up Airworthy parts that would keep another P47 from hitting the skies.

Gosh I wish I could afford these dillemmas!
And I wish Mr. Croul the best either way he decides to go!

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

I say preserve it first. If this mean that you can't fly it, then make it static. If you can save the original metal and paint, and still fly it, great. But if it means losing all of that history, then I do not see the need for it to fly.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Big Fatty's logic:

Dottie Mae (rotted and corroded) = Rosanne Bar

Strawberry Bitch (restored stock) = Jennifer Love Hewitt

Strega (Sooped up w/ aftermarket goodys) = Pam Anderson



Would that be accurate???


Shay
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Semper Fortis

P.S. When they're really unrecognisibly overdone and plagued w/ problems (i.e Precious Metal) then they = Lindsay Lohan

And of the three, Jennifer love Hewitt is the coolest.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Oh boy. This thread sure got out of control.

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Steve Turner, USAF aircraft refueler 54+ years ago.