Warbird Information Exchange

Hi All:
I don't read much in the news letters that go into my email inbox, but this I had to read. Has any one seen his collection or obtained anything from there? Sounds like a good guy trying to do what he can to preserve some airplanes
http://www.barnstormers.com/eFLYER/2009 ... Again.html

Aahhh Vince O'Connor treasure cove.

Have only been there once & will remember it all my life.

You should see his basement

BTW, Vince is a great guy to talk with...and he has quite a few stories to tell

Undescriptible.

I traded parts with him..

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looks cool to visit.... but a tetnus shot required!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

What I saw there was simply amazing.....He was involved mostly in the recent years trading Beaver parts..no pun here
Examples:

If you search through the place.....be patient, I bet you there are enough metal fitting parts to build 2-3 Mossie: flap brakets, canopy frame, landing gear stuff.

In his basement.....there is only a little path left to walk through. All the rest is wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling of parts...in one of his basement room...sits a complete disassembled Cornell..complete & all there

A Fairey battle wing....just sitting there. Has been sold / traded I was told.

A lot of Commonwealth stuff for sure.....like I said wall to wall in the house & storage hagars.

I do wish the best to the man & for sure hope this will get to be properly ID & re-used where necessary.

I have not been to see Vince in a few years but I imagine the place has not changed much. The place is something to see and anytime I bring people there we have a great game of name that part. The collection of parts really has to be seen to be believed. I’m positive he knows everything he has and where it is but to anyone else it would seem like an impossible task to find a specific part. My worry is what happens after he passes away as there is a lot of valuable and rare pieces in the collection.

Eric

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To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

You have to give a guy like this a great deal of credit for what he's collected (obviously on a shoestring). I wonder how many have approached him about a Bollingbroke, that is a rare one! The Avro Anson Too!

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tracers work both ways

Anson's are not really rare. If they were there wouldnt be any left in musuem storage areas and such. Dime a dozen almost. Most widely used aircraft in BCATP training and not much interest in preservation.

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Cheers,
Peter

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Peter-I'm geographicaly chalenged-just don't see many in the lower 48.

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tracers work both ways

All those T-33 fuselage look like fun projects. I wouldn't mind tinkering with a partial fuselage like that to do another one like my F-84F.

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F-84F Simulator Project
www.f-84f.org

So, for those of you who know him, what are his plans for the stuff he's collected, after he's gone? I know it's a grim thought, but being 71 years old, the thought has surely crossed his mind. Do you know if he's got a museum or two that he's going to pass it all along to?

Just curious. It looks like he's done a good job of keeping stuff away from the scrappers all these years, which of course, is cool in my eyes.

Gary

Wow! Would love to see something happen with the Bolingbrokes.

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Vince is a good friend of mine and we do business together .
Like any of us with large collections, there are people that help out and are truly sincere and then there are the bottom feeder that just hang around like vultures.
Over the years Vince has never realyy stated what will happen to his collection one day when he is gone. I don't think he has a plan.
Most likely his widow will have to fend off the many carpet baggers that will show up wanting to "help" her.
Hopefully, there are enough of us to help with things

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...it was a plane adrift beneath the moon moving serenely thru beams like an angel of the night .....fair as a song ........aloof from mortal dreams

Wouldn't it be a great project (for some of you warbird/aviation weenies up there in Canuckville) to do an inventory for this gentleman. It could certainly help him out if he was a mind to sell off some of it and I'm certain you could get some parts out to some folks who could use them. Better yet, help restore a Bollingbroke to static and sell or trade to a museum. Volunteers anyone?

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tracers work both ways

I have never had the privilege of meeting Vince but he is a very good friend of my buddies. From what I have been told, Vince knows exactly what he has and where and the last thing he would need is for a bunch of people offering help or showing up.

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Cheers,
Peter

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