Wildcat for sale on Barnstormers

[CraigQ]

Looks like a way overpriced parts bird to me. Found enough exfoliation as it was in a flyer, would hate to think what's waiting inside those wings on that one.

[Rob Mears]

I don't know. Two other F4F's in comparable condition were restored and flown in relatively short order, though I can't speak to what kind of hurdles they had to overcome in the process.

[RickH]

As the gun collectors say " Buy the gun, not the story ". No matter what the guy says , it is still a pretty complete Wildcat project.

[T-28mike]

When I looked at the aircraft last year it was determined to be in far better condition than what was expected. It was a very restorable aircraft, both physically, and fiscally. The main issue was that all the iron components were attacked (by bacteria IIRC) and were, in our opinion, mandatory replacement items. The aluminum that was above the silt is in excellent condition. This was the case with the other recovered lake Michigan aircraft also. Fresh water (cold fresh water) is a pretty good preservative.
The wings were actually in better condition than we anticipated. They would still require disassembly, cleaning, steel replacement and localized corrosion control (dissimilar metal corrosion) but were high percentage reusable. The only thing that kept my customer from completing the purchase last year was that the he was diagnosed with cancer and chose to realign his priorities. The big difference between then and now is the acquisition price. The current asking price would have made restoring this aircraft a financial loss for us when comparing the cost of restoration to what the aircraft would bring on the market when completed and airworthy. But that does not mean that it would not be feasible for someone else, or in a different situation.

[CraigQ]

When I looked at the aircraft last year it was determined to be in far better condition than what was expected. It was a very restorable aircraft, both physically, and fiscally. The main issue was that all the iron components were attacked (by bacteria IIRC) and were, in our opinion, mandatory replacement items. The aluminum that was above the silt is in excellent condition. This was the case with the other recovered lake Michigan aircraft also. Fresh water (cold fresh water) is a pretty good preservative.
The wings were actually in better condition than we anticipated. They would still require disassembly, cleaning, steel replacement and localized corrosion control (dissimilar metal corrosion) but were high percentage reusable. The only thing that kept my customer from completing the purchase last year was that the he was diagnosed with cancer and chose to realign his priorities. The big difference between then and now is the acquisition price. The current asking price would have made restoring this aircraft a financial loss for us when comparing the cost of restoration to what the aircraft would bring on the market when completed and airworthy. But that does not mean that it would not be feasible for someone else, or in a different situation.

Intersting, am assuming some preservation/cleaning was done after raising. Most important thing is the condition of all the castings, wing attach, engine mount points, landing gear etc. Still sounds on the high side to me personally though.

[T-28mike]

All the aircraft were flushed with lots of water on retrieval. Taras posts here every so often, and can tell more than I can. The Navy cleaned them some more, and then treated the exposed steel, and some other parts with lots of red oxide primer. The wing attach fittings (etc) are just some of the steel fittings that we were considering as mandatory replacement items. Again, the price we negotiated was not the price that it is offered at now. That is why I stated that it would be a financial loss for our consideration at today's asking price. A decently restored and flying Wildcat would be hard pressed to fetch 900K on todays market IMHO. We were calculating the fair market value at 1 to 1.1 mil in ten years for our feasability study.

[marine air]

To me it's fantastic. It represents a net gain to the civilian warbird community. IT could be restored to airworthy, or to static display and be a fine example. It's all original and has to have some kind of WW II history.

[F3A-1]

I find this very interesting. On the morning of Jan 25, 2010 I spoke to an "official" with the National Museum of Naval Aviation and was told, and I quote "wet title trades are a thing of the past". I was told that in no uncertain terms would WWII Naval Aircraft be traded or sold to civilians again! Maybe someone there does not like me?

I even told an acquaintance at Reno this last week that the Navy would never trade any of the Wildcats that were recovered from Lake Michigan. Well, I guess that makes me an untruthful pirate!

I think it is a great looking project.

Pirate Lex
http://www.BrewsterCorsair.com

[T-28mike]

F3A-1,

This trade was initiated many years ago. I looked at it over 1 year ago, and trade had been completed for some time at that point.