Warbird Information Exchange

In recent weeks, there has been of flurry of activity involving Spartan Executives. Some of those activities have been captured on video and are currently available for viewing on YouTube. For those of you interested in this particular make and model vintage aircraft, here is a brief update.

S/N 34 - "MRS. MENNAN" This aircraft was recently sold by Will Mennan to Sierra Aviation Inc.

S/N 11 - One of the most distinctive of the remaining 7W's, this beauty was on display at the Pacific Coast Dream Machines event in Half Moon Bay, CA on May 8, 2011. The following video was made prior to a short flight from Livermore, CA on April 19, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJcwC6CPmEk

S/N 13 - It has been many years since this 7W was last flown. It has recently undergone a complete restoration in Spartanburg, SC. The following video shows the first flight from Triple Tree Aerodrome in SC on April 29, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SpTT_-WrZk

S/N 16 - This is another 7W that has not been flown in many years. The following video captures the initial flight from the airport in Scottsdale, AZ on April 5, 2011.
http://youtu.be/VrqevK5vVrI?hd=1

S/N 17 - This 7W has recently returned to the air after being involved in a landing incident in 2007. The following videos made in recent days show an engine start and a cockpit view from 5500 feet over Western, PA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rQIUNqHEdU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK4EmQ7N12E

Wow! Some nice aircraft there! Thanks for the updates.

The only Spartan Executive I've seen was in pieces at Centennial Aviation in Battle Creek a year or two ago. It had been damaged in a ground loop. Any idea which one that might have been? I wasn't smart enough to write down the registration and didn't have my camera with me.

I also love the comment in the Triple Tree Aerodrome video- "so much for the high-speed taxi!"

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Matt

Matt

The Spartan you saw was S/N 17. Some of the necessary repairs were performed in Michigan, with the remainder having recently been completed in Pennsylvania.

Jim

How many of these were made- and how many survive? I have pictures of one that was at Geneseo in 1986 or so, but I've never seen another.

Mark

Most people think of the Model 7W when talking about the Spartan Executive. If that is what you had in mind, 34 were produced and they carry serial numbers 1 through 34. Of those 34 examples, 21 have survived, although it is a real stretch to call the one in the museum in Anchorage a survivor. A handful of the survivors have not been flown in many, many years. In most years, one or more 7Ws will make an appearance at Oshkosh. Regrettably, none were there in 2010.

If you would like a more comprehensive picture of the surviving Spartan Executives, you might want to look at this excellent site. http://www.flytoanothertime.com/spartan/spartanexecutive.html

Regarding the picture you took in 1986 at Geneseo, you should consider posting it to this site. I'm sure one of the Spartan enthusiasts will be able to identify it.

Jim

I'll have to find the negs and scan them, but now it's on the list for the next time I'm doing that work.

New URL location for the Spartan web page...

http://www.flytoanothertime.com/Fly_To_ ... utive.html

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Blue Skies,
Dan
http://www.flytoanothertime.com

I see NC17658 is based near me. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see it someday, l don't recall ever seeing one "in the flesh".

BTW: Every year at Christmas I think of them as I decorate our tree. Which one was the prototype for the Hallmark ornament?

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Based on the tail number, the ornament doesn't portray a specific Spartan 7W, but the lightning bolt stripe is typical of what a number of survivors now look like.

Here is a lousy pic of a Spartan I took circa 1972 when I was 12 or so. I had just gotten a ride and took the picture as he taxied out. The aircraft was owned and piloted by Colgate Darden. He was in Norfolk visiting family and I think I remember he said he was flying out to South Carolina. Was quite a thrill for a airport kid sitting on the fence to get a ride in that.

This was taken at Norfolk airport from the Piedmont General Aviation area. The large hangar was a Piedmont hangar and is long gone now.

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Flying Piper L4-J 45-55209

Russ,

The appearance of N17633 has changed very little since you took that picture of Dr. Darden's airplane way back in 1972. It is now based in England and is often shown and flown. A simple Google search will get you to a number of high quality pictures taken in recent years.

Jim

For those of you interested in Spartan Executives, the following video of N-20200 landing at Half Moon Bay was posted on Youtube today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfQPYMNOZ6k

That vid reminds me of why I like wrinkle black instrument panels.
Chris...

If yer gonna watch the landing, might as well follow up with the takeoff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBZJLyl- ... re=related

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida