Warbird Information Exchange

I feel that a restoration similar to the one that the Memphis Belle is getting would be a good thing. The aircraft would be restored using most of the original material , and all combat damage and combat repairs left intact.
Other than that, and the route they are already going, those are youre only real options.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Only if that would help them sell more t-shirts.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

I'm just thrilled it's out of the swamp. Whatever comes after that is gravy.

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Always looking for WW2 Half-Tracks and Parts.

Just as long as they don't plaster some horrible made-up nose art and the name 'Swamp Ghost' on the front of it.

Even if it would 'help them sell more t-shirts'.

I agree with Mike. No nose art.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Thanks for the pics. I was there a few months ago, and was amazed at how bad a condition it is in. If you were so inclined (and please don't), you could take the aluminum skin and tear it off in strips with your fingers - it is that thin. If this was to be 'restored' as a full B-17 for static display, I don't think more than a few bits and pieces could actually be used from the original. Trying to use what's there as a basis would result in something that would collapse in on itself pretty quickly.

Now, let me pose this - if you strip a few parts off of the remains and place them into a 'new build' B-17 for a full up display, do you have Swamp Ghost? In my opinion, no.

Also, if you strip a few parts off of the crash remains, the remainder will end up destroyed, and is no longer Swamp Ghost.

If a museum is committed to building a new B-17, then so be it (and kudos to them for doing so). The expense of building a new one from scratch should be the same (if not more) than trying to use a few parts from the crash. However, stripping a few pieces off of this wreck to include in the project does not make the project Swamp Ghost - and in the mean time destroys Swamp Ghost in the process. Just my opinion.

How about this - a 'new build' B-17E sitting in the museum alongside a display containing the crash recovery Swamp Ghost - as it was found (with as much of the corrosion as possible arrested, so it doesn't deteriorate further). (Not that this could possibly happen for financial and other reasons.)

I like your analysis 67cougar. It sounds like the only way the original plane could fly again is to be dropped at 10000 feet from a sikorsky skycrane. I agree if it were restored to airworthy it wouldn't be the same plane, a piece of history would be destroyed forever. In this case I think the preservation of history trumps everything else.

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Always looking for WW2 Half-Tracks and Parts.

Maybe the museum could sell the data plate. Then we could have a "swamp Ghost" in a museum and one flying around the country and we'd all have something new to fight over

Just joking! Glad it is going somewhere... just wish it was a bit closer to me. Hawaii is not very high on my travel wish list after sailing into Pearl several times.

Tim

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www.tailhookstudio.com