F4U Corsair BuNo. 97359

[Swiss Mustangs]

just found a lovely shot....... a travel back in time (1972)





any idea about the 2nd a/c ? [FAS ?]

Martin

[FlyingFortB17]

Does anyone know what airport/base these Corsair's use to fly out of in Olathe?

[Matt Gunsch]

Does anyone know what airport/base these Corsair's use to fly out of in Olathe?

ummm, I think it was Olathe, thats in Kansas you know

[FlyingFortB17]

Does anyone know what airport/base these Corsair's use to fly out of in Olathe?

ummm, I think it was Olathe, thats in Kansas you know

Yes, I live around Olathe. Was curious to know if they use to fly out of Johnson County Executive, etc. I am not familiar with the history of area airfields.

[Robbie Stuart]

Check out this link, hope it helps. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... olathe.htm
Robbie

[DanteC]

Yes, Executive is the old NAS. I believe the gull grey Corsair is also an Olathe reserve aircraft. Can't remember BuNo, but I've got it somewhere.

Dante

[C170BDan]

Wow.... the Corsair in this picture looks like the one I have from a friend of mine. At least it looks like they came from the same squadron (same tail code).



These appear to be two different locations. Anyone know for sure?

[Swiss Mustangs]

I believe the gull grey Corsair is also an Olathe reserve aircraft. Can't remember BuNo, but I've got it somewhere.

Dante

right ! thanks for the heads-up........ BuNo 97286









[last photo is thumbnail-size only - sorry...]

see also: http://www.warbirdregistry.org/corsairr ... 97286.html

Martin

[SPang]

Hi,

Thanks for the pics.

i prepare a buold of this camo for my kit in 1/32.

Spang

[corsair166b]

So what was the eventual fate of these birds? Without looking, I believe the 'Navy/Olathe' bird wound up in Kermit Weeks possession, while the other went on to become NX240CA, the Corsair that was just sold on to the guy in Alaska....but that's without checking my books, so I could be mistaken...

M

[Rob Mears]

The 1st photo shows BuNo.97359 (obviously), with BuNo.97264 just behind it, both parked among a group of eight Corsairs stored outdoors at the Moseley airfield near the western outskirts of Phoeniz, Arizona.

The 2nd photo shows BuNo.97349 in the foreground, with what has to be BuNo.97369 in the background. They are also parked at Moseley airfield, and appear to have been set aside prior to being relocated to the Tucson Inn, and the USMC Museum, respectively.

Of interesting note is the cowling seen on BuNo.97369. You hardcore 1970's era racing/airshow enthusiasts might recognize the lower "00" cowling from Gene Akers' F4U-4 air racer. That partial cowling was somehow transplanted onto this Bob Bean derelict from Akers' BuNo.97259 which had previously flown at Reno as "Lancer Too" in the late 1960's. In 1970, he repainted the plane in VX-5 Squadron markings with the number "00" on the cowling. It was raced in this configuration until the following year when it was retired. For some unknown reason, Akers swapped his lower right cowling onto the plane in the photo above!

Now for the fun part. Akers parted ways with the old "Lancer Too" / "00" Corsair and it eventually went to the EAA, showing up on outdoor display at Oshkosh '85. Here's a photo I took of it with the upper half of its original cowling still in place, paired no doubt with the lower cowling from BuNo.97369. Put both halves together and the number applied to BuNo.97369 at Olathe appears to have been "17". Why Gene Akers swapped out his freshly painted lower cowling for a weathered replacement panel is a mystery to me.



Oh, and the third photo in the black & white series above shows BuNo.97286 in the foreground, with BuNo.81415 just behind it. That series was taken at Blythe, California where Bob Bean had stored these two Corsairs seperately from the rest of his fleet.

At least six of Bean's Corsairs were Olathe Naval Reserve birds, thus the identical squadron markings. It appears he must have walked into Litchfield Park and simply dragged home the twenty-one(!) Corsairs sitting nearest to the exit gate.

[Swiss Mustangs]

cheers & thanks Rob

you're THE MAN when it comes to these bent-winged birds !



Martin

[wendovertom]

How would it be to just show up with cash in hand and say "I'll take those first 21 planes please"

Tom P.

[Rob Mears]

Believe me, I think about it a lot. Hindsight can be a real bugger!

I'm always curious what the big value of tomorrow will be. There has been what I consider obvious examples such as the Mig-family warbirds that were dirt cheap when they came into the country (some still are). To the best of my knowledge, there are either no more to be had overseas (China, Russia, etc), or they can no longer be imported(?). Not sure which. That factor, and a generous dose of time will see the Mig' value se dramatically IMO.

I figure a particular selection of vehicles coming back from the Iraq war are easy candidates for the "future collectibles" category. Only time will tell which vehicles will actually be offered as surplus though. I heard the Marines' AAV amphibian assault vehicles may be replaced some time soon after the conflict. It would be a pretty cool sight to see a half dozen of those stored behind grandad's barn

[Swiss Mustangs]

exhuming an old thread....

further to this:

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... ght=olathe

here are three more shots of Olathe F4U's, taken in October 1972



uhhmm - this one I have posted before...





enjoy
Martin