National Warplane Museum's B-23

[Cvairwerks]

Hadn't been to their website for a while and noticed that the B-23 was no longer listed in the collection. Any idea what they've done with her?

[airknocker]

Still against the wall in Dec. 2022.

[Mark Sampson]

That's a big and expensive project; think of how much two big radial engines would cost to rebuild or replace. Not to mention the cost of the airframe restoration/reassembly.
The Geneseo museum is small and not wealthy. (I was a member until I moved far away in 2011). Most of their efforts revolve around their D-Day C-47 "Whiskey 7", and rightly so.
Add in that the B-23 is a footnote in aviation history; a historic and worthy aircraft, but it's never going to be a famous attraction.
It's going to take someone with a great deal of money and a strong desire to see that plane finished and flying.
That said, if I won the lottery, I'd fund the project. At least it's safe inside, waiting for better days.

[Cvairwerks]

I know it's big project Mark. They seemed to be going strong on it, up until 2011 and at that point it seemed to falter completely. Doesn't appear that any work was done for several years and Aerial Visuals shows a pending sale in 2013. Since then they added a C-130, which is an even bigger project.

[marine air]

The B-23 was a candidate for the Tokyo Raid. I think it's biggest drawback was it's wingspan relative to carrier operations. The stock B-23 had R-1830's of !,200 hp. and many were re-engined with B-25 engines (R-2600's) with much more horsepower. All the ones after the war went to big name corporations like Hughes Tools, etc. The immediate post-war civilian use was their heyday. Unfortunately they have mostly expired. There is only one flyable and it hasn't been seen in a long time. A local airline captain here in Nashville tried to buy the one that ended up at Sanders Aircraft. It was ferriable when parked. Supposedly a "billionaire" was going to restore it but it is still sitting without much progress. It would've been nice to see a couple of these go to owners that would actually restore and keep them flying. Imagine if the same happened to all the Ford Tri-motors? I'm glad Gosshawk still flies their Privateer. One day it may be extinct from the skies.

Last edited by marine air on Fri Jan 27, 2023 10:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Matt Gunsch]

I'm glad Gosshawk still flies their Privateer. One day it may be extinct from the skies.

Gosshawk does not own the Privateer, it is privately owned,

[JohnB]

Marine Air

The airworthy B-23 was/is at Moses Lake, WA...the former Larson AFB (FICON RF-84F base, Boeing test site, AF acceptance center for B-52s and KC-135s, and one time training center for JAL).

After being parked and worked on for a number of years (I saw it in the hangar about 10 years ago) it was flown a year or two ago.
It was featured here and a video is on youtube.
It seems to be well looked after.

Don't be too hard on the owners for not flying it more....because of the price of fuel (Gee, ya' think?) and having spent some time around a frequently flown DC-3, I have learned they are not exactly a "kick the tires and light the fires" aircraft. Operations require more care than one would normally think of given their rugged reputation.

[Warbird Kid]

Every time we returned to Geneseo for the airshow, I always checked in the hangar to see if anything was done on the poor old gal. So far it appears she has been basically in situ. Which is understandable. Money is tight and they need to keep the money making planes flying (i.e C-47, Beech 18, etc.). But it would be at least nice to see it assembled and put on outdoor display with the other aircraft. Maybe Tallichet's C-47 would be more of a useful aircraft to restore to fly. If they acquired it or leased it or something...

[Tim Savage]

The B-23 was a candidate for the Tokyo Raid. I think it's biggest drawback was it's wingspan relative to carrier operations. The stock B-23 had R-1830's of !,200 hp. and many were re-engined with B-25 engines (R-2600's) with much more horsepower. All the ones after the war went to big name corporations like Hughes Tools, etc. The immediate post-war civilian use was their heyday. Unfortunately they have mostly expired. There is only one flyable and it hasn't been seen in a long time. A local airline captain here in Nashville tried to buy the one that ended up at Sanders Aircraft. It was ferriable when parked. Supposedly a "billionaire" was going to restore it but it is still sitting without much progress. It would've been nice to see a couple of these go to owners that would actually restore and keep them flying. Imagine if the same happened to all the Ford Tri-motors? I'm glad Gosshawk still flies their Privateer. One day it may be extinct from the skies.

The ex Ione, Mike Bogue airplane isn’t parked, it has been undergoing a multi year restoration at Bill Muszala’s ATW Aviation in Marana AZ for Jim Slattery.

[warbird51]

The B-23 was a candidate for the Tokyo Raid. I think it's biggest drawback was it's wingspan relative to carrier operations. The stock B-23 had R-1830's of !,200 hp. and many were re-engined with B-25 engines (R-2600's) with much more horsepower. All the ones after the war went to big name corporations like Hughes Tools, etc. The immediate post-war civilian use was their heyday. Unfortunately they have mostly expired. There is only one flyable and it hasn't been seen in a long time. A local airline captain here in Nashville tried to buy the one that ended up at Sanders Aircraft. It was ferriable when parked. Supposedly a "billionaire" was going to restore it but it is still sitting without much progress. It would've been nice to see a couple of these go to owners that would actually restore and keep them flying. Imagine if the same happened to all the Ford Tri-motors? I'm glad Gosshawk still flies their Privateer. One day it may be extinct from the skies.

The ex Ione, Mike Bogue airplane isn’t parked, it has been undergoing a multi year restoration at Bill Muszala’s ATW Aviation in Marana AZ for Jim Slattery.[/quote

The B-23 did not use 1830’s as mentioned earlier. The B-23 always used a 2600. Although a single 2800 was installed as a test bed in the number one location