Warbird Information Exchange

I was just looking at my Ghosts calendar today and was thinking... there are so many WWII key dates listed there... but has anyone ever thought about creating a timeline of post-WWII "warbird survivors" dates? This would include opening dates of key museums (Planes of Fame, CAF, etc), filming dates of WWII movies (Twelve o'Clock High, Catch 22), key auctions (Tallmantz, Globe Air, etc), key first flights (B-29 Fifi, B-17 Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, etc) and dates of the unfortunate losses of certain warbirds.

If anyone has any to add or any dates to share, please post them... I would like to start a timeline like this soon and make it available on WRG for everyone.

Thanks!

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

How about the birthdays of some of our famous hero warbird pilots? Maybe even Mr. Greenwood?

Personally I would avoid the tragedies.

I think that is a great idea.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

I thought about it a different way.

The day Ed Maloney got his first Warbird.

Mike Coutches first big purchase.

Walter Soplata's, well, with Walt, there would be a lot of cool dates.

CAF's 800 dollar Bearcat purchases.

The boyscout Hellcat.

The last time the Moffet Hellcat was seen.

The day O.P. asked Dirty Dan "Do you ever give rides in this rig?"

There's a half a zillion of them.

(Yeah, for some reason I'm on a Hellcat thing tonight)

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DEEP THOUGHTS BY KIDS:
"If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. Age 15 "


Deep Thoughts,
Jack Handy

I agree with BDK on the idea of keeping the tragedies out of the picture... perhaps it would be better to mention the birthdays of those who have gone west as a memorial to their memory?

It seems there is some interest here... anyone have any dates they would like to throw my way?

If you are on a warbird museum website and see an "About us" section or "history" section that talks about when the museum was started, etc, please copy any date there and pass it along!

Email me at rkeough@warbirdsresourcegroup.org

Thanks!

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

February 19th will be the CAF's 50th anniversary.

Rumor was that something big was going to be going on with the CAF this year as it turns 50, Besides what you, Gary, have let us view here on WIX with the B-24A. I think the leak was something about a big Airshow maybe? Can anyone shed any light on this?

Tim

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www.tailhookstudio.com

I think I'll let either Doug or Bill (FG-1D or Old Shep) take this one. They're doing something in Las Vegas this summer, but even though I should know the details, I don't. Old Shep is the Airsho Director, Coordinator, or whatever, so he could tell you what's lined up for that. Again, I haven't heard about anything special, but they don't tell me much around here....other than when my deadline for the B-24 is.

Gary

Just bringing this back to the top to see if anyone has anything to add?

Thanks!

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

The calendar could have some cool things such as dates of first flights of restorations. (Like April 18, 1992, the day Marauder 1464 first flew after 20 years of restoration)

John

John,

Exactly! Those kind of dates are perfect!

Anyone else? Keep them coming!

Thanks!

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

Ryan--

OK..I'll add September 11, 1988, to the list. On that rather glum, overcast day at Mt.Hope, Tony Banfield of the BBMF took Lancaster C-GVRA aloft for the first time. (9/11, thus, used to have a much more positive connotation than it does now...)

Another interesting date would be Labour Day 1970--the auction of the celebrated Ernie Simmons collection at Courtland, Ontario. Certainly the only time 36 NAA Yales and seven Fairey Swordfish entered the vintage aircraft market simultaneously...

Cool thread. Let's see some more Red Letter dates...

S.

Ryan--

Another significant, though sad, date--bearing in mind that we're not marking tragedies, but this was not a situation involving fatalities, and in many ways had some positive outcomes. February 15, 1993. The north bay of CWH Hangar 3 at Mt.Hope burned down (with the loss of five aircraft in the bay at the time)--the south bay of the hangar however remained standing (and the Lancaster inside was spared). BTW the south bay of #3 still stands, is now the Mt.Hope Avitat and home to Sandy Thomson's Sea Fury (when it's not over at the new museum hangar).

S.