pics of Walters Saplatas place

[Steve T]

A26--

N919P to my knowledge is still at Walt's. Her wings are visible in a couple of the aerial views back up the thread a bit. Those pix date to the late 90s. WIXer Randy Haskin was at Walt's more recently still (2002 iirc); don't know whether or not he saw the Invader. It's quoted in listings as a "Marksman 4" exec variant, but doesn't look like a Marksman to me (a Marketeer, maybe, with that normal Invader flightdeck)...except for being sans engines I remember it as being in pretty decent nick back in the day.

S.

[daveymac82c]

Holy Cow,

The longer I'm on this message board, the more I hear about these treasure troves. Where is this place anyway and considering those pictures look somewhat old, what is still left on his property?

And what does he do with them? Keep them? Eventually want to fly them?

-David

[tom d. friedman]

practically everything is left minus fg1 corsair, twin mustang & 1 b-25.

[B-29 Super Fort]

That B-25 looks like a great candidate to be a flyer one day. I wonder how you would get it out of there if it was ever sold though.

[a26invader]

A26--

N919P to my knowledge is still at Walt's. Her wings are visible in a couple of the aerial views back up the thread a bit. Those pix date to the late 90s. WIXer Randy Haskin was at Walt's more recently still (2002 iirc); don't know whether or not he saw the Invader. It's quoted in listings as a "Marksman 4" exec variant, but doesn't look like a Marksman to me (a Marketeer, maybe, with that normal Invader flightdeck)...except for being sans engines I remember it as being in pretty decent nick back in the day.

S.

Thanks Steve, I'm glad to learn that this "Boardroom Bomber" probably still survives.

invader26

[Steve T]

Daveymac et al--

As Tom says, there have been a few "escapes" from the years from Walt's collection:

EF-82E (to Polar, now at C&P, Anoka MN; to fly)
BT-13 (to Dan Jones)
O-52A (privately owned, for rebuild to fly)
TB-25K (to Steve Detch, now flying with Fighter Factory/Jerry Yagen)
P-80A (to Pensacola; was Bu 29689, one of three USN P-80s)
F2G-2 (to Crawford, for static restoration with Bob Odegaard)

...but most everything else has stayed put. The Mitchell certainly is a prime candidate for restoration, as is the FG-1D Corsair ex NAS Akron gate guard. (The other B-25 was in much rougher shape, and is now flying).

BTW Scott, the ex-Soplata/USN P-80 is missing from the registry. Not sure what her AF s/n was but she was USN BuNo 29689, and flew on missile tracking missions from Point Mugu CA in the 50s...now on show at NMNA, Pensacola.

Keep the pix and commentary coming. I love a good Walt thread...

S.

[mustangdriver]

For a while Wlater had a building at the Youngstown Airport. One day when I flew in there. He was there and knew a friend of mine that was with me. Walter said, "Do you what to see my airplanes?" I said yes, and we walked into a hangar with a TBM Avenger(not a partial fuselage, but the whole thing), a P-82 (the original NACA airplane), and parts for some other stuff. The P-82 actually looked to be i ngood shape. He said that a friend had been cleaning it up. My friend talked to Walter's son as well. They were very nice to us. But I do not thin kyou should just show up at their house. I wouldn't take kindly to it either if people just showed up at my house.

[Steve T]

Mustangdriver--

Oh man...! Now somebody weighs-in who has actually been inside the Youngstown Aircraft and Radio Museum. My parents called in at Walt's in about 1989 and conversed with Peggy (Walt's wife), who told them of Walt's plan to move several aircraft and a bunch of equipment to the Youngstown airport and set up said museum. For years I wondered whether that venture ever actually existed; quite recently someone confirmed for me that it had...but I don't think I've ever heard before from anyone who had actually been inside the museum. Were there other airframes beyond the F-82 and TBM you mention? (As I recall Walt had intended to move the O-52 also; I'd always thought it might be more than coincidental that both the F-82 and the O-52 later went to Polar). And...by any chance, did you happen to record the BuNo of the Avenger? That ID has proven elusive over the years, but I'm 99% sure Walt got the TBM at a Navy auction in Maryland in the sixties, and that the aircraft had served with VS-26, an antisub unit out of Norfolk VA...just can't find the BuNo.

This is turning out to be more of a "rope" than a mere "thread"...so cool.

S.

[Shay]

When was this supposed Walt Museum at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport???

I was stationed with the 910th at YARS and the only "old" warbirds I ever saw were a beat up T-33 and Aluminum Overcast.

Shay
___________
Semper Fortis

[mustangdriver]

Well, it was in the late 90's that I was in there. The O-52, TBM, and P-82 were in there. The buildings he was using were originally buildings that the airport had kept snow plows and trucks in. A lot of radio stuff was in there, as well as manual stacked up like walls. The TBM was all blue with a yellow number on the fuselage. It was whole, not a partiall airframe. The wings were folded, and the glass was not in it, but the frame work was all there. I remember that the P-82 really looked nice! The Avenger was not bad looking, just needed some TLC. I don't remember too many details about the O-52. The facility was near the road, I remember. Afterwards we ate at a resaraunt near the end of the runway. I remember that the spinners of the P-82 had been fresly painted red, white, and blue. Walter treated me very nice, but I had been asked not to take ant pics. Being that he was nice enough to take me in there, I thought the least I could do was do what he asked. I remember him telling me that he had a B-36 in his backyard. I was shocked to say the least. I don't remember a Bu no on the TBM-Sorry.

[tom d. friedman]

showing up unannounced is not recommended!!! forgot the other missing pieces to the collection. the man is a legend, pardon the pun... "plane & simple" but he's as enthusiastic as it gets, & his wife the same. those with spouses.... we should all be so lucky!!!! thank god my wife let me build an office to display my stuff respectably!!!