Waiting to be found

[pbfoot]

The group I help out with is in the process of recovering an Avenger it should be in fair shape

[Negative Creep]

Originally Posted by Njaco

A p-38 for $1250! OMG! I was born too late!

How much would $1250 equate to today?

[kool kitty89]

Probably ~$15,000-20,000 depending on how you make the comparison. Also direct conversions may not be valid as a (nice) new car in 1946 could easily be under $1,000.
Imageollar value chart.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Njaco]

I took that into account, Negative. And if Kool Kitty is correct, its still a steal. Amazing!

[Graeme]

We burnt our Mosquitoes and melted our Lincolns.

[MONDARIZ]

It kinda bugs me, that people have to travel to far off places like Siberia, to retrive a WWII wreck, when many fine aircraft are rotting away in the states and europe.

I have been scolded for mentioning specific aircraft, where the owner see their "effort" as historic preservation. These aircraft are rotting away in gardens

The truth is, that i have seen collections of WWII aircraft stored in what can only be termed a "museum" by the owner, to anyone else its a scrapyard.

And we are not just talking about a few T-6's, but truely rare warbirds (think Twin Mustang).

I know about people who have tried to buy some of these aircraft, only to find that the owner wont sell, as he is working on them. Leaving historic aircraft in a pile IS NOT PRESERVATION!

In the mean time, recovery work takes place in Sibiria, or even from the waters of the pacific.

Here is a Tempest (unrelated to my rant above, but still in need of TLC):
(Borrowed from another forum, sorry to Ian Wilkinson for using it without expressed permission)

[MONDARIZ]

Here is another:

[Screaming Eagle]

I totally agree! It just makes me sad the evntual fate of these airplanes.

[MONDARIZ]

What really gets me, is that when those aircraft are finally sold (the owner dies), they are no better than those recovered from Sibiria and other places.

People can do what they want with their private property, restore it, let it rot, but its just a shame when the latter happens.

I knew a guy who had his house full of vintage motorcycles. None of them were whole, but he had quite a few rare bikes. When he died, the family sold the wole "collection" to a scrapyard, in order to clear the house for sale. I also knew people who were looking to buy some of the collection, but that never happened. I'm pretty sure that also happens with warbird relics.

[A4K]

We have the same in NZ, they are still finding Mosquito, Hudson, and Oxford remains (to name a few) on private farms, the owners buying them for wheels and firewood ( ). when I was last in NZ ('96) I saw a decrepit Vampire freshly recovered from a farm - it's cockpit was stripped of anything movable, and full of chicken sh-t, as for the fueslage and wings, Phillip Treweek also photographed it, and you can see it on Kiwi Aircraft Images

There's also a very reclusive man (no names) who has a Mozzie, Oxford, and many other RNZAF aircraft in original service condition, ie, bought, locked up in a garage, and left to gather dust for his private viewing pleasure. He very rarely lets people see them, and even then begrudgingly. I think there are a few museums waiting for him to kick the bucket, but I don't know in whose hands they'll be when that happens.

[MONDARIZ]

I have heard about NZ warbirds popping up on farms. I was happy to see the Oxford finally got some TLC. For a small country, they are doing great work for preservation.

There are (there must be) many around the world, just waiting their turn.

Here is one from China:

[MONDARIZ]

Bird dogs in Thailand:

[MONDARIZ]

I know I'm rambling on here, but I just know there are warbirds out there, just waiting......

The Afghan air force flew Avro Anson untill 1972, could be a few around somewhere. They also flew Hawker Hart, Hawker Hind and Junkers G 24.

I would be very surpriced if a few didn't show up soon.

[A4K]

was that a Sturmovik, Mondariz?!

[MONDARIZ]

I think its a Sturmovic, or a Chinese copy of one.