Warbird Information Exchange

Somehow, I missed this thread back when it first came up

Glad to see the a/c at Creighton is still in pretty decent shape; though the method of display has changed over the years. Last time I saw these airplanes was 12 years ago...

_________________
"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

When I sat in the Creighton machine back thirty years ago it was sitting peacefully on the ground in the park. There was absolutely no vandalism or damage, and the original canopy was still intact at the time. I swear I have a couple of photos of it that I took then that show how nice it was. The cockpit was missing only one or two instruments and it looked like you could plug an engine in and go flying.

Scott

Well, I found one of my photos of the Creighton airplane. Ellen took this picture with my trusty Polaroid in 1977/78 when it was just tied down in the park. I have an overall shot of it somewhere.....



Scott

Wow, that looked like a pretty neat ol' display, Scott. Heck, they even put a dummy in the cockpit!

Gary

And I thought you'd start with the hair and sideburns.......

S

Heck, I just thought those were glitches in the old Polaroid film.

Gary

That's more like the way I remember it... Think I saw it back in '78 myself; if my CSR isn't acting up.

_________________
"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

One of the photos I took that day shows my mighty 1970 Lincoln Continental. I miss that car.........

Scott

At the time airplanes such as these old jets were mounted up on pylons or stashed in city parks, nobody considered it would ever be possible for civilians to restore and fly them. Is it too late? Do you think that these airplanes could be taken down and restored to flying condition? What a sight that would be at an airshow. A "living-breathing" warbird is more of a tribute to our military history and the servicemen who flew and maintained them than a "dead" static display ever will be.

Static aircraft are not dead. Scrapped or wrecked ones that no one can ever see, now that is dead.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

If it ain't capable of breathing in air in the front (or wherever) and spitting exhaust, prop wash, or jet wash out the rear, it's "dead!"

"Scrapped or wrecked ones" have just been dead longer and they're further gone.

Oh boy, here we go again!


Though I too would like to see some of these old warriors return to the air, a govermental agency still holds title to most of them and it just aint going to happen...

_________________
"They can teach MONKEYS to fly better than that"

http://www.heritageflight.org
http://www.bravo369.org

I've examined most of the F-84s on display in Nebraska over the years and they are all restorable to one extent or another. The problem with the pole-mounted airplanes is how they attached the pole to the structure. Without removing panels it would be impossible to see if the airplane could be made airworthy. Of course, that is never going to be an option for any of these old girls, so it's just so much speculation and dreaming. The Creighton and Sioux City airplanes at least are displayed gear down so the structure wasn't compromised. I haven't noticed any rampant corrosion on these machines after all the years they have been on outside display, a testament to the construction methods and materials used by Republic. The York airplane is really a clean airframe if it wasn't for that missing quarter window. I'd bet the cockpit is a bird-droppings paradise.

A couple of us were looking for a candidate for restoration to airworthy a while back, but that looks pretty remote at this point due to the ownership issues.

Scott

I have started a dossier for the Creighton F-84...
Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - F-84 ?52-6642



If you don't mind, it would be great if you could upload a copy of this photo. Eventually I would like to have current photos of all of the warbirds, however the reason I created the database was so there could be a pictoral historical record. The "old polaroids" are fantastic material for that record.

Actually if everyone could check their shoe boxes in closets and attics for photos like this that would be fantastic!

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Mike,

I'll dig in the various piles, but it will take me a while. You may have to remind me in a few days........

Scott