Airlift48 wrote:
We purchased 3 airframes from B&G. Tanker 97 and two KC-97L's ( C-97G N1367N, KC-97L N29862 and KC-97L N29866) We will be harvesting them for their spare parts as needed to keep our C-97 (N117GA) airworthy. What happens to them afterwards has not been decided yet. What's important here is to keep one flying, rather than them just rotting away in Wyoming further deteriorating. (I was really surprised at how much they deteriorated in the 20 years since I saw them last. )
Thanks for the detailed answers! I know guys like
Ruud Leeuw,
Ralph M. Pettersen, and
Aad van der Voet will as well, since I they like to keep track of stuff like that and solid, reliable information can be hard to come by. I also know that my questions could be seen as rather pointed and some people would have just ignored them, so I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Airlift48 wrote:
Tanker 97 has not flown for many years, and has not been run in quite some time either. These airframes are not in "add gas and fly away" condition by any means. Certainly not "waiting for a crew".... (Maybe in 2016, but its 2022 now)
I'll admit I was skeptical of that statement myself, it was just something I pulled off the Aerial Visuals dossier. It did seem to be in the best condition of the bunch though.
Airlift48 wrote:
The auction airplanes are not the lot we purchased. Those are owned by a scrapper and are really in poor condition.
I guess I should have expected that given that 53-0208/N397HP had its guts ripped out. Any chance they might let you buy some parts?
Airlift48 wrote:
I understand your concern, but is it better to have 3 airplanes turn to dust in the desert and one rot away in Pennsylvania rather than keep one airworthy and on display at events around the country? You want to see BAHF's airplane fly? Without good engines, that doesnt happen. As I mentioned in the newsletter, there are no other options for parts but this.
I know
you can't save 'em all and that sometimes you have to make hard decisions. I'm glad someone is going to get some use out of them, as this is certainly a better outcome than the path they had been on.
It occurred to me that, at the moment, BAHF currently owns no less than of 6 four engine airplanes. Managing all of that metal is no mean feat. I guess what I'm saying is that you've been able to pull any of this off is a credit to the organization.
Airlift48 wrote:
As far as the disposal of the airframes when complete, we will try to do something to conserve as much as we can, but The Museum of Flight would have to be 1. Interested, and 2. Fund the recovery.
If it comes down to it, would you be able to raise some money by selling parts as souvenirs? The only other thing I could think of is pulling the cockpit off, since I understand KC-97s are popular for that (
1,
2,
3).
Airlift48 wrote:
The C-54 is just not big enough for hauling C-97 Power Packs and that would be extremely costly. Not to mention, you'd have to rip out the museum interior to do so. That is not an option, unfortunately.
That's exactly what I figured.