Warbird Information Exchange

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on this site are the responsibility of the poster and do not reflect the views of the management.
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:55 pm

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Classic Wings Magazine WWII Naval Aviation Research Pacific Luftwaffe Resource Center
When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 32 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 1:39 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am
Posts: 81
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Time for another visit, and again, other than the nose glass now missing, the rest seems as it was before-- dirty, and neglected-- but I did not notice any new damage. I was dismayed to see that the pigeons are nesting in the wings, so who knows what kind of corrosion is going on in there now.

I took a bunch of photos wih my regular camera, which I will post later, but here are a few panoramic shots taken with the phone (the fence makes photography very difficult!)

Image

Image

Image

More later in the week when I get back,

Michael


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 10:44 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am
Posts: 81
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Here are the rest of the shots that I took of 44-85738 earlier this week:

Behind the fence:

Image

Interior is totally stripped out:

Image

Nose plexiglass is missing (but thankfully covered by a flat sheet of plexiglass):

Image

Pigeons on the inboard engine-- they later flew into the wing vents and were scratching around on the inside of the wing (which made me cringe!):

Image

Image

Image

I hope for a better future for this beauty one day!

Michael


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:57 pm 
Offline
Long Time Member
Long Time Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 1:54 am
Posts: 5116
Location: Stratford, CT.
THAT THING FLEW IN?!!?!!? GEEEEZ that 17 needs a new home. Preferably one that will restore her to fly.

_________________
Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis

Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:57 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am
Posts: 81
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
i was the area again yesterday and stopped by to see if anything had changed with "Preston's Pride" and was plesantly surprised to see that the plexiglass nose cone had been put back on and the markings had been repainted (albeit not correctly).

I will post a pic when I get home.

Michael


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:32 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am
Posts: 81
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Here is the promised pic of "Preston's Pride" with the insignia and squadron markings repainted-- my photo of the nose did not turn out very good (LOL)

Image

Image

Michael


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Aug 30, 2015 9:12 am 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Sun May 02, 2004 10:14 am
Posts: 1692
Location: canada
Sad girl..

_________________
Cheers,
Peter

________


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:23 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am
Posts: 81
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
This week brought me back down to Tulare, CA, and of course I needed to check in on "Preston's Pride" to see how the elements had been treating the old girl--

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

I did not notice any "new" damage, but the flying rats are still poking there head out of the engines and any openings-- maybe one day this beautiful aircraft will get the love it deserves...

Michael


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2017 6:39 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:51 am
Posts: 17
Hopefully very soon, if not by years end... by early next year, a team will gather in Tulare to polish Prestons Pride. We are gearing up for it now.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 10:35 am 
Offline
Been here a long time
Been here a long time

Joined: Sun May 02, 2004 1:16 am
Posts: 11276
Preston is likely not very proud at the moment. And the plastic owl is not keeping the pigeons at bay.

I know it will look great once Superior Shine gets done with it!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:43 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2017 1:11 pm
Posts: 1
I have driven by this bird every couple of months for nearly 8 years now on my way to visit family but have never stopped to take a look. I finally got the chance to stop last week (just me and my son in the car this time, both aircraft enthusiasts) Looks like there's been a little TLC done since last I saw it: the fence is repainted and there are some pretty heavy duty bird screens over the engines now, but it still can use some work. Just thought I would post this update for you guys and post a few pictures I took while I was there.

[edit] I apologize for the broken image links. Fixed now.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2017 3:34 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:51 am
Posts: 17
The date is set. We are going to polish the aluminum skins 2nd week in April 2018.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:48 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am
Posts: 81
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Down in Tulare, California again this week, and I thought I would share a couple photos from this year's visit:

Image

Image

Image

The tail markings have been stripped off and you can see some of the original markings below:

Image

I really hope that this aircraft is returned to some more accurate 379th markings after it is cleared up-- I heard that there is some talk of changing the markings on this plane to reflect it's drone controller history....

I also noticed that some of the props are in different positions than before-- so maybe the engines are not frozen solid??


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:09 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:51 am
Posts: 17
Three props spin freely. One will not move.

I performed a couple of test polish spots on her and she will shine up nicely. Notice the reflection of the ladder in the aluminum.
It's going to be a lot of work but we will get her to shine like a new quarter.


Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:12 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:51 am
Posts: 17
That's a little better....


Attachments:
rs 3.jpg
rs 3.jpg [ 458.01 KiB | Viewed 1923 times ]
Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:17 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:51 am
Posts: 17
The event made the local news.... https://youtu.be/1TARHHFwB4E


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 32 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group