old MAPS aircraft

[kalamazookid]

In an old issue of Air Classics I can remember there being a picture of a P-39 project with MAPS Air Museum. Anyone know if its still there? Also, they used to have a P-40 being rebuilt but it is no longer listed on their website-do they still own it?

[Steve T]

K'zookid--

AirJimL2 could tell you more than I, but the P-39 and P-40 projects formerly at Akron would have been part of the Tallichet collection. Something tells me the P-39 could be the one that went to Air Heritage in Pennsylvania, but I could be remembering it wrong; there certainly is (or at least was) a Tallichet Cobra (and A-20) at Air Heritage though...

S.

[AirJimL2]

MAPS had parts of two P-39s that were both PNG planes. One was Snooks the 2nd (well at least the date plate was). I think both planes are still at the Museum, but are sitting outside on the loading dock. They belonged to Tallichet. These P-39s came from Beaver Falls. As far as I know Beaver Falls still has a P-39 project which was much more complete and last time I saw it looked to be coming along well, and the Lancaster group has another hulk. I think most of these hulks were the same ones at Geneseo in the late 80s/early 90s.

The P-40 and second A-24 project left and the understanding at MAPS is they are going to Pima. Again they are Tallichet planes.

Other Tallichet planes that left MAPS in the past include a third SBD, a P-51D hulk, Fury that is now under restoration with Sanders, B-25, and a second T-28 Fennec.

Jim

Last edited by AirJimL2 on Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[JohnH]

what is "shoot a roll and develop" People still do that? eewwwwww!! Awful!

John

[Steve T]

Rob--

Hear, hear! 35mm still rocks, far as I'm concerned...

Steve (still firmly anchored in the late 20th century)

[Locobuster]

Doesn't Tallichet own an A-26 that's being restored in Lancaster, Ohio? If so, there was a P-39 fuselage in a nearby hangar in mid-2002 that might be one of the ones you're speaking about...

[Locobuster]

Col., I think you misread part of my post, they have an A-26 Invader at Fairfield Airport, near Lancaster, OH., it is owned by Mr. Tallichet. See this link:

http://www.historicalaircraftsquadron.com/phase.htm

If you need pics of it I might be able to get them for you as I have contact with a guy who volunteers on the C-45 they are also restoring at the same airport and I'm sure he'd be happy to help or you could probably contact the folks on the team there, they were very friendly when I met them years ago.


Just as a note, on another page of the same site it states:"We are looking for a home for a P-39 Aircobra, forward twisted airframe, 3 wings, aft fuselage, main and nose landing gear, gear box and spinner." So I figured it was part of a large haul from somewhere. I just assumed Tallichet owned it because he owns the A-26.

There was a major downpour at that year's airshow (2002,) we all ran into the hangar to keep from getting soaked and we took a close look at it, I don't remember seeing any I.D. on the fuselage section anywhere and neither does my buddy, who's a P-39 fan.

We've always fantasized about having enough money to get the old bird and at least restore it to static condition, then paint it up like the Airacobras the 20th. Fighter Group flew in the US before they went over to P-38s and shipped out for England.

I look forward to reading what you put together, Col!

[kalamazookid]

Thanks for the info. Its a shame that MAPS keeps getting aircraft temporarily and then having them moved elsewhere. I think that if you are going to commit your planes to a museum it should be long term instead of packing them up and moving them across the country after a short period of time. Weren't they also going to get Tallichet's B-17? Is this still happening or did it fall through?

[AirJimL2]

Weren't they also going to get Tallichet's B-17? Is this still happening or did it fall through?

Yep it fell through. MAPS was promised other stuff that never even showed up. A few years ago the Museum made the decision to branch out and look for aircraft from other sources. That turned out to be a great idea.

Jim

[RMAllnutt]

The last time I was at MAPS in 2002 they definitely had a P-39 sitting on the loading dock outside (but under cover). The fuselage was apparently from Snooks 2nd (the serial number was visible on the paintwork), but but the Beaver Falls group was supposedly the one which officially had Snooks 2nd. I imagine that there are parts from many planes all mixed up in the bag. They did have two SBD's at the time, but is sounds like one of them has moved on. Whatever happened to that bequest they received which was supposed to include a Brewster buffalo... guess that was all hot air (not on MAPS part, as the bequest was real... just that it must have been for aircraft which either never materialized/existed). Anyone know more?

Cheers,
Richard

[oscardeuce]

Still waiting on the "Ghost Squadron" to show up at MAPS. A bad Joke I guess, yet there are threads of truth. Oh, well. The P-39 is still there waiting for restoration. The MAPS collection continues to grow. F101, F-100 A-7 F-12 F-4 Phantom II, All under restoration. Come buy the Museum it is growing.

[JohnH]

Come buy the Museum it is growing.

I can't afford to but maybe Paul Allen will....didn't know it was for sale.

John

[Brian]

Okay,as one of "the Lancaster bunch" let's see if I can shed any light on what's going on down here.
Actually, the main aircraft in question---the P-39---is one I don't know a lot about. It was being housed in our T hangar which is in the process of being razed. I really don't know what became of the hulk. There is also a Bell 47G hulk sitting in there that nobody knows for sure who it belongs to.
The A-26 is indeed property of Tallichet, as it states on our website. Her engines have been run a few times but she's not airworthy yet. The work is going slowly because we just don't have the available manpower to get her back in the air. When that finally happens, Mr T will have a fight on his hands if he plans to move it somewhere else
When I joined the squadron four years ago there were plans to build a larger hangar to house the Memphis Belle. Unfortunately,as with MAPS, the plan fell through.
The B-25 that USED to be shown on the MAPS site as being one of their birds has been sitting on our ramp at the Fairfield County Airport for the past two years. There had been talk of it being removed at least twice so but so far that has not happened.
And, since the C-45 was mentioned----it also is coming along slowly. The current plan is to restore it to static condition.

[Nathan]

I wrote the MAPS museum once because I hadn't heard any news on their P-40 in quit some time. They said they had a problem with it and was going to throw it away!!!!! I thought that this was the dumbest thing I ever heard!!! In the pics it looked like it was on its way to flying very soon. To have them telling me that they were going to "throw" it away....I was a little upset. So I wrote them back saying if you don't want it, I'll take it. Never got a reply back!! Whats the story on this???

Air Heritage last I knew had a A-20 and P-39, but there webpage has been off for quit some time. I was thinking that maybe they went out of buisness.

-Nathan

[oscardeuce]

The way I heard it the P-40 went to europe to be reverse engineered into a series of new aircraft. We did not throw it away it was crated off and shipped out to hopefully become more new P-40's.