Fairchild Republic history lost

[barnbstormer]

Back in 1987, while at my desk in Riverhead, I opened the Long Island Newsday newspaper, and saw a large photo of a huge dumpster filled to overflowing, with the archives being thrown out of the closed Republic buildings. They mentioned that the material was all destined for the landfills.
I contacted someone-I forget who, as per the newspaper's reference mentioned. and volunteered to pay the disposal costs that they would obviously have to pay, for loading and transporting dumpsters to the land fill, *IF, the dumpters could be loaded and emptied at MY Riverhead location, instead of the landfill. They replied that since I was not a recognized library or archive, they could not agree to do this, and it all went to the DUMP, instead!!!!

There is a fascinating article in June 2013 Air & Space magazine, of how a very frustrated museum curator managed to save ONE document from the doomed archive.

I DID manage to collect and save numerous other important aviation company (and history maker's) archives, over the past 45 years. Some very important ones are now in major public aviation museums, intact.

[TAdan]

There is a fascinating article in June 2013 Air & Space magazine, of how a very frustrated museum curator managed to save ONE document from the doomed archive.
.

I remember that article, shame they couldn't save more.

[Snake45]

My Dad liberated this from his office when Fairchild closed. I don't think he even realized at the time that it's an extremely rare, factory model shop-converted 2-seater. (There might have been one other made, and this might be the only one.)

I have a collector friend who has told me to "name your price" for it. I've never given him a number because he'll pull that amount out and wave it in my face. And then it will disappear into his scary hoarder nest forever. Uh-uh.

[p51]

I didn't know that but not shocked at all. I know of a similar archive of RR data and literally tons of factory locomotive side view photos that went to a landfill, there were even guards making sure sure nobody dove into a dumpster to save anything. I can only imagine that's company lawyer paranoia in effect that causes this?

I have a collector friend who has told me to "name your price" for it. I've never given him a number because he'll pull that amount out and wave it in my face.

Yeah, probably. I know a guy who's a huge A-10 collector and he'd probably pay well into 4-figures for something like that, i know for sure he doesn't have one. I'm not even going to show this to him because he'd look you up and beg you to sell it to him (he's one of those, "'No' only means my offer isn't high enough and everything has a price" types).

[Stoney]

The same thing happened at NAA years ago, that's how I got a hand written list of all the NA-88 factory serial numbers from a former emplyee who saved them. I think their lawyers had them do it.

[hang the expense]

Contact the Chinese and the ivans as they probably have all that info anyway.

[SaxMan]

It's indeed sad. I know in my own pursuits, I've been told pictures "used to exist, but we haven't seen them in years", which usually means the dumpster. I know we've had cases were WIX members have gone "dumpster diving" and found amazing treasures. I just can't see families taking old photos and dumping them. Looking at old photos is like stepping into a time machine.

[Cubs]

.......*IF, the dumpters could be loaded and emptied at MY Riverhead location, instead of the landfill. They replied that since I was not a recognized library or archive, they could not agree to do this, and it all went to the DUMP, instead!!!!

So... a landfill is a recognized library or archive?
Wouldn't the Smithsonian be a recognized archive?

Thank you for your generous attempt to save those documents and the ones you did save. (thumbs up).

[benguttery]

I can also reports similar stories in Texas at Vought, Consolidated/Convair/General Dynamics/Lockheed, and Bell. Sad, but companies are interested in making money and don't want the responsibility for the data.

Check out the Vought collection at UT-Dallas. They endowed a curator there to preserve some of their items. Certainly a move in the right direction.

[Tulio]

I seriously doubt that my A-10 Two-seater model is a Fairchild's factory model. But I thought it odd when I bought it several years ago (In Albuquerque) that most of the A-10 models I had seen so far, were single-seaters. Mine had no standing base for it.

The paint job on the model is not military. There are some chips on it, one of the weapon pylons is broken, and looks like the model was made of some kind of paste / synthetic or composite material, it is not as far as I can tell, a mahogany model made in Asia.

Enjoy.


Saludos,


Tulio

Attachments

[Richard W.]

What would have been the mission of the GiB?

ECM?

[tom d. friedman]

I didn't know that but not shocked at all. I know of a similar archive of RR data and literally tons of factory locomotive side view photos that went to a landfill, there were even guards making sure sure nobody dove into a dumpster to save anything. I can only imagine that's company lawyer paranoia in effect that causes this?

I have a collector friend who has told me to "name your price" for it. I've never given him a number because he'll pull that amount out and wave it in my face.

Yeah, probably. I know a guy who's a huge A-10 collector and he'd probably pay well into 4-figures for something like that, i know for sure he doesn't have one. I'm not even going to show this to him because he'd look you up and beg you to sell it to him (he's one of those, "'No' only means my offer isn't high enough and everything has a price" types).

that can't be a topping made model, they were long out of business when the warthog was created. still worth a nice buck though!!

[armyjunk2]

We can thank folks like Leo Polaski of Northport for taking the time to scan around 4500 Grumman and Republic photos for us. He must have spent days and days doing this. If you want to save history you have to do it yourself, waiting for someone else to do it usually doesn't work.
http://tinyurl.com/yz6pxmh

[Snake45]

I didn't know that but not shocked at all. I know of a similar archive of RR data and literally tons of factory locomotive side view photos that went to a landfill, there were even guards making sure sure nobody dove into a dumpster to save anything. I can only imagine that's company lawyer paranoia in effect that causes this?

I have a collector friend who has told me to "name your price" for it. I've never given him a number because he'll pull that amount out and wave it in my face.

Yeah, probably. I know a guy who's a huge A-10 collector and he'd probably pay well into 4-figures for something like that, i know for sure he doesn't have one. I'm not even going to show this to him because he'd look you up and beg you to sell it to him (he's one of those, "'No' only means my offer isn't high enough and everything has a price" types).

that can't be a topping made model, they were long out of business when the warthog was created. still worth a nice buck though!!

I don't know offhand who made it. It's solid resin, and the model shop chopped out the cockpit section and made a new one, which is detachable. If you look at it, you'll see the paint on the antiglare doesn't match up, leading me to believe they made two of these and the canopies got switched somewhere.

I'll see if I can find a maker's name on the base.

[Mark Allen M]

If you want to save history you have to do it yourself, waiting for someone else to do it usually doesn't work.
http://tinyurl.com/yz6pxmh

Yes sir that would be correct