Warbird Collection in Ohio Fields

[tom d. friedman]

Having the address is great and all, but personally, I'm not just gonna "show up" without an invite. I know how cranky I get when folks just meander through my meager collection of "junk," so I would expect Mr. Soplata has had his fill of that.

Gary

amen!!! the 1st time i asked for access his wife told me to leave or she was going to shoot me!! btw..... he's got a mean dog or 2!!

[Lightjug]

Wow What a fascinating story... thanks.

[Rajay]

I spot:

B-36 fuselage
B-25
F-7
Skyraider
F-84
T-6-ish
C-119-ish fuselage
C-47 Nose
C-97 fuselage
B-52 Nose
F-86

feels like you are playing 'where's Waldo'

I have a roll or two of prints of Soplata's place that a buddy in A&P school gave me 25 years ago;

I spy:
1x F2G Super Corsair,
1x regular Corsair (others have ID'd it as a FG-1D),
2x B-25's (one of which was "Wild Cargo" & other in natural metal or silver paint with "USAF" and "708" on the nose and blue cowl rings,
1x F-86L (later version of F-86D with radar nose)
1x F-86H (marked as 179 TFG Ohio Air Guard)
1x TV-1 (USN version of P-80)
1x F7U Cutlass (BuNo. 129685)
1x AT-11 Twin Beech
1x BT-13
1x Douglas Skyraider (can't find it now, but I had one photo that showed a BuNo. that ID'd it as a XBT2D-1 pre-production "prototype",
1x F-82
1x LP-2J (P2V-7LP) Neptune (artic ops version, BuNo. 140436 - which happens to match a photo on page 516 of my old Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present, edited & compiled by John W. R. Taylor of Janes, copywrited 1969),
1x TBF (TBM?) Avenger,
1x DC-6/-7 forward fuselage/cockpit
1x KC-97 forward fuselage/cockpit
1x A-26 Invader fuselage
1x C-82 fuselage with a lean-to shed on it which in turn covers
1x F9F (Cougar or Panther?) fuselage and
1x P-47 fuselage
and finally
1x S-55 (H-19)

It's probably buried in my old photos (in shoeboxes of the ones that didn't make it into an album) but I also remember seeing a photo of an ex-RCAF Avro CF-100.

Quite a collection!

[chris hill]

Was that f-86 a trainer?

[Steve T]

Walt had at least three Sabres: the ex-Georgia ANG "Dog" (fairly complete), an ex-Ohio ANG E-model (minus outer wings and very beat-up), and an incomplete E/F series fuselage in the undergrowth by the C-82 pod. Not sure if any were ever employed as trainers. I think, though, that all three are still at Walt's.

The XAD-1 is BuNo 09103. The "F9F" is likely an F2H Banshee hulk...I've never seen a ref to a Panther/Cougar there before (though Walt does have the wreckage of a Blue Angel F11F Tiger), but there's certainly supposed to be an F2H wreck. That was one item I didn't notice when I was there back in the day. The A-26 is an exec version, N919P, and Walt has the whole airframe in pieces. It was fished out of Lake Michigan after ditching there in the 60s; the engines were recovered and Walt got the airframe. The CF-100 (which is really just a cockpit section and about 20' of centre fuselage) is Mk.5C 18775, which Walt found out about from me; it came from a scrapyard near Barrie, Ontario, in 1983.

S.

Last edited by Steve T on Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[the330thbg]

So whoever lives closest in OH.., send him a letter.., get out there and get us some updated shots please!!!

Again.., "Field of Dreams" for warbirders awaits you!!!

Just do not be tempted to walk off into the corn!

[Obergrafeter]

Ol' Walter might have all those planes, but notice not a single Stratolina in the bunch!

[Dave Lindauer]

In frame 40 of the 1987 photo set, and frame 7 of the 1993(?) flickr set, there is a blue-cowled radial engine set up on some sort of test stand. I don't recognize the cowl, at least not out of context.

Question #1 - What type airplane did it come off of?
Question #2 - When it was stand-mounted what was it used for?

[retroaviation]

In frame 40 of the 1987 photo set, and frame 7 of the 1993(?) flickr set, there is a blue-cowled radial engine set up on some sort of test stand. I don't recognize the cowl, at least not out of context.

Question #1 - What type airplane did it come off of?
Question #2 - When it was stand-mounted what was it used for?

Looks like an SBD (Dauntless) firewall forward setup to me. Additionally, it looks like it was set up to be used as a wind machine.

Could be wrong though...probably am.

Gary

[tom d. friedman]

Walt had at least three Sabres: the ex-Georgia ANG "Dog" (fairly complete), an ex-Ohio ANG E-model (minus outer wings and very beat-up), and an incomplete E/F series fuselage in the undergrowth by the C-82 pod. Not sure if any were ever employed as trainers. I think, though, that all three are still at Walt's.

The XAD-1 is BuNo 09103. The "F9F" is likely an F2H Banshee hulk...I've never seen a ref to a Panther/Cougar there before (though Walt does have the wreckage of a Blue Angel F11F Tiger), but there's certainly supposed to be an F2H wreck. That was one item I didn't notice when I was there back in the day. The A-26 is an exec version, N919P, and Walt has the whole airframe in pieces. It was fished out of Lake Michigan after ditching there in the 60s; the engines were recovered and Walt got the airframe. The CF-100 (which is really just a cockpit section and about 20' of centre fuselage) is Mk.5C 18775, which Walt found out about from me; it came from a scrapyard near Barrie, Ontario, in 1983.

no banshee present, the sabre dog is their. correct on the cf-100. the blue angels f-11 is nothing but a piece of wing that was fished out of lake erie after it crashed.

S.

[Woodsy Airfield]

Steve T - This reply is a little late. In reference to Walt's having an F9F - he doesn't, but has 2 or 3 pair of outer wing panels. The F2H remains are only the center wing section area. If he didn't tell you what it was, you'd never know. That is in fact an SBD engine on a stand. I ran across a photo of it in either a Popular Science or Mechanix magazine many years ago, showed to Walt and he was pleasantly surprised. The fuselage of the cargo aircraft is a C-82 and I recall him telling me it came from the Ravenna Arsenal. NACA probably back in the late 1940's-early '50's ran crash tests to evaluate resultant fires for furthuring aircraft safety. It would make sense that the Packet was a survivor. Someone mentioned that they identified an F-84 fuselage..I know he has an ex-Mansfield F-84F, and also the fuselage of another - whether straight wing or swept, I can't say. Leon

[Rajay]

Steve T - This reply is a little late. In reference to Walt's having an F9F - he doesn't,

Leon

I don't have a way to post the photo, but I DO have a photo that shows what I am 99.9% certain is the frame of the windshield of a Grumman F9F. It's in a pile of junk near a P-47 fuselage under a "lean-to" shelter built next to the C-82 fuselage.* It may not be anything more than the canopy, or it might be just the cockpit section. Without the wings, I couldn't say if it was from a straight-wing Panther or a swept-wing Cougar.

*I'm writing this description from memory; I don't have the actual photo in front of me at this moment, but I did look at it recently - since this thread started.

[uh1h430]

I have talked with Walter several times in the last 10 years or so. What happen to him back in the early 90s was the IRS, after all those years of collecting the airplanes (mosty from wright pat) they show up and say these airplanes are worth millions you owe us money thats why he had to sell some of them. And it effected him he hated selling them. Walter was a scrap dealer all his life which is how he got all that stuff, wonder if he ever cleaned up all the boxs of stuff he had in his house

[Steve T]

Leon--

Thanks much for the additional info (and BTW welcome to WIX!)...You're right about the Banshee, and in fact I did not note it when I was at Walt's. Wouldn't have noted the F11F smithereens either except Walt took the time to point that wreckage out...probably because he knew we were from Canada and the Tiger had crashed into Lake Ontario at the Toronto airshow.

I saw and photographed the F-84F while there, but missed what turned out to be an RF-84F Thunderflash forward fuselage, in the weeds near the H-19. Only recently did I see a photo of that.

Rajay--

That could have been part of Walt's third F-86 you saw...a totally stripped nose section, half buried in undergrowth right where you report seeing that windscreen frame (under the "C-82 carport" that had the P-47 fuselage underneath...an HSS-1 Seabat helo hulk was there too).

UH1H--

I was inside Walt's house for about half an hour during my 1982 visit. What an Aladdin's Cave. I'd probably have passed out from shock if Walt had shown us the basement; by all accounts there was half an FG-1A Corsair ('46 Thompson racer "Lucky Gallon") down there...!

S.

[Woodsy Airfield]

Rajay & Steve T.
The remains of an aircraft near P-47, HSS-1, C-82 was probably a B-57 fuselage Walt had acquired back in the 1960's. He also had the wing - but I believe he may have disposed of it as I hadn't seen it in several followup tours. He got it from Selfride AFB. The F-84 remains I've seen in past was located near back area of where B-36 sets. If the H-19 is still located up near house, Walt had a forward section of an F-105 laying in the area. I had to ask Walt one time what the aircraft was as I didn't recognize it. Its been several years since I've stopped by and memories escape me (besides Walt moves things around). It seems to me that the FG-1A was inside his garage, but not sure. I hope these inputs are useful.
I thoroughly enjoy everyones remarks.

Leon