JohnTerrell wrote:
Well the Hamilton was re-sold not that long ago, via RARE Aircraft (this being the second time it has sold since 2010). Part of the deal of the sale was that the floats (which are original to the airframe) would be included in the sale, so even though the aircraft is currently on wheels, they should still be easily at hand to be installed if the current owner desires to do so.
When the aircraft was originally built and delivered in the 1920's, it was fitted with Edo 6400 floats and served with Provincial Air Service in Canada. When it was rescued out of a junkyard in Alaska in the early 1950's, where it had eventually ended up, and then later restored by Jack Lysdale in Minnesota, it was restored, to exacting detail, to match one of the original Northwest Airways Hamilton Metalplane airliners - as it remained from the late 70's, when it was completed, until the Lysdales sold it in 2010 to Howard Wright. Wright took the original Hornet engine off and put a R-1340 on it, and there have been some other changes made to make it a more practical flyer (such as the modern Cleveland wheels/brakes, when it's not on floats). Wright was able to find the Edo floats, original to the airframe, still in Alaska, and had them restored and refitted to the aircraft, for which it flew on for a while in Seattle in recent years.
As I mentioned, the aircraft has more recently been re-sold, according to the RARE Aircraft website, and has been photographed (currently back on wheels) at the WAAAM in Oregon.
The same aircraft, as it looked when in operation on the floats in Canada in the late 20's/early 30's era (there is also a photo of it operating on skis in the winter):
The aircraft is now owned by and on display at the
Historic Flight Foundation at its new home on Felts Field, Spokane Washington.
https://historicflight.org/h-47-metalplane/The sale was finalized a few months back, the aircraft has been flown a few times and recently underwent an annual in preparation for this year's (hopefull) flying/display season. The floats were included in the purchase, they are in secure storage.
In talking to the previous owner (who apparently had If after it was on floats) and his mechanic, it was thought that extended water operations would be too hard on the airframe.
And concerning the comment regarding the current wheel/tire combination, I'd point out that large wheels for pre-war aircraft are very rare and often require newly built units.
For one project, a friend needed large wheels which were seemingly extinct, the tooling cost was extremely high...luckily other restorers needed similar units, this the cost was shared and the unit price dropped from obscene to merely very expensive. So that rarity and cost, and desire for modern brakes (a sensible safety item), often dictate a divergence from stock.
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