Dragon in the Bayou

[airnutz]

According to wikipedia-

On display
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0036 is on display at the McChord Air Museum in McChord AFB, Washington.
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0045 is on display at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California.
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0051 is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

Mostly complete (Crash sites, etc.)
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-052 is a largely complete wreck at Loon Lake, Idaho.

Under restoration
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0033 is under restoration to airworthiness by Pissed Away N747M LLC in Bellevue, Washington.
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0037 is under restoration at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0038 is under restoration at the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group in Geneseo, New York.
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0046 is under restoration to airworthiness by E. M. Luke in Franklin, Louisiana.
B-23 Dragon, s/n 39-0057 is under restoration to airworthiness by Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida.

As mentioned on the previous page N777LW, 39-063 is not listed. Also not listed on Wiki is the UC-67 configured as an airliner on outdoor display at Quito, Ecuador. Formerly registered HC-APV is marked as TH-344 and is 39-031 (Cn/2717) here...more recent photos available if googled..
http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1262011/

I'm not certain if all the surviving B-23s are accounted for. Is N53253 really based in Louisiana, or is it just represented there on paper?

Probably just still existing in the registration, but there's always hope...

Edit, repaired link.

[cooper9411]

Somebody in the Bayou area should play detective and try to find out if in fact it is still around

[Rocketeer]

Photos of s/n 39-0046 will be highly appreciated!

Thanks goes to WallyB for this awesome vintage photo:

[/quote]

[The Inspector]

So, I GOOGLE EARTH Patterson, LA. and the only clouds within 350 square miles are right over the airport as the satellite went over

[cooper9411]

Go figure, it's the same with Atka Isalnd

[The Inspector]

WHAT!! They grow rice on Atka too?

[WallyB]

Thanks goes to WallyB for this awesome vintage photo:

Thank Mr. Google and whoever the anonymous photog. was.

[Rocketeer]

From a historical standpoint, what type of interior would y'all fellow warbird connoisseurs prefer: executive or military?

[cooper9411]

Military all the way!

[airnutz]

You never know where and when a Dragon Lady will pop up.
check this out........................



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12BHd7QZnRA

(at the 0:12 second mark?)

OOOOPS

Last edited by airnutz on Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

[wingman1]

You never know where and when a Dragon Lady will pop up.
check this out........................



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12BHd7QZnRA

(at the 0:12 second mark?)

That was pretty neat, an optimist might conclude N747M had a nice hop from Ione Calif. to Bellevue, Wa. in the past year or so. Would like to have seen that sight!!! Nice to see she's with an outfit that flys their warbrds.

yea that was kool, Dragon Lady and a Me-262 in one shot.

not sure if the Lady flies or not, i am sure someone here would have said something about it before now if it does.

[The Inspector]

The airport that was in Bellevue closed over 35 years ago (a fun place to fly in and out of as it was on a hill, it was the first home of now gone ROBERTSON STOL) and now grows office buildings. The nearest local airports woud be Renton Muni (no big hangers so it would stick out like a beacon in a dark basement) Cedar Crest south and East of Kent, a private fly-in housing community, Thun Field on Puyallups South Hill (Pew-al-up, now you speak Salish dialect), KPAE, not likely as no available large hangers, plus everyone on the field would know, Harvey in Snohomish is too short and has no hangerage.and not @ KBFI. So I'l bet it's still in Ephrata where its dry, cheap, and away from prying eyes as getting there is a bit of a road journey.

My 83 year old buddy who lives in Upstate New York (and is finishing a two bay garage/shop he's building) worked on the conversions of the 'GASCO' Dragons, including N 53253 and the two CANCO Martin B-26's in the late 40's/early 50's in L.A. Later he ran airside maintenance @ SIS-Q on the Tigercats, this past Fall when he came out to visit, I took him over to Historic Flight Foundation on KPAE so he could reaquaint himself with the F7F, he immediately started looking in wheel wells, and other places and showing and telling the maintenance folks how this was converted, how that system was improved, and on and on, he was like a kid in WE-BE-TOYS -N-STUFF with a $100 dollar bill.

[airnutz]

The airport that was in Bellevue closed over 35 years ago

My bad Herr Inspector, I don't know the neighborhood.

Last edited by airnutz on Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

[airnutz]

You never know where and when a Dragon Lady will pop up.
check this out........................



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12BHd7QZnRA

(at the 0:12 second mark?)

yea that was kool, Dragon Lady and a Me-262 in one shot.

not sure if the Lady flies or not, i am sure someone here would have said something about it before now if it does.

OOOOOOOPS!

Last edited by airnutz on Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

[wingman1]

i take it we have a confermed id on the Dragon in the background of the video?