Paul Allen's ME-109 flies!

[Curtis Block]

I've looked through my photos and unfortunately can't find any detail shots. IIRC all of the original stenciling is there. I'm not sure why there is no national insignia or anti glare panel. I also noticed there is no stencil stating the usual USAAF info under the cockpit. Maybe there is some one here who would have more info on late war, factory fresh aircraft. The aircraft was restored by WestPac, and has flown in this state for the last two plus years.







I know the Mustang was in bare metal for a while as research was conducted to determine the exact markings it had during WWII.









All of these photos were taken at the Arlington Fly in last year.

Don't take my word on this subject as gospel. But is my opinion Mr. Allen has possibly taken the bar for aircraft preservation to its highest rung.

[warbird1]

I believe the flying ones include:

..........2) The CAF's Hispano

Now on the way to the UK. Rumour has it that the Kindsvoter one may also be following it.

Thanks for the info, Mike. I had forgotten that the CAF example had sold. From the statement above, do you mean that both examples are going to the same owner/organization or both are just going to the U.K.?

[warbird1]

why does it seem these aircraft are a little hidden from the mainstream warbird world. I never knew about these two aircraft until now.

Because they were more or less "hidden". For years, Paul Allen amassed an amazing collection in cloak and dagger fashion. Many of the restorers/mechanics were required to sign statements of non-disclosure requiring them to remain secret about the aircraft restorations and who they were for. Paul Allen apparently wanted to remain quiet about his collection until a time of his own choosing when he was ready to release it to the world. Mr. Allen's museum, FHC, only went "public" just a few years ago. So, everything concerning his aircraft was hidden for a long time. I know for a fact, that Mr. Allen has many more aircraft than the "publicly acknowledged" list of airplanes that FHC has on it's website. Some of the rumors of airplanes that he has would astound even the most casual warbird affacionado. From what I hear, there are a lot of amazing things to come in the future!

Does the F6F fly? ...

It depends on what you mean. The Hellcat is in a restored, more or less "airworthy" state, even though it cannot legally fly according to the FAA. I don't believe the Hellcat has flown since Mr. Allen has obtained it.

[warbird1]

Speaking of Thunderbolts, what's the status of the one that was raised out of the Austrian lake?

Last I heard, according to bdk, it is still out at Chino, in storage awaiting restoration until the owner decides to restore it.

[warbird1]

Don't take my word on this subject as gospel. But is my opinion Mr. Allen has possibly taken the bar for aircraft preservation to its highest rung.

I've heard that when Mr. Allen gets his aircraft restored they are rebuilt to such exacting specifications/originality as to make it indisguishable from the original. An example I've heard, is that when the P-51 was rebuilt, he had the restorers use the exact same kind of wiring, with each wire hand stamped with the exact code/markings as when it left the NAA factory.

It is public knowledge that Mr. Allen is having several of his already restored aircraft that he bought "re-restored" because they are not authentic enough. The P-40C, Oscar, and B-17 are examples of this. Each aircraft will be having a second restoration to bring them up to FHC standards.

Yes, the bar is set extremely high now!

[The Inspector]

Why is everyone in such a big rush to see the JUG painted? Do you think you'll never see it with a coat of paint? EPOPS was nekked for quite a while as the FHC found the true history of THAT airframe and found the original pilot and had him confirm every detail he could remember about the aircraft, then it got it's markings.
Everyone bitches about 'wrong shade of purple' 'the wavey line should be .0000045 lower or higher, and it should wave the other way' on other restorations. Relish this big S.O.B. in it's as born configuration not owing anything to anyone yet and do what I do when I see it fly, compare it to a race horse running without a saddle.
Seeing her bare metal is like watching the first runs of a dragster, you know the owner will do it right, so just dig the essence of the machine, in fact I'd be happy if they never painted it, just buffed it out.
How do you like me now?

[JägerMarty]

Speaking of Thunderbolts, what's the status of the one that was raised out of the Austrian lake?

Last I heard, according to bdk, it is still out at Chino, in storage awaiting restoration until the owner decides to restore it.

Thanks mate

[Jerry O'Neill]

Why is everyone in such a big rush to see the JUG painted? Do you think you'll never see it with a coat of paint? EPOPS was nekked for quite a while as the FHC found the true history of THAT airframe and found the original pilot and had him confirm every detail he could remember about the aircraft, then it got it's markings.
Everyone bitches about 'wrong shade of purple' 'the wavey line should be .0000045 lower or higher, and it should wave the other way' on other restorations. Relish this big S.O.B. in it's as born configuration not owing anything to anyone yet and do what I do when I see it fly, compare it to a race horse running without a saddle.
Seeing her bare metal is like watching the first runs of a dragster, you know the owner will do it right, so just dig the essence of the machine, in fact I'd be happy if they never painted it, just buffed it out.
How do you like me now?

Well said!
It's not often we get to see that aircraft as it was built, the way the designers planned it. I'm glad it's not painted yet and I hope some one with great photography skills shoots it, not only in the air, but on the ground as well. It's the perfect time to capture the image of a newborn "Jug".
Jerry

[Sasquatch]

[quote="The Inspector"]Why is everyone in such a big rush to see the JUG painted? Do you think you'll never see it with a coat of paint? EPOPS was nekked for quite a while as the FHC found the true history of THAT airframe and found the original pilot and had him confirm every detail he could remember about the aircraft, then it got it's markings. etc. etc. quote]

I too have to agree with The Inspector. I've had two opportunities to tour the FHC collection in Arlington. On one occasion, I was the only visitor that day and the docent (whose name I regretfully can't recall at the moment) was fabulous, and spent hours with me showing me seemingly hundreds of fascinating details about the planes. For instance, one of those details is visible in the third photo from the top, above. Notice the left-hand landing gear door--there's a burn on the door from the exhaust stack plume. Now, if you could see the right-hand landing gear door, you would not see that burn...that door is clean. The docent told me it was due to the pattern and direction of rotation of the prop wash flow that caused the exhaust on one side to impinge on one gear door and not the other. Now how many of you have painted that landing gear door burn on your scale P-47 models?! My point being, you probably would not have noticed that burn had the airplane been painted (okay, maybe some of you professional rivet counters would have ). So enjoy the nekid P-47 and these sorts of visible details while you can. The same docent also told me that Paul Allen has not decided yet what paint livery to put on the plane. He said Allen usually liked to paint the plane in it's original service scheme, but that sometimes could be problematic. For instance, the P-40 flew in Russia, not with the US. So to be accurate, it would be painted in rooskie service colors...but is that what he really wants to do with such a rare bird?! So until he can decide, the plane remains in it's temporary Flying Tigers paint. Personally, I admire such dedication to operational fidelity. Though I must admit, I'd rather see the plane in some form of US colors (gee...can you tell I still have a bone to pick with my cold war service time enemy...the rooskies?! ).

By the way, another great guy and docent at FHC is Art Unruh, who is featured in this local newspaper article:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... es01n.html

--Tom

[Kaigun Fan]

Hello,

I put my bet that they have a really nice Type 97 "Kate" and possibly a Sauin "Myrt" in their "mystery" collection. I have seen some incredible pictures of both of these aircraft but nobody can confirm if they are owned by Paul Allen or not.

The below Myrt (Sauin) doesn't look good in the pictures but it is really a SUPERB a/c. I have old pictures somewhere on my PC.

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/c6n/moen.html

Both of the above IJN a/c are very complete and quite clean, especially remarkable since they are Pacific recoveries.

Regards,

Ron W.

[bdk]

Speaking of Thunderbolts, what's the status of the one that was raised out of the Austrian lake?

Last I heard, according to bdk, it is still out at Chino, in storage awaiting restoration until the owner decides to restore it.

Here is their website:

http://www.dottiemaep-47.com/

[gary1954]

Does anyone have the Civil Registration Number for the NMF P-47??

Why is everyone in such a big rush to see the JUG painted? Do you think you'll never see it with a coat of paint? EPOPS was nekked for quite a while as the FHC found the true history of THAT airframe and found the original pilot and had him confirm every detail he could remember about the aircraft, then it got it's markings.
Everyone bitches about 'wrong shade of purple' 'the wavey line should be .0000045 lower or higher, and it should wave the other way' on other restorations. Relish this big S.O.B. in it's as born configuration not owing anything to anyone yet and do what I do when I see it fly, compare it to a race horse running without a saddle.
Seeing her bare metal is like watching the first runs of a dragster, you know the owner will do it right, so just dig the essence of the machine, in fact I'd be happy if they never painted it, just buffed it out.
How do you like me now?

Who's in a hurry? .... I'm just wondering that's all, that's why we're here on this crazy website. I haven't read any b*tching yet, just people wondering. It's Paul Allan's airplane ... he can paint it pink if he wants.

[gary1954]

okayyyy lets pull back off the throttle

[Warbirdnerd]

Does anyone have the Civil Registration Number for the NMF P-47??

Me thinks it is N7159Z