I really don't get what's hard about it.
You certainly could campaign your CAP aircraft as a warbird - probably smarter as a 'warbug', definitely as a vintage aircraft, and a neat thing to see.
However if you've got an aircraft
currently being used to patrol the US borders, it ain't a warbird (yet).
And - I'm not talking about people flying stuff for a
job which is vintage with guns. The COIN Piper Enforce was (strictly speaking) not a warbird when tendering for the USAF contract; subsequently, if we had one flying in private hands, it would be a warbird - IMHO, of course.
Perhaps part of the problem is that many on WIX use a wider, loser definition of warbird than the one used by those who have some stake in the term. Many here include current military or military aircraft that haven't been active since retirement as warbirds as well. That's fine, if you want, we all find some of those of of some interest here (include me out in the 'Space Shuttle warbird' group - fine to note its military missions, but it's yet to fly for recreation...) but it's not part of the definition of you are working in a warbird restoration shop, or for a warbird magazine, say.
jmkendall wrote:
I'll just simply say that for some purist a restoration is flawed if the weapons are not installed and/or don't work.
They can be as 'purist' as they like, but they're probably going to run into the law if they do that and are known to have. Be interested if anyone's flying (or has flown, recently) a warbird with fully-working guns
legally.
Think we can leave out Rich's fully firing Mustang-fitted NERF guns...
The 'purest' restorations are in national level collections. I volunteer in one, and the guns and ordinance is static, deactivated, and publicly marked as such, as well as secured. The real purists know when to stop.
Quote:
I had read, and would love to be corrected if wrong, that at one time Tallichets B-17 had a working bomb bay and bomb sight.
Unless you've your own supply of 500 lb bombs that again is moot.
There are numerous warbirds with working this that or the other, many with working bomb-bay doors, gunsights, tail warning radars etc. Getting working bomb racks set up wouldn't be that hard. (Some, I believe, have them. The Collings B-24 does and B-17 will do.) We can think of bombers dropping melons at airshows, or, again, Collings Bomber Camp with dropping inert bombs on private land, using a working bombsight (and a fully working Taigh...) Dropping live ordinance without prior arrangement and agreement? You're either a member of the black helicopter team, or hoping to meet them...
Just to finish on why it's worth getting the definition right. Many years ago when I was working for
Warbirds Worldwide, a female friend who didn't know me very well looked lemon-sucky at me when I'd told here what I did after she had asked. After a while I was able to establish that I wrote about old aircraft that were still flying that
used to bomb and shoot people: which was all OK. The problem had been she'd thought it was a magazine for those nice young ladies with the camou bikinis firing machine guns...
Regards,
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