Warbird Information Exchange

I came across this full page article in the lifestyle section of my local paper this past Sunday, January 15th. It's titled: Restoring WWII Combat Glider, 'A tribute to community'.

The article showcases a 63 year old pilot from Wausau, WI who is restoring a Waco CG-4A "Hadrian" glider along with some friends from local EAA chapters. Apparently the glider never saw combat and was built in a Ford production plant in Kingsford, MI. The article states that when the war ended, the Ford plant was still in the midst of production, and as the plant refitted to build cars once again, officials sold the surplus planes. Many of the planes were shipped in large wooden boxes, and many people bid for the planes to get the shipping crates which contained enough wood to nearly build a small home.

The glider was taken by a local man who dragged it into the woods and used it as a hunting shack. Sometime in the 1990's it was donated to a historical museum in the U.P. of Michigan. Once restored, the plane will end up in Iron Mountain, Michigan (upper peninsula) as an exhibit for the Menominee Range Historical Foundation.

I'm not used to posting the URL thread, but you can find the article at:

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com (go to lifestyle section, archived section)

Very interesting article, especially considering the fact that there's only 7 known restored gliders in the world.

John

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

This is one on display at the Warhawk Air Museum that was found converted into a trailer house.

There is a website about one Waco glider being restored in Michigan as well -

http://www.fightingfalcon.com/