Tue May 17, 2005 9:12 am
Thats sounds like the Tigercat that was listed on Barnstormers about a year ago. It sounded like a good start on a flying project. The add said that it had burned and one nacelle was damaged IIRC.
Tue May 17, 2005 10:26 am
Yes Phil got it right. Actually, the CAF guy lives on the coast west of Chico. Just a stones throw from Chico. I believe the plane was bought, and went to Carson City NV. Then up for sale again.
speaking of Tigercats
Tue May 17, 2005 10:35 am
about a month ago,I was stumbling around the planes of fame museum in chino and checked out a tigercat that they have sitting on the tarmac.it is marked as a marine bird and was apparently never a water bomber.the plane is complete but has obviously sat outside for many years.as I crawled around it looking into various openings and cowlings it became very clear to me what an enormous amount of work and money would be needed to make her airworthy again.and this was a plane that is complete and apparently in fairly good condition.I can only imagine what it would cost to rebuild one in pieces,WOW!. 
Re: speaking of Tigercats
Tue May 17, 2005 10:57 am
agent86 wrote:about a month ago,I was stumbling around the planes of fame museum in chino and checked out a tigercat that they have sitting on the tarmac.it is marked as a marine bird and was apparently never a water bomber.the plane is complete but has obviously sat outside for many years.
Here are some visuals...
http://community.webshots.com/photo/268 ... 3220unbCrv
http://community.webshots.com/photo/268 ... 3280NwAEXj
http://community.webshots.com/photo/298 ... 6020oTziYa
http://community.webshots.com/photo/298 ... 6041WxAHrW
Mike
Chico Tigercat
Tue May 17, 2005 11:41 am
I remember the guy who had the F7F had a beautiful red Stinson Voyager which he was kind enough to let me enjoy. Wonderful aeroplane, a real aeronautical carriage.
Phil
Phil
Tue May 17, 2005 12:50 pm
A friend who was a Bearcat owner told me the story of a friend of his who was searching for an F8F some years ago. The search finally took him a person who admitted to having bought a Bearcat years previously. He kept is as a plaything for his kids, but after years of sitting outside it became derelict. He then feared for being sued should any kid get injuried while playing on it, and had it scrapped! As I remember it, he even produced photos of it sitting in his yard.
So, I guess my answer would be; yes, I do believe that there are stuff still out there. Does that mean that there are dozens of pristine fighters located in barns around the US, no, probarbly not. But I think that you can stumble upon the odd a/c here and there. Not always a complete plane and as in the case of the F7F mentioned here, but in a country as vast as the US I'm sure you can find a treasure still!
Scenario 1: Lets say you bought a couple of fighters in the late 50's with the intent to sell them off (with great profit) to a foreign air force who still used them. Then the FBI starts to roam around as sales to said country is not sanctioned, and some a/c are actually confiscated. You obviously decide to keep a low profile, and store the beasts in a barn nearby. As years go by you don't pay much attention to them but keep them in the barn together with an old farm tractor, a plough, and a couple of old beat up cars, as "they don't do any harm sitting there"!
Scenario 2: Your uncle bought a P-51D in 1948 since he had missed out on flying it during WWII. After being surplussed he took it to his farm strip where he built up hours flying his Cub. One day he crashes fatally while on his way home in bad weather. Your aunt then have the 51 disassembled and put in the barn, where it is stored. You remember the P-51 sitting outside the farm before your uncle's death, and want that shiny plane more than anything else. Eventually, in the 1960s you get enough money and manages to convince your aunt to sell the now derelict plane to you, and intend to restore it in her barn. But now you become a father and don't have the time nor money to do anything with it, so it stays in the barn. And it still sits there...!
T J
So, I guess my answer would be; yes, I do believe that there are stuff still out there. Does that mean that there are dozens of pristine fighters located in barns around the US, no, probarbly not. But I think that you can stumble upon the odd a/c here and there. Not always a complete plane and as in the case of the F7F mentioned here, but in a country as vast as the US I'm sure you can find a treasure still!
AirJimL2 wrote:IMO no one could keep a collection like that hidden. Even planes that aren’t seen much are listed on the Registry, with the WW bibles, etc.
Opinions?
Jim
Scenario 1: Lets say you bought a couple of fighters in the late 50's with the intent to sell them off (with great profit) to a foreign air force who still used them. Then the FBI starts to roam around as sales to said country is not sanctioned, and some a/c are actually confiscated. You obviously decide to keep a low profile, and store the beasts in a barn nearby. As years go by you don't pay much attention to them but keep them in the barn together with an old farm tractor, a plough, and a couple of old beat up cars, as "they don't do any harm sitting there"!
Scenario 2: Your uncle bought a P-51D in 1948 since he had missed out on flying it during WWII. After being surplussed he took it to his farm strip where he built up hours flying his Cub. One day he crashes fatally while on his way home in bad weather. Your aunt then have the 51 disassembled and put in the barn, where it is stored. You remember the P-51 sitting outside the farm before your uncle's death, and want that shiny plane more than anything else. Eventually, in the 1960s you get enough money and manages to convince your aunt to sell the now derelict plane to you, and intend to restore it in her barn. But now you become a father and don't have the time nor money to do anything with it, so it stays in the barn. And it still sits there...!
T J
Tue May 17, 2005 12:56 pm
Yes TJ, those are good examples. It's still hard to find these planes, because there are many many barns all over the U.S. I think a practical way to do it is to ask relatives who live in faming communities, or to actually dig up receipts from the original sellers.
Lost Planes
Tue May 17, 2005 4:32 pm
Funny that this subject should come up. Just yesterday morning, one of my fellow students asked the instructor if he knew about the old planes down the road in a field. The instructor did not, and I asked the student to describe them. Clearly military, and probably large transport. I asked him how far away, and he said about five minutes. At break, we took a drive and sure enough, remnants of 4+ C-47's in a field, not visible from the highway, but quite out in the open. Not WW 2 as they have USAF markings, and they have all been heavily scavanged, but it shows the stuff is out there.
The F-7-F that Phil and Chris agree upon was covered in Air Crashes or Warbirds a couple of years ago, complete with photo.
The F-7-F that Phil and Chris agree upon was covered in Air Crashes or Warbirds a couple of years ago, complete with photo.
Tue May 17, 2005 7:23 pm
Just got back from the Naval Symposium in Pensacola last week. I spent 2 days with many of the pilots that are in our documentary "The Corsair Experience" One of them has inquired about hiring us as a film crew to document the recovery of a F4U-4 he is planning which currently resides above 10,000 feet in CA. We spoke at length with the pilot who flew lead with the guy who bellied it in. Dunno if it is still there or not but definately fun to dream about.
Tue May 17, 2005 7:55 pm
Mike wrote:
I thought this was the one recovered from the Sierras, and the helo crashed in the process?
recovery of a F4U-4 he is planning which currently resides above 10,000 feet in CA.
I thought this was the one recovered from the Sierras, and the helo crashed in the process?
Tue May 17, 2005 10:12 pm
HI,
Many years ago I was in an Explorer Post sponsored by the late Dean and Andy Ortner. Early in the morning before one of our plane wash days (like a car was) I was offered the chance to fly from Hopkins to their home field and back again. I remember a row of engineless olive drab transport planes (C46's?) that they had bouht for the engines. I often wondered what happened to them.
Rick H. I believe that the town was Nepoleon (sp?), Ohio for the Corsair. I remember reading about it in an Air Classics magazine and trying to find it.
TTFN....Kenn
Many years ago I was in an Explorer Post sponsored by the late Dean and Andy Ortner. Early in the morning before one of our plane wash days (like a car was) I was offered the chance to fly from Hopkins to their home field and back again. I remember a row of engineless olive drab transport planes (C46's?) that they had bouht for the engines. I often wondered what happened to them.
Rick H. I believe that the town was Nepoleon (sp?), Ohio for the Corsair. I remember reading about it in an Air Classics magazine and trying to find it.
TTFN....Kenn
Tue May 17, 2005 11:57 pm
it's wakeman ohio where the ortner airport was located. i wrote the 2 part article in air classics magazine, i live in wakeman, ohio. pm me & i'll give you any details you wish. the article was in 4/02 & 5/02 issues. thanks, tom
Wed May 18, 2005 5:51 am
HarvardIV wrote:
I thought this was the one recovered from the Sierras, and the helo crashed in the process?
Anyone have any more details on this? Where and when it happened? I would like to see if we are talking about the same area.
Thanks!
Wed May 18, 2005 6:54 am
I bet Steve T. and I could think of a large twin-engined WWII era aircraft in storage in Ontario. It has been in private storage ever since it's military retirement in the 1960s, complete with the stenciling and original paint. It will be a star someday on the airshow circuit if it is ever sold.
Mike
Mike
Wed May 18, 2005 7:01 am
Col. Rohr wrote:Hmmmm could that be a certain PBY
Maybe...
Not exactly in a barn, but I think the hanger qualifies!
Mike