Current P-38 projects

[Mike]

I'm trying to collate info on current P-38 restoration projects.

Westpac have several (including the former CAF 'Scatterbrain Kid II' for Paul Allen) underway - any identities known?

Murray Griffiths in Australia has the former Bruce Pruitt aircraft that Jeff Ethell was killed in, plus any others?

The wreckage of the ex-TFC 'California Cutie' went to Ezell. Was it just used as a source of spares for the Red Bull rebuild? Where is it now?

Any other active P-38 projects out there?

TIA

Mike

[Pat Carry]

Westpac has the one for Paul Allen and the other is 42-12652 recovered from New Guinea. Another potential rebuild is Kermit Weeks' P-38 but I dont think any work is being done to it at this time.

[Randune]

Maybe this is one of the same airframes mentioned, but when I visited Tom Reillys place in Kisseemee in the late 90's he had the remains of one that was salvaged from I believe Alaska. It was a giant project that was forsale then. I don't know what happened to it.

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Westpac has the one for Paul Allen and the other is 42-12652 recovered from New Guinea. Another potential rebuild is Kermit Weeks' P-38 but I dont think any work is being done to it at this time.

Hi Guys,

Yeah I visited Fantasy of Flight and got a brief tour of the Restoration Hangar, Mr. Week's does have a P-38 but it is in pieces and I mean BIG pieces, the tail booms were hacked off with a chain saw and yes, when I saw it it was not being worked. However, they were working a Seversky P-36 (?) which looked magnificent, and sitting next to it was Mr. Week's, Grumman Hellcat, which if I recall correctly was next in line after the Seversky was completed.

Paul

[Pat Carry]

Maybe this is one of the same airframes mentioned, but when I visited Tom Reillys place in Kisseemee in the late 90's he had the remains of one that was salvaged from I believe Alaska. It was a giant project that was forsale then. I don't know what happened to it.

When Tom Reilly closed his place in Kissimmee a few years back I asked here on the WIX if anyone knew just where this P-38 project went to but no one seemed to know. I assume it went to a P-38 rebuild somewhere.

[PinecastleAAF]

Maybe this is one of the same airframes mentioned, but when I visited Tom Reillys place in Kisseemee in the late 90's he had the remains of one that was salvaged from I believe Alaska. It was a giant project that was forsale then. I don't know what happened to it.

I remember that wreckage. The pieces parts had red paint on them so it was a civvy crash. iirc he said it came from a crash site in California and I seem to recall him telling me he paid 15k for it at one of the auctions in Cali. It was a huge pile of parts about 10 feet in diameter and 4 or 5 feet high. I don't think there was a piece larger than 2 or 3 feet long.

[warbird1]

Maybe this is one of the same airframes mentioned, but when I visited Tom Reillys place in Kisseemee in the late 90's he had the remains of one that was salvaged from I believe Alaska. It was a giant project that was forsale then. I don't know what happened to it.

I remember that wreckage. The pieces parts had red paint on them so it was a civvy crash. iirc he said it came from a crash site in California and I seem to recall him telling me he paid 15k for it at one of the auctions in Cali. It was a huge pile of parts about 10 feet in diameter and 4 or 5 feet high. I don't think there was a piece larger than 2 or 3 feet long.

I remember seeing that too. IIRC, that wreckage was bought from one of the old MOF auctions at SMO in the early 90's. I remember seeing it at SMO in about '91 or so and wondered whatever happened to it. I had always assumed it went to somebody's project but who's?

I think that was the wreckage of the old red P-38, "Yippee".

Can someone verify that?

[T J Johansen]

This is neither Yippee nor the ex- Le Vier N21764 (which also crashed in CA), but rather N57496 operated by Weather Modification Co. of Redlands, CA. It was in a bright red color scheme at the time of accident.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p38regis ... 53242.html

T J

[Mike]

So does anyone know where it is now?

[brucev]

nvrmind

[PinecastleAAF]

This is neither Yippee nor the ex- Le Vier N21764 (which also crashed in CA), but rather N57496 operated by Weather Modification Co. of Redlands, CA. It was in a bright red color scheme at the time of accident.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p38regis ... 53242.html

I never saw anything that substantial at Tom's place but maybe the pile I referred to earlier was just small parts.

That looks like a great project.

[PeterA]

Wangarratta March 2006,















PeterA

[Jesse C.]

Hey! Isn't that "Japanese Sandman II"? Now that is a project!!

[warbird1]

This is neither Yippee nor the ex- Le Vier N21764 (which also crashed in CA), but rather N57496 operated by Weather Modification Co. of Redlands, CA. It was in a bright red color scheme at the time of accident.

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p38regis ... 53242.html

I never saw anything that substantial at Tom's place but maybe the pile I referred to earlier was just small parts.

That looks like a great project.

I never saw anything that substantial either at the MOF auction in about '91. The pile I saw had no part bigger than maybe 1 foot across and it was distinctly red. It looked nothing like the above pictures. Maybe we're talking about two different aircraft?