New Home for Hendrickson Skyraider

[mustangdriver]

Hey may have grounds for a lawsuit, but not against US Customs or the Navy, but against those involved with the importation.

[CoastieJohn]

Hey may have grounds for a lawsuit, but not against US Customs or the Navy, but against those involved with the importation.

I don't think the govt is not necessarily immune from this. If they overzealously treated this case diffrently from other cases with similar circumstances and precident, then we may be getting into equal protection issues. Why did the govt do what they did when (if) they treated other similar cases differently? Who in the govt decided to go this route? I suspect we would need to see what injunctions maybe filed against the govt as (or if) the legal side proceeds to the next level. Still need to take a look at the Congressional side if that is still active. I could be all wet on this but I don't think it's over just yet.

BTW....back in the 80's I used to live in Mobile. The wife worked at the Battleship Park area. Rode out a few hurricanes down there. Good seafood and BBQ down that way!!!

[mustangdriver]

Well that maybe, but I don't think that is the case. I hate to see her parked. I mean anytime a flying warbird gets parked it sucks. That said, We can't put the blame for this one on the government, the NMNA, or Owen and the USS Alabama who is going to give it a safe home.

[Chappie]

Keep'em Flying.


Chappie

[EDowning]

So the airplane went to the museum, but what happened to the spares. There was a great deal of spares tha were purchased with the airplane, many of which that are difficult to find (props, prop governors etc.), where are they now?

[PinecastleAAF]

So the airplane went to the museum, but what happened to the spares. There was a great deal of spares tha were purchased with the airplane, many of which that are difficult to find (props, prop governors etc.), where are they now?

I'd venture a guess the stuff was scrapped.

[Wildchild]

Couldn't the Navy let CAF take care of the airplane? Its still flyable, the CAF is a big muesum, and it was in flyable condition.

Did i miss something here...???

[Iclo]

Don't know for the Navy, but the last time the USAF and the CAF had a deal to let the CAF take care of a plane, that ended very bad with the XP-82 Twin Mustang.

So, I suppose there is no way the Navy will let the CAF fly the plane...

[hang the expense]

Ok gang, let me rip the scab off of this one.What is the story behind the gubmint nuttin up over this bird?Details man,details.

[oscardeuce]

Ok gang, let me rip the scab off of this one.What is the story behind the gubmint nuttin up over this bird?Details man,details.

Well since May 1986 no full auto guns are allowed to be imported for civilian use.

Importing a tactical aircraft involves jumping through some big and little hoops.
I will add my opinion.
It seems the cannons were the match that lit this fuse. Without them being kind of hidden in the parts, I think the customs and other things for the importation of the aircraft would have been worked out. Owning NFA firearms brings quite a bit of oversight, trying to illegally import them usually is good for a lighter wallet and a stay with club fed. I am not sure if the owner meant to try to illegally import the firearms, but if he did, losing the plane was the best thing that could have happened to him.

[Wildchild]

I wonder if the frenchman who owned the plane before him did it and never told him, and he figured that it wouldn't be such a big deal. If that's the case, then this happened completely on accident due to someone not understanding American laws.

[oscardeuce]

I wonder if the frenchman who owned the plane before him did it and never told him, and he figured that it wouldn't be such a big deal. If that's the case, then this happened completely on accident due to someone not understanding American laws.

Not sure. I assume French law is much more restrictive on machine gun ownership. As far as I know the USA is the only country that allows civilians to legally own and operate live full auto machine guns I wondered how the French owner got away with it. The guns are 100% illegal in the USA for civilians to own. I will not go into my 2nd Amendment tirade. Machine guns are addicting please do not fire one unless you understand the consequences

The only way around this was if the guns were classified as destructive devices rather than machine guns. I am not sure if this could be done.

[Mike Halbrook]

The guns may have been part and parcel of the messed up importation. You can, (many times) import them if the receiver is removed or destroyed. Usually a non functional one is then substituted. A number of years ago a guy got grief over a Scud missile he imported, it wasn't de-milled. He looked at the first missile, it was properly de-milled, it came in no problem, he asked about the second and was told it had been de-milled as well. Well, it had not been touched.

[happymeal]

I wonder if the frenchman who owned the plane before him did it and never told him, and he figured that it wouldn't be such a big deal. If that's the case, then this happened completely on accident due to someone not understanding American laws.

Do you really thinks everybody except Americans are dummies ?
Does it make sense that a buyer is responsible for what he buys ? Here, it is not the french seller who exported the plane to the USA, it is the American buyer who imported it into the USA. he should have enquired about the laws of his country, or hired somebody who really knew what he was doing.

[Wildchild]

No, I don't, but who do you think took apart the plane? Mr Hendrickson himself or someone elts? And was the airplane shipped over here or flown here?

Like I said, French shipping law may be different from American shipping law. Especially with firearms.