Warbird collector passes on

[BCA]

Has anyone seen this?

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Ontario-man-le ... 04061.html

Looks like he had quite a collection. The only privately owned F111 in the US and a MiG 23 Flogger among others. I'd love to see the MiG 23 fly!

[jbell]

"He who dies with the most toys ,wins", ..........Thanks for the link.

[wendovertom]

Wow, he had quite a collection - my Dad had been talking with Merle about bearings and brakes for Sabres right around the February . . .

Tom P.

[yakdriver]

Merl was a really nice guy. He learned to fly in his T-28A and flew it for years on a student certificate. I don't think he ever got his PPL. Don

[gary1954]

hmmmm....some of the collection will be sold off, and several have been donated to charities.
I wonder which charities got what.....
Who will wind up with the F111?
What will become of the Tigercat?

[wendovertom]

Last I saw, the F-111 was an airframe only - no engines; and the tigercat was on its way to being restored to flyable - anyone know more about that?

Tom P.

[bdk]

Yanks has an F-111... I hope the F5D goes to a private home.

[JohnB]

With its NASA history, I wonder if Neil Armstrong flew the F5D?
If so, it might be of more interest to a museum somewhere. Otherwise, it's an oddity...a modified example of a unsuccessful prototype.

From his website it looks like he has 3 Sabres...and his Vampire is a Sea Vampire or Venom.

[wendovertom]

The Skylancer could be made into a flyer as far as I know; but I could be wrong. Niel Armstrong's F5D is on display in Ohio I think. Nothing that realllllly deep pockets and a will to make it happen couldn't do!

Is the the Blue Angels scheme A-4 still up there?

Also, someone here probably knows better than I do, it was my understanding that Merle was restoring the F-104 back to flyable status. The odd thing is that the runway there is not long enough for it.

Tom P.

[JohnB]

The Skylancer could be made into a flyer as far as I know....
Tom P.

Even with the modified wing?

[Mike Halbrook]

I posted about Merle's F-104 the end of last month.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=49471

I've been into the aircraft since then. While it is in very good condition, no one has been into any of the panels since it was painted blue, presumably in the 1990's when it belonged to Northern Lights.
There are still a lot of aircraft there, mostly jets in condition from very good to terrible.
What I heard is there will be an auction sometime in the future.

[bdk]

ESTATE OF MERLE MAINE • AVIATION AUCTION • Saturday ~ August 17th, 2013 * ESTATE OF MERLE MAINE * Ontario Municipal Airport Ontario, Oregon * Auction to Include: Grumman F7F-3 Tiger Cat-95% Totally Restored * North American T-28A-* Aero Vodochody L-39C Albatross * Lockheed T-33A-* DeHavilland Vampire Mark 35 DH-115-* Grumman S2F-2 Tracke * Mikoyan MIG-17-Fairly Complete * MIG-23-Complete * Vought A7-D Corsair * Douglas F5D Skylancer * McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk II * 2-Lockheed T-33A’s-* Several Engine Cores to Include J-65’s, J-47’s, J-35’s, Ghost & Goblin * Lg Selection of Vampire & Sea Venom Parts, Selection of Military Jet Parts • VISIT MY WEBSITE • Contact Steve Starman - STARMAN BROS. AUCTION CO. located Papillion, NE USA • Telephone: 402- 592-1933 . • Posted July 8, 2013

http://www.barnstormers.com/ad_detail.php?ID=796572

[Flying Pencil]

ESTATE OF MERLE MAINE • AVIATION AUCTION • Saturday ~ August 17th, 2013 * ESTATE OF MERLE MAINE * Ontario Municipal Airport Ontario, Oregon * Auction to Include: Grumman F7F-3 Tiger Cat-95% Totally Restored * North American T-28A-* Aero Vodochody L-39C Albatross * Lockheed T-33A-* DeHavilland Vampire Mark 35 DH-115-* Grumman S2F-2 Tracke * Mikoyan MIG-17-Fairly Complete * MIG-23-Complete * Vought A7-D Corsair * Douglas F5D Skylancer * McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk II * 2-Lockheed T-33A’s-* Several Engine Cores to Include J-65’s, J-47’s, J-35’s, Ghost & Goblin * Lg Selection of Vampire & Sea Venom Parts, Selection of Military Jet Parts • VISIT MY WEBSITE • Contact Steve Starman - STARMAN BROS. AUCTION CO. located Papillion, NE USA • Telephone: 402- 592-1933 . • Posted July 8, 2013

http://www.barnstormers.com/ad_detail.php?ID=796572

===Runs to buy a ton of Lotto tickets==

[bigapplebird]

what a character