F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Mon Mar 16, 2015 6:28 pm
I was looking through 1970s issues of Air Classics for old displayed/derelict jets; figured I'd try to find where they are now. First up:
Credited to "D. Burnell", the caption reads: "Republic F-84F 'FS-426' is sitting in a junk yard off U.S. 74 on the west side of Rockingham, North Carolina. The craft appears to be in an experimental blue camouflage finish." (Note the signs behind it - "Rabbits/Raccoons/Monkeys/Snakes" - was this an old amusement park or zoo?)
I started looking up F-84F serials, and although there are three ending in 426, 51-1426 seems the most likely since it's been listed with a collection (NC Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame) in Asheboro, 50-some miles north of Rockingham. So I started looking for current photos, but came up with bupkis - this thread from 2005 originally had photos from Tulio and Mike Henniger but the links are broken:
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... 1&start=15
Then I checked the museum's website, but there's no F-84 listed.
Mike, Tulio, do you still have photos? Was the plane blue?
Credited to "D. Burnell", the caption reads: "Republic F-84F 'FS-426' is sitting in a junk yard off U.S. 74 on the west side of Rockingham, North Carolina. The craft appears to be in an experimental blue camouflage finish." (Note the signs behind it - "Rabbits/Raccoons/Monkeys/Snakes" - was this an old amusement park or zoo?)
I started looking up F-84F serials, and although there are three ending in 426, 51-1426 seems the most likely since it's been listed with a collection (NC Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame) in Asheboro, 50-some miles north of Rockingham. So I started looking for current photos, but came up with bupkis - this thread from 2005 originally had photos from Tulio and Mike Henniger but the links are broken:
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... 1&start=15
Then I checked the museum's website, but there's no F-84 listed.
Mike, Tulio, do you still have photos? Was the plane blue?
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:54 pm
I have seen this F-84F at the Asheboro Museum within the past 10 years, but I do not know if it is still there.
Here are some photos of it (not mine, they belong to Christian Shepherd), with the serial no.
https://flic.kr/p/9ubnrW
https://flic.kr/p/9ubkHL
Here are some photos of it (not mine, they belong to Christian Shepherd), with the serial no.
https://flic.kr/p/9ubnrW
https://flic.kr/p/9ubkHL
Last edited by DoraNineFan on Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:58 pm
Quick addition: Leon (Woodsy Airfield) sent me a couple shots of the plane he took around the same time (note: this is a preview until I work on the originals and make higher-res scans) with some back story:
"The photo of F-84 looking at right front of aircraft - info on back of picture says: F-84F-10-RE 11426 at Lassiter's Surplus & L and L Welding, west of Rockingham, NC just north of Rte 74... dated June 23, 1977... The photo of F-84 showing left front of aircraft: 11426 was originally from Ohio. It was turned over to Lassiter's from a North Carolina state college with 6 machine guns installed which were turned over to FBI. Price $5000..."
"The photo of F-84 looking at right front of aircraft - info on back of picture says: F-84F-10-RE 11426 at Lassiter's Surplus & L and L Welding, west of Rockingham, NC just north of Rte 74... dated June 23, 1977... The photo of F-84 showing left front of aircraft: 11426 was originally from Ohio. It was turned over to Lassiter's from a North Carolina state college with 6 machine guns installed which were turned over to FBI. Price $5000..."
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:01 pm
DoraNineFan wrote:I have seen this F-84F at the Asheboro Museum within the past 10 years, but I do not know if it is still there.
Here are some photos of it, with the serial no.
https://flic.kr/p/9ubnrW
https://flic.kr/p/9ubkHL
Thank you DoraNineFan! Would it be OK for me to display the photos here on the board, and could I pass one along to Nathan Decker's F-84F page?
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:17 pm
Chris Brame wrote:DoraNineFan wrote:I have seen this F-84F at the Asheboro Museum within the past 10 years, but I do not know if it is still there.
Here are some photos of it, with the serial no.
https://flic.kr/p/9ubnrW
https://flic.kr/p/9ubkHL
Thank you DoraNineFan! Would it be OK for me to display the photos here on the board, and could I pass one along to Nathan Decker's F-84F page?
You are welcome but they are not my photos, so you will need to contact the owner (Christian Shepherd) in the links that I provided.
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Wed Mar 18, 2015 6:07 am
The photographer has disabled downloading of his photos, but I'll ask.
Found another photo here, dated June 2005:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=21880
Google Earthed my way all over the airport and spotted the museum, but no F-84F. This isn't looking good...
Found another photo here, dated June 2005:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=21880
Google Earthed my way all over the airport and spotted the museum, but no F-84F. This isn't looking good...
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Thu Mar 19, 2015 10:10 pm
I've often wondered what happened to the bird. My dad used to stop and let me play in it in the way to grandma's house she I was a Kid. The F-84 in Asheboro is NOT the same plane. That F-84 was displayed for years in Asheboro (I believe at the VFW) and was moved to the museum when it was open.
I heard the story about the bird At Lassiter's still having the guns in it. The owner told me about it. I actually asked about buying it. He told me he'd take $3500 for it. Unfortunately that was out of reach for a 12 year old kid. I used to dream about moving it to my backyard.
I heard the story about the bird At Lassiter's still having the guns in it. The owner told me about it. I actually asked about buying it. He told me he'd take $3500 for it. Unfortunately that was out of reach for a 12 year old kid. I used to dream about moving it to my backyard.
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Fri Mar 20, 2015 12:05 am
Interesting to know. Wonder how they ended up with the same serial painted on? Will the real 51-1426 please stand up?
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:23 pm
Just got the original photos from Leon and scanned them:
On the fuselage on each side there's the remains of a logo with the word "Flyer" at the bottom:
No word yet on this one's fate.
More of Leon's photos to come - including the whole sad story of the scrapping of a park display T-33
On the fuselage on each side there's the remains of a logo with the word "Flyer" at the bottom:
No word yet on this one's fate.
More of Leon's photos to come - including the whole sad story of the scrapping of a park display T-33
Re: F-84F 51-1426 in NC - where is it now?
Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:43 am
Boy, that's sure interesting about the 6 machine guns. A different era for sure. The $5000 mentioned, was that a fine from the FBI for merely having these, or the sale price to Lassiter for selling(?) them to the fed? I'd believe anything. It would have been a kick to fire them a few times before turning them over...