Warbird Information Exchange

I was watching a video of Kermit Week's projects which the video was shot in 2013. I didn't realize how much more stuff the man has in storage. My question in general is this giving where Kermit Week's is in life now what really might be the chances that any of the following will get restored to flying status? And if not restored it makes one wonder what might happen to the following aircraft.

1. The P-38
2. F6F Hellcat
3. B-29
4. B-17 and B-23
As always I always look forward to WiX folks replys a lot of knowledge in this group. Merry Christmas to all in Wix land

This is my opinion only.

Kermit Weeks has over 140 aircraft in his collection, the vast majority of which are not flyable and need a full, ground up restoration. The man is 65 years old, and it's a simple matter of math to determine that most of his aircraft will not be restored while under his ownership. If you've been following him for a while you will also realize that his restorations are painstakingly slow. It seems like the average restoration time is somewhere between 15 and 25 years for most of his aircraft, especially for ones done "in-house". The restorations that are contracted out sometimes are accomplished in a more timely manner.

I don't believe any of those aircraft you mention will fly under Kermit's ownership. I think the best chance to see those restored will be under the next caretaker, whoever or whatever organization they end up with.

This is NOT a knock on Kermit, as I am very grateful for everything he has done for the warbird movement, and he has saved many, many ultra rare types. To fully restore 140 aircraft to airworthy status and have a place to keep them and maintain them requires resources far beyond Kermit's level - it requires a multi-billionaire backing such as a Paul Allen type.

So, we all have to be thankful that Kermit has brought some very rare aircraft back into the air. By the same token, we have to be realistic about future restorations given his age, and his limited disposable funds to use towards restorations. Restoring rare airworthy aircraft is not Kermit's main goal in life. If you look at the mission of Fantasy of Flight and his many, many words and video talks about life and why we are here, you will understand what I mean.

It is also my belief that he will not restore any more bombers to airworthy condition for a lot of reasons, mainly having to do with expense and a place to keep them. The only 2 possible exceptions I see might be the Mosquito, because it was airworthy before it was parked, and the Sunderland, given Kermit's huge affinity for flying boats.

I doubt the Sunderland or Mossie will ever fly again in his lifetime, the Sunderland would be a 10+ year task to get flying again I would think, and the Mossie hasn't flown for 20 years now, and IMHO spent too long sitting in Florida heat and humidity between arriving from UK and going to Osh to risk it not having suffered from delamination in some way, given how quickly that happened in the Far East in service when they were not long off the production line.

Wish he would get his B-24 flying...

Phil

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A man's got to know his limitations.

Kermit is pretty good about answering questions sent to him via his Facebook page. He also posts frequent updates about his restoration projects as well as his plans for FoF. https://www.facebook.com/KermitWeeks/

Kermit's top priority seems to be determining what the next phase of Fantasy of Flight will be. From his videos and posts, it seems that he's putting a lot of thought into a sustainable business model and attraction that lasts long after he is gone. It's obvious that he's putting a significant amount of time, energy and resources into determining what that will entail. I would imagine that restoration is of secondary concern as he works on something that could ultimately be the lasting monument to his legacy (at least in aviation).

I haven't seen any specifics regarding what the next act of Fantasy of Flight will be, but if it is indeed an attraction that is able to sustain itself for years to come, we may eventually see some of these aircraft restored. My personal approach with regards to Kermit's collection is not to get caught up in the timeline of what is being worked on and when it will be completed. He clearly has a grand vision for the long-term preservation of his collection, and that's both admirable and more important than what is restored and when. Of course, we all want to see our favorites restored, but I think taking a long view of what he's trying to accomplish and waiting to see what that is will be worth the wait.

I don't personally think many of his aircraft (such as the B-24, Sunderland and B-26) will fly again - and that's perfectly ok. He has such an extensive collection that it's more prudent to keep in mind how sustainable maintaining a particular type is. Why sink a boatload of money into one particular aircraft? That money might otherwise be used to restore another type that isn't already on display, or fly other aircraft that are easier to maintain and acquire spares for, or otherwise be invested in facility space to display more aircraft or even other educational resources. No matter who you are, resources are finite. The cost/benefit of flying and restoring specific types has to be taken into account while taking the whole organization into account for Fantasy of Flight to be sustainable.

All that being said, I'm anxiously awaiting the completion of some of his projects that are known to be nearing completion, such as the Boeing 100, the A-26 and Sikorsky S-38.

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Matt

I didn't realize the Sunderland was that far gone. I was always under the impression that it was more or less, airworthy, as it flew into the Museum. If it's that bad, then yes, I agree it is unlikely it will ever fly again.

Regarding the Mossie, you might very well be right. I was basing that statement on one of Kermit's posts on either his blog or facebook from a while back. Somebody asked him why he didn't fly it or keep it in Florida. He mentioned the biggest reason he kept it at Oshkosh was due to the weather - to keep it out of hot, humid conditions which are very poor for Mossies as you mention. From his post, he more or less mentioned that he thought he could get it flying again without too much effort. He also mentioned that he would not move it to Florida until he was able to build a climate controlled hangar to house it in. But, with all of this being said, you are right. If the wood has started delaminating, then it might not be very practical to fly it again. It might be easier to just build a new one with Powell/Avspecs. But then again, at 6 or 7 Million for a new Mossie, he could probably put the money to better use elsewhere in the collection.

Perhaps we should look at his various projects from a "glass half full" perspective.
Let's be happy he bought some airframes when it looked like no one else wanted them...thus saving them for a future owner to restore and fly.

I wish someone had done that in the late 40s and parked a few B-24s and 26s.

I'm pretty sure if the Shorts and Mosquito had stayed in the UK, neither would have ANY chance of ever flying again. The UK nationalists/fanboys on the other forum still gripe about those aircraft leaving the UK.
The Mossie would have been stuffed and placed in a museum, the Shorts might have been scrapped considering the UK climate and lack of indoor storage space for something like that. After all, no less an organization than the RAF museum scrapped its Beverly, leaving only one existent in an outdoor private museum.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

How about a look at the projects that are underway for Kermit Weeks at this time (having been trying to keep up with Facebook postings):

- FG-1D Corsair center section at Precision in Australia (center section is looking really nice - I believe the intention is to finish out the restoration as an in-house project once the center section is done)
- P-51A at Cal Pacific Airmotive (really making great progress/reports a few years ago - current status?)
- A-26 Invader at Aero Trader (very near completed, expected to be flying in 2019)
- Boeing 100 at Roy Rehm's (essentially complete now, waiting on some final parts being painted, expected to fly in 2019)
- Sikorsky S-38 refurb at Langer Aviation (very close to completion - I believe it is expected to be completed/flying prior to Oshkosh 2019)
- CAC Boomerang at Matt Denning's in Australia (progressing right along)
- Seversky P-35 in-house project (progressing right along)
- Lockheed Vega at Kevin Kimball's (I remember when the wing was essentially finished - current status?)
- Bf-109G-6 at Don Bradshaw's in Canada (fuselage really looking very complete now)
- BT-15 in-house project (completed, just ironing out a few things based on last report)
- Curtiss Jenny in-house project (nearing completion)
- Bucker Jungmeister in-house project (completed, just ironing out a few things based on last report)
- Bf-108 in-house project (early stages/had been one of the projects in storage up until recent years)
- Fw-44 Stieglitz in-house project (report from earlier this year showed the finely restored fuselage looking quite complete)
- Standard J-1 in-house project (being covered and painted as of last year)
- Kingfisher at Pioneer in New Zealand (early stages/some assemblies built)

Week's Mossie has been sitting in the EAA Museum for a long time. Kermit filmed a three-part tour to assess the condition and mentioned what needed to be done to get it back in the air.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd2M21nlw0w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sgm-94bX2E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAF1S-07u3w

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"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

This might be heresy, but rather than some of the more "common types" (F6F, Bf109,B-24, B-29) there are a few others I would really like to see fly. The three I would like to see is the B-26 Marauder, the Kingfisher and the Tempest. I know that some of the common ones I mentioned are not really common, but there are 2 B-24's, 2 B-29's, a number of B-17's, Bf-109's and more than a few F6F's. There are NO Tempest's, Maruaders or Kingfishers currently flying. I know there is a couple (3?) Kingfishers being restored, but don't know if/when they will fly. With Kermit's private lake, he could have, possibly, the only Kingfisher on floats.
Also bombers, especially the size of the B-29 take an enormous amount of upkeep, and storage area. I don't believe there are any other Marauder's that would be currently able to be made flyable without a lot of work. Kermit's was flying not all that long ago, in the great scheme of things. Just my thoughts.

I agree with you completely. If I were the owner, I would ground all of the so-called "common" warbirds such as the P-51, B-25, Spitfire, Wildcat, etc. - anything else where more than 3 examples fly. I would concentrate exclusively on the rare types - Tempest, Maurauder, Kingfisher, Ki-61 Tony, Lancaster, P-39, B-23, Swordfish, La-11, Tu-2, Lysander, etc. - all of which he owns.

But, we can't be choosy or picky. We are very lucky for everything he's restored and is getting restored presently. I am, of course, living in Fantasy Land....or would that be Fantasy of Flight?

By the way, Kermit has enough parts to make 2 flyable Kingfishers. He mentioned recently that he was considering it. Knowing that he has such an affinity for seaplanes, I think there is a good chance it might happen!

Re the Vega I believe that they found some questionable repairs in the fuselage skin which present a significant obstacle to overcome. I think it's on hold for now.



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http://www.biplanerides1.com/

So, I will ask, regarding the B-26.

He restored it to flying condition 20 years ago and had it on the airshow circuit for a season or two (or so it seemed). Then it was parked.

Did something break? Was he uncomfortable in it? Was it more fuel and maintenance intensive than he imagined?

I never understood why he went to the trouble of acquiring it and restoring it, only to retire it.

The Vega project appears to have been abandoned, it was removed from Kimball's a year or so back and placed in deep storage.

Other projects that also seem to have been stopped include the Spitfire rebuild, the B-25 (he had it taxying a few years back and said he was planning to fly it again, but since then, nothing), the two DH-4s, the C-47 he bought in the UK (I think he got a type rating, again stated that he intended to fly it, but it has been parked since it arrived), the two Tempests and the Benoist.