Paul Allen's collection sold - new owner acknowledged now.

[JohnB]

On the other hand, this could just be an investment. Buy the lot, keep and fly some and slowly over the years flip others.

Mac

From my other "job" writing about the collector car business (and from just being observant) we are seeing a lot of liquidity in the world.
Some deferred post-Covid spending plus people are buying assets to hedge against inflation.

So, likely, the new buyer might be having some fun and an investment.

Nothing wrong with that.

If he sells a few I'm sure they will go to a good home, it's not like they'll be abused and scrapped.

The trouble with large collections is they are concentrated in one place (duh!) and if you are not nearby, tough luck.
Another is the individual aircraft may not get flown as much.
So even if some aircraft are sold and end up somewhere else, that's not the end of the world.

[L-188]

First round of moving trucks showed up-

As a gear jammer, I Find it strange that Walmart would part with ANY of their fleet for a move such as this. They are busy 24/7. And their fleet is ill equipped to handle this kind of move unless this is all palletized and fork lift friendly. There are a lot of specialized carriers out there that handle this kind of move. If someone wants to bankroll me I'll acquire the equipment (The drink is after the move)

I believe Warbirdnerd's pic was posted for fun, and imagine the move will take some time to complete. The question going through my mind is: How or if the collection will be available for the public to see? The Bentonville, AR area is booming, and it would be great if Mr. Walton built a museum similar to FHCAM there.

Consider me trolled LOL

[mdwflyer]

With this "purchase" how many doubles would the "new" collection have?

[EW439]

I think just the P-51D. FHC has a spitfire but it is a Mk V the alleged new owner has a Mk XIV.

[Mike]

…the alleged new owner has a Mk XIV.

XVIII

[p51]

So we're back to the popular warbird game of "I know something you don't know.."

Yep, people post stuff like that just because they feel part of the 'insiders' when most of those posts are made from someone who heard it second-forth hand and is an outside themselves...

[Thomas_Mac]

With this "purchase" how many doubles would the "new" collection have?

The addition of the FHC P-51 would bring that total to 3 as well as the aforementioned Spitfires. Would also double up on the Fi 156 Storch and Corsair since they already have a Super Corsair (if that can be considered a duplicate).

EAA did a story on Game Composites which Steuart Walton co-founded and Thaden Field where they are based about a year ago. Seems they have plans to attract people to the airport so hopefully there is a plan to publicly display the warbird collection.

[DoraNineFan]

The museum has a farewell video with the official confirmation now. And the collection will be moving to Bentonville, Arkansas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqcwEVjLs2I

[FuryFB11]

The museum has a farewell video with the official confirmation now. And the collection will be moving to Bentonville, Arkansas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqcwEVjLs2I

That Youtube channel has no association with FHCAM. Its been produced by a local photographer/videographer.

[JOMiller]

The museum has a farewell video with the official confirmation now. And the collection will be moving to Bentonville, Arkansas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqcwEVjLs2I

Thanks for the great video ! I find myself wondering what will become of the unfinished projects? Will the B-17 and Stuka head to Arkansas to be completed. Where is RACE 57? And what of the Crusaders and other projects. Allen also had armor, artillery, and God knows memorabilia? Were they included in the sale?

[Lon Moer]

The local (Everett, WA) newspaper Heraldnet.com is reporting the sale to the Walton's.
But they reference some Danish aviation website and then add a disclaimer;
"But again, The Herald has not been able to confirm the report. Steuart Walton did not immediately respond to email inquiries. "

[EW439]

Since the collection was not going to continue under the Allan family ownership. I believe this is a
best case scenario for the collection to stay together, that is unless you live in the Seattle area. This is
way better in my opinion than it being broken up and sold around the world. Even that is better than what
also happens, airplanes stashed away from the light of day for decades. My hope is the Stuka
is a priority after the move.

[Mike]

Everyone seems to be jumping to the conclusion that the new owner:
1) is intending to open a museum
2) will replicate the infrastructure that existed at Paine and Arlington (and took Paul Allen well over a decade to put into place)
3) will be able to recruit the skilled workforce that existed in abundance in Boeingland
4) will carry on with the restorations
5) is intending to keep everting together as a collection

On the other hand, he could quite possibly have decided that it was easier to just buy the whole shebang as a job lot, cherry-pick what he wants for his private collection, and store or sell the rest on

AFAIK there has been no announcement whatsoever by either the seller or buyer, just RUMINT put into print by O’Leary.

[bdk]

On the other hand, he could quite possibly have decided that it was easier to just buy the whole shebang as a job lot, cherry-pick what he wants for his private collection, and store or sell the rest on.

That sounds like a heck of an estate sale. I can't wait for the auction!

[JohnB]

Everyone seems to be jumping to the conclusion that the new owner:
1) is intending to open a museum
2) will replicate the infrastructure that existed at Paine and Arlington (and took Paul Allen well over a decade to put into place)
3) will be able to recruit the skilled workforce that existed in abundance in Boeingland
4) will carry on with the restorations
5) is intending to keep everting together as a collection

Re #3...
People will move if there is a job for them. There are plenty of first rate warbird shops in smaller cities....after all, Breckenridge and Granite Falls aren't exactly huge.
But I do agree a major museum in a small Arkansas town seems unlikely unless it is a simple (low overhead) open the doors to let people see the collection.

Last edited by JohnB on Fri Apr 22, 2022 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.