Warbird Information Exchange

1945 FM-2 BuNo 86680 N11FE is up for sale at Platinum Fighters at $1,500,000. This is the FM-2 with seating for three with blue leather accents in the rear fuselage & also blue leather accents in the cockpit. I am not in any kind of financial condition to even purchase gas for one flight let alone think about purchasing it. But I am curious what people here on WIX would do with it if they purchased it and money was not an issue. Would you keep it as is, redo only the cockpit back to original stock condition or redo the cockpit and remove the seating and restore the rear fuse to stock condition? Restoring the rear fuse back to stock condition would also require sheet metal work on the skins due to there being three(?) windows installed in addition to the access door. The plane has 2829.3 Hrs. TTSN on the airframe and the engine has 274.1 Hrs. SMOH by Roger Pickett, Air Motive, Inc. ( July 2008). The annual was completed in July 2024. Your thoughts? If you were to want to bring it back to stock, would you do a flying restoration or do a complete tear down restoration. Which shop would you have do the work. Remember, money is not an issue.

Mac

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WWII Naval Aviation Research - Pacific
https://www.ww2nar-pac.com/

If it were me, I'd probably like to keep it as is, as I think the modifications have now become a big part of its history and character. I remember when Collings purchased that Wildcat, quite a number of years ago now, that they stated they wanted to return it to 100% stock, but that plan soon faded. Of the Collings warbirds, it has been perhaps the most active in recent years, while the majority of the rest of the collection has become static museum pieces, or stored - the Wildcat was flown at their Pacific Re-Enactment event, just a few weeks ago, back on July 12th and 13th.

Should I restore my new warbird to completely stock?

A nice problem to have.
Pretty much in line with....
What interior arrangement for my new Gulfstream?
Do I really want ALL my Ferrari's red and my Bugatti's blue?
Where should I take XXXX (insert the name of the leading sex symbol of your generation) for our honeymoon?

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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.

I would take out the extra seats and bring the plane closer to stock. I wouldn't replace modern wiring with cloth covered wires, for example.

I think its a neat relic in warbird history and would leave as is.
Don't know if anyone is familiar with the term "day two" to reference mods an owner made after purchase. Like my Chevelle with slot mags, headers and ratchet shifter. Both GM made so there is a clear connection

As much as I'm a fan of stock examples, I see Thomas's point.
Several warbirds have been "warbirds" for a very long time, so their civilian lives and history outstrip their brief military careers. Especially since most do not have combat histories.

As an example, it would be a shame if someone repainted Clay Macy's #64, Snoopy, Bob Hoover's yellow ship or Miss America into another 8th AF Mustang.

*Apologies if any of these have been redone by later owners, but these civil schemes are well known.

For Thomas_Mac and other GM loving warbird fans...I recently walked through a MT ANG C-130H, where the last three digits of the rail number is 454. It's crew chief must be a GM performance car fan because on the chocks was "454 SS" with the SS typeface similar to the style used on SS variants of Chevrolets.

_________________
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.

Have Collings acquired a replacement Wildcat?

Yes, it's parked next to the Hellcat in the new museum, have seen a few pics of that.

Yes, BuNo. 57039, recovered from Lake Michigan by A&T Recovery and restored to static condition by the Kalamazoo Air Zoo.

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Matt

Looking at the interior photos of the aircraft and having seen the insides of a stock FM-2, I'm genuinely curious:

When the aircraft was originally modified, does anyone know what they did with the vacuum tank for the flaps?

Does the airplane still have vacuum flaps or was the flap system modified in the conversion?

N11FE is probably the #1 Warbird I'd love to own. Seeing as how Dick Foote (who was a Vought test pilot during the war) not only owned and operated this bird out of Connecticut for years, but he was also part of the "Warplanes International" team which performed a reenactment of the Pearl Harbor attack with a replica Zero and Kate as well. I grew up watching this video of the 1985 Pratt & Whitney Airshow ad nauseam. http://youtube.com/watch?v=G2HCRVHdzTM (Skip to the 28:50 mark.)

I think this additional seat modification is not only unique, it's down right useful! And I'd hate to see it removed in a potential future restoration of this bird. With every other Wildcat out there in a stock configuration (more or less) you'd think this one would be highly sought after for its practicability. Also something interesting to note, I believe the nose bowl is actually from a Lockheed Loadstar and not a Wildcat. One of the other quirks this airframe has (that I honestly love).

Now... if I owned her, I would have her gone through extensively seeing as how she has some high time on her. I would want to preserve the paint scheme as is. Or if it was necessary to strip the airframe to inspect the skins, then replicate the scheme as close as possible. As for the interior... it's age is definitely showing, and I'd want to reupholster the interior to OD canvas and make it look as WWII period as possible to make it seem more authentic looking while keeping the extra seats for passengers.

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

I've heard exhaust gases enter the fuselage and can make the passengers feel nauseous. Not sure how bad this is (if true).

I have heard that too. I wonder if there is a way to mitigate that further to allow passengers a more comfortable ride.

_________________
Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

My introduction to N11FE came about by growing up in the 90s watching the "Wide World of Flying" series with Jeff Ethell, which included that particular Wildcat.

In the episode featuring the Wildcat, it's mentioned that the aircraft was the prototype XFM-2 built by Grumman, and provided to General Motors for testing - a detail not often mentioned much online. When that series was filmed, it was prior to the Lake Michigan-recovered F4F-3s, so at the time it was described as the only Grumman-built Wildcat flying. After he bought it, Dick Foote was able to confirm, via his original wartime logbook, that he conducted experiment test flights with it during the war, when working for General Motors. Dick Foote also mentioned that he added the number 5 into the paint scheme as he was the 5th test pilot hired by General Motors' Eastern Division at Linden.

For what it's worth, Jeff Ethell never talks about the flaps as being anything special or vacuum-controlled in N11FE, and never talks about how they could be put to advantage in combat back in WWII - he simply refers to them during the landing approach as being pneumatic, full up and full down.

The photos on the Platinum site leave a lot to be desired.
Most photos are with the wings folded so you don't get a good look at the windows (probably not a coincidence).
The interior shots are interesting, I was shocked that the rear most seat is two across.
Shows you how large the stubby Wildcat is.

The interior fabrics and colors look like something you'd see in a mid-60s Aero Commander.

Still, a neat airplane and a reasonably affordable warbird.

If a new owner hates the windows but doesn't want to remove the (now historic for that airframe) mods, the windows could be cover with that plastic film you see on busses. From the outside bit is opaque, but it is translucent for the passengers. Problem solved for about $100.

_________________
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.