Warbird Information Exchange

The Pima webpage lists thier F4U-4 as 97142, but that doesn't match the Warbird Registry.
The Warbird Registry lists 97349 as being at Pima.
What's the 411?

http://www.pimaair.org/index.php?option ... Itemid=238

Regards,
Mike

There has been some question about the exact identity of Pima's Corsair for a long time. There are rumors of a data plate swap by a previous owner with the plane now on display at Pensacola. When I was putting together the text for Pima's website and the Museum's new guide book I couldn't find any proof that such a swap had actually happened. The plate on the aircraft says 97142, the Marines call it that in the loan paperwork and with no proof otherwise that is what I went with.

James

This was discussed on WIX a few years back. I think the conclusion was (by those who inspected both) it was a case of swapping the data plates, although I don't remember why.

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Mike,

James and I spoke about this over the phone earlier this year and compared notes. I think it's safe to say that the confusion was ultimately rooted in an incorrect press report made by a local newspaper way back in the day.

When the plane first arrived at Pima, the local paper reported something to the effect of "this is the same aircraft previously seen on display at the Tucson Inn". In hindsight, I'm suposing the reporter might have meant the same type of plane, but it was enough to lay that initial seeds of confusion. That news clipping ended up in the plane's file at the museum, and is apparently the source from which some of the museum staff were led to misinterpret the facts later on down the line.

Both the Tucson Inn Corsair and the Pima Museum Corsair were under restoration by the same man (Wally McDonnell) during the late-1970's. The proximity of the planes during restoration, paired with the museum's reported identity of the plane further fueled the idea that the data plates might have been swapped.

James is now the man in charge, and he was kind enough to take the time to crack open the plane's file and truly investigate the facts. Once that press report was found, it made sense to me that the previous curator had apparently drawn their conclusions based on their misinterpretation of that article, and had innocently misrepresented the museum's plane as the "ex-Tucson Inn Corsair with the polka dot nose".

Since my conversation with James, I feel very confident that the Pima Air Museum's Corsair is in fact BuNo.97142, with the example on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation being BuNo.97349.

_________________
Rob Mears
'Surviving Corsairs' Historian
robcmears@yahoo.com
http://www.robmears.com

Thanks Rob. I have deleted that falsehood from my memory!

Mike

_________________
Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

Wouldn't have minded seeing this sight when looking out of a motel's window!

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0685131/L/

T J

_________________
Make my day, punk!