Warbird Information Exchange

As reported this morning. See coverage at: http://www.warbirds-online.org/?p=76

Anyone know of any other organizations actively looking to purchase a Mars?

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

Ryan:

Thanks for the news. This would be terrific if one of the Martin Mars flying boats in British Columbia could be brought to the Martin museum in Maryland. That would be a VERY appropriate place.

If this does come about, I hope there is a chance that a last Ferry Flight could be arranged for this unique airplane to travel from Western Canada to Baltimore.

I don't know how the logistics would be worked out for an airplane that lands only on water - not sure if a flight could be routed overland across North America or would a route going down the West Coast, over Central America to the Gulf of Mexico and then up the East Coast be planned. I know it would be possible to dismantle the plane and transport by train or truck, but a last flight would be much more exiting and dramatic and would give those of us on the East Coast one last chance to see this beauty in the air as it came into Baltimore.

Keep us posted.

Jim C.

Plus, if a last flight is made... I can safely say that there is incentive to appropriate donors to the cause to take part in the last flight. Maybe the museum should seek to leverage that opportunity to get more donors for the cause. Just a thought.

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

Excellent thought - I would think a "Last Flight" would be a great way to get more donors interested in the cause. I know it would make me want to donate SMALL donor though I would be

Jim C.

The museum has developed a page on the effort: http://www.marylandaviationmuseum.org/mars/index.html

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

Below is a "bullet point" from the Martin Museum website background on the Mars acquisition project:

flight to Maryland would be exciting

The idea of acquiring the airplane and flying it to Middle River, Maryland is apparently is at least contemplated as a possibility.....



Jim C.

The following is an e-mail reply that I received back from Gil Pascal from the Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum:




As Gil indicates, the intention is to fly one of the Mars flying boats back to Maryland, but that contributions are definitely needed to help make this expensive proposition even possible.

I wish them the best in this worthy effort!



Jim C.

They are talking about flying it to the museum, but is there a place to land it there? I hope they get it, as I don't see too many museums jumping after these. It would be a shame if the get scrapped.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Martin State Airport is right on the edge of Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore. There is a seaplane ramp still at the airport that is large enough to accomodate the Mars, see here:

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ene=889182

It's a great location actually... there is plenty of room to land it and an easy way to get it to shore when it needs to be take out.

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

The ramps they can use to come in on are the same ramps they used to go out on 60+ years ago. This is where the Mars was built in 1944-45. The bay is virtually unchanged from that time.

Walt

All but one of the seaplane ramps is gone, and there is going to be (if it hasn't been done already) a dive inspection to determine if it is still useable for hauling the Mars out of the water.

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

Some good columns/articles concerning the Martin Mars Effort:


http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.c ... lnews&om=1


http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/ ... 691.column

http://blogs.baltimoresun.com/news_loca ... e_mar.html




Jim C.

Media confusion.

Museums, organizations, governments or even businesses could still use the planes. By agreement, one plane, following its retirement, will be given to the town of Port Alberni, where the planes are now based.

So are two Mars up for bidding or just one?

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Assuming that the "agreement" to keep one of the two Mars aircraft in British Columbia stands, then I presume we are looking at one of the two aircraft as actually being up for bids to move elsewhere.

I would hope that the most flyable Mars (if one is more so than the other), will be the one that leaves to go eleswhere.

I very much hope that the Maryland bid is successful, as this certainly seems like the best possible and logical home for the Mars (IMHO).



Jim C.

Hello Wix members,

This is my very first post although I have been lurking here for some time. Me? I work with endangered species in the backwoods of Vancouver Island. My public passion is conservation biology. My secret (until today) passion is old aeroplanes and the preservation of same. Credentials? Once upon a time I scraped paint off some wing panels for the Confederate Air Force as a volunteer...I remember it as a TBM but I was pretty young (1979) and didn't record details.

Anyway I write this in response to the discussion of the eventual disposition of the remaining Martin Mars waterbombers. I have mixed feelings about the subject.

Trust me, NOTHING flying in the air today in British Columbia can even come close to delivering the volume of water required to put out a major forest fire on the magnitude that a Mars can (and has). The maintenance people who service these two aircraft have assured me that the main spars do not require replacing and that there are crates of spare engine parts that could keep these aircraft in the air for another 20 years.

As I said I have mixed feelings. I like seeing them flying over my house every summer even though that means that more trees (and birds and other critters that I love) are suffering from forest fires. In a perfect world I think the Mars should be flown as they have been...professionally and well...until their service life is expired. Ultimately I would hope that at least one Mars be kept in Canada to honour the service life in which this machine primarily contributed (firefighting), and to honour the aircrew who died fulfilling that mission. It was an honourable one.

Cheers and Happy New Year from Canada,
AB