Curtiss O-52 Owl?

[Nathan]

Hi all,

Was wondering, how many O-52 Owls are still around today? Are there any still flying?

Thanks!

-Nate

[Jerry O'Neill]

I know of three;
Walter Soplata's old O-52 that I think is now in Wisconsin.
NMUSAF O-52 in Dayton
Yanks O-52 Chino

There my be others, but those are off the top of my head.
Jerry

[Dan K]

Jerry's quicker on the trigger finger than I am.

Here's what the FAA has on the California machine:

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry ... rtxt=61241

Our own Tim Savage has owned significant remains at one time, although I don't know if that is still the case.

And Jerry, about an example in Wisconsin...tell me more!

[Matt Gunsch]

you forgot Talichet's O-52 undergoing restoration at Pima Air Museum

[Jerry O'Neill]

I'm not sure if the O-52 in Wisconsin is at Anoka or not, or who actually owns it now, but I've seen a photo of it prior to any restoration and it is definately the ex. Walter Soplata Owl.
When I personally saw the Owl in 1986, it was wingless and had nothing from the firewall forward. It's possible that those missing pieces were in storage somewhere, I just didn't see them with the airframe. The glass appeared to be all there but was painted over. The colors at that time were a forest green fuselage and orange landing gear legs.

I have some slides of it, but I won't be able to scan any until next week.
That's about all I know.

I forgot about the one at Pima.

Jerry

Last edited by Jerry O'Neill on Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Info on Walter's Owl from Mike R. Henniger's Aerial Visuals website:

Curtiss O-52 Owl 40-2804 USAAF 14337 Soplata, Walter N50143, to Walter Soplata (by 1975), still with Walter Soplata (until at least 1985)
ARRIVED by 1975, LAST SPOTTED 1985, OTHER INFO: Ex reform school.
There may have been two partial Owl airframes, as two Owls went to Polar AM at Blaine MN, one in the same green civil livery as Walt's, both of which (40-2875 and 40-2846) were listed for sale with Courtesy Aircraft in March 2000. Probably one Owl only, with other one in Courtesy Package recovered elsewhere.


I guess it was Minnesota not Wisconson! (I'm getting old!)

Jerry

[HELLDIVERS]

Hi; The 0-52s that were in Mn. were owned by Dan Chevatal [he also owned at least 3 King Cobras] One was the ex Walter a/c the other was recovered from a ww2 crash site in Oregon. The Ohio a/c was wingless and engineless , the other one had some crash damage but was not real bad. Wally Fisk bought Dans whole collection of P63s, 0-52s ect and was moved to Anoka and stored. The last time I saw them they were loaded on a rickety trailer stacked up like a pile of scrap that would have made Sanford and Son proud, were they went I do not know .Thanks Mike

[Dan K]

Jerry,

Being an east coaster, we'll forgive you (just this once) for your unintentional slander of the Badger state. To assist you in keeping Wisconsin straight from Minnesota, here's a short primer:

Wisconsin = folks tend to wear more green
Minnesota = folks tend to wear more purple

Wisconsin = bratwurst (sausage of the gods...tastebud heaven)
Minnesota = lutefisk (Cod soaked in lye; jelly-like...what evil crime did your tastebuds ever commit to deserve this?)

Wisconsin = large, beer-drinking wimmens; wipe mouth with back of hand
Minnesota = large, beer-drinking wimmens; wipe mouth with front of hand

I hope you and other nonuppermidwestern folk have found this useful. Now back to owl hunting.

[Warbirdnerd]

Here is a peek I got of the Amjet machines...

[Jerry O'Neill]

Dan;
Thanks for the primer! My dad was a Packer's Fan so I guess I should know better! (What, nothing about cheese?!!!)

Warbirdnerd;
The Owl on the left was the one I saw at Walter's in 1986.
Jerry

[Chris Brame]

Here's one at Oshkosh in '79 or '80:



Combining a beat-up Argus C-3 and B&W film gave it an unintentional vintage look!

For a real shocker, check out the Owl serial listings on the Baugher site and see how many were written off in crashes...

[Steve Nelson]

Don't feel bad..I was shooting with an old Argus C-3 until it was stolen out of my glovebox in 1985. It still took some good pics. I ran across a mint one in the original box at a yard sale a few years back for about ten bucks. I almost bought it for nostalgia..wish I had now.

SN

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Jerry,

Being an east coaster, we'll forgive you (just this once) for your unintentional slander of the Badger state. To assist you in keeping Wisconsin straight from Minnesota, here's a short primer:

Wisconsin = folks tend to wear more green
Minnesota = folks tend to wear more purple

Wisconsin = bratwurst (sausage of the gods...tastebud heaven)
Minnesota = lutefisk (Cod soaked in lye; jelly-like...what evil crime did your tastebuds ever commit to deserve this?)

Wisconsin = large, beer-drinking wimmens; wipe mouth with back of hand
Minnesota = large, beer-drinking wimmens; wipe mouth with front of hand

I hope you and other nonuppermidwestern folk have found this useful. Now back to owl hunting.

Dan,

Being a "former" resident of the Gopher State...I couldn't help but laugh myself silly over this one. Especially the one about the lutefisk.....I was lucky...in all the time I lived there NO ONE asked me to even try it. It doesn't even sound good

Paul

[Wolverine]

When I was at Dayton a few months ago, I somehow managed a spectacular failure in my attempts to photograph the O-52. Anyone got any good pictures?

[bdk]

Yanks Owl in Chino:



I understand this aircraft has flown while with Yanks, but not recently.