Warbird Information Exchange

Hi folks,

WIX member RickH asked me to post this:

"The F-105G ( serial # 62-4432) pictured was the last unmolested F-105 at AMARC. It was demilled the week of Christmas by cutting its motor mounts. It now waits for disassembly to transport by road to Evergreen's facility at Marana, AZ."

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Ryan Keough
Stow, MA

very atmospheric shot, thanks!

Does anyone else besides me think that demilling an F-105 is a bit paranoid? What are you going to do, buy one, spend a mil or two at a reputable shop to get it back into the air, then do something nasty with it? Or would you be more likely to get a Mig 23/27/29 etc. from somewhere (for cheap) for the same purpose?

Let's face it, it would take an incredible amount of everything to get one of those back in the air, and there probably aren't that many outfits that could do the work. Not that it couldn't be done, mind you, just that the people who do bad things are not likely to go that route, in my opnion.

cheers

greg v .

GregV, I can tell you that this aircraft was rushed through the allocation/demil process specifically to ensure that there was NO chance that it could ever fly.

Extreme measures were used.

Rick

so is this new policy then from AMARC? Does this mean that any & all A4's that come out of there are going to be hacked up? I mean come on, what in h#ll are you going to do with a fifty-year old lead sled like a 105? Load it up with bombs and fly it into the whitehouse? Give me a break. You might get it airborne after six months and a million bucks, if you were lucky. Are they going to start demilling Springfield muzzleloaders next?

It really is too bad that the world is going crazy.

Then again, I recall an ancient issue of Air Classics where somebody bought a Sabre from a dealer which had originally come from the RCAF; anyways, when they started going through the "airworthy" airframe, they found that it had been strategically cut in the centre section, and the damage had then been hidden with Bondo (here in Canada we call Bondo by its more common name, Deimert Magic Fixall Compound).

So maybe the whole demilling of "attack" aircraft is not so new?

Still, it makes me a little angry all the same.

cheers

greg v.

by the way, don't get me wrong, I am very very happy to see any 50's jet going to a good (covered and heated) home. These things are going to be super scarce soon, as most of the marginal examples get scrapped. Not many people are going to be able to afford to restore & fly some of the more complex examples, not to mention parts availability and limited engine technology.

cheers

greg v.

AMARC does nothing on their own. They are simply the hands on people. Directives come from other higher sources outside the state of Arizona, AMARC actually does the work.

Sorry, I should have phrased that better. Does this, then, indicate some form of new policy being set by the Department of Defense regarding the sale of potentially airworthy airframes, especially those aircraft which are, by design, used for aggressive purposes, i.e. will all potentially "aggressive" aircraft be rendered unairworthy prior to disposal?

Would be sad to see potential warbirds have their wings clipped.

greg v.

Why Marana? Is that where Evergreen is going to get it ready for display or is it simply for storage for the time being?

So this isn't the "flyer" that was talked about a few months ago here is it? It woould seem strange to have them cut her up only to fix the damage but I've heard of dumber things.

Tim

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www.tailhookstudio.com

Info that was submitted stated that the aircraft would be restored for static display at Evergreen's facility located at Marana. It would then be shipped to Oregon.

Tim, yes this was the potential flyer. The demil was fast tracked and the motor mounts cut to preclude any further hope of flight. This airframe is done for flying. Word has it that when the cockpits were opened they were pristine.

Is that a KC-97 tail in the pic?

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www.tailhookstudio.com

About 10 years ago now (has it been THAT long?) I was down there at AMARC on a tour with my Air Guard Unit. We were given the tour by an old USAF Crew Chief and he showed us stuff and took us places that normal visitors can't get near. That day they were using the "shear" to break up some B-52's. Now that is an amazing sight to behold.

They were also making ready an aircraft for delivery for drone conversion. The cockpit was very very clean as you stated. The spray coating they use does a very effective job of preserving the canopy and the interior of the planes.

Chris

Yes, that's a C97 tail in the foreground.

What makes this all so sad is that this F-105 was the FIRST G model conversion. It had already flown a bunch of missions in Viet Nam as a Combat Martin F model aircraft before being sent back for conversion.
Combat Martin aircraft were flown as single seat aircraft with Wild Weasel type equipment in the back seat.

It has been parked on Celebrity row since about 1982. UNTOUCHED ! It's only due to the retirement of the whole F-105 fleet in about the same time frame that the aircraft was never canabalized . The only thing missing was the engine.

So is the Collings Foundation looking at any other airframes out there that could be made into flyers? Any chance Evergreen might be willing to trade some parts, such as cockpit pieces etc to make someone elses bird fly?