marine air wrote:
What would be awesome would be for Mr. Big Bucks to buy the ten Buchons and work out a partnership with flug werks, or Aero Trader, or (?) and set up a production line.
OPtion A, you can have one refurbished for static display in it's Bof B movie scheme or fresh paint.
Option B, you have have one restored to flying condition OSMOH evereything as the HA-1112 Buchon that they are. YOur choice of paint.
Option C, Keep the Merlin, retrofit with the three bladed prop and other mods to give it the near Me-109 look.
Option D, OSMOH everything to Me-109G standards including the DB 601 engine, etc. Not cheap!
Option E, my choice, OSMOH everything to Me-109 standards except keep the Merlin, modern instruments in front cockpit, and convert to a two seat dual control. Add all the late factory mods like the tall tail and extended tail wheel strut to make it a better flyer.
Unlike the FW-190's, Me-262, and Oscars, these could be available to the customer in 6 to 24 months !
what do you guys think?!!
All options good ideas, and definitely good bang for the buck. Personally, though, as far as options C & D go, I think it may be time to treat Buchons as historic aircraft in their own right, as opposed to back-dated into some sort of half-breed representation of an earlier production type from which they are descended. Let's face it, an Me109 made from a Buchon with a DB601/5 stuck on the front is never going to be as historic as a plain old Buchon.
And if a Buchon is equivalent to a G model, then a DB605 would be the proper engine, unless we are talking about the few 109G-0's made.
Just my two cents, and not meant to be a bash of what is a very good & practical idea.
Although the site of 4,6 or even 8 Buchons doing a flyby in BoB film or Spanish Air Force livery would be simply amazing.
cheers
greg v.