Oregon's World Class Aviation Museums

[RTO]

I hadn't heard that Hobbit. Thank you. :D

I'll have something to Google tonight when I get home. I'd think the ice would have preserved it very nice if it didn't rust it first.

With some repairs, they took it off and flew it shortly after it was recovered from the ice. Here's "The Lost Squadron" link:

http://www.thelostsquadron.com/

"The last section of the aircraft, the center section, was seventeen feet by twenty-one feet and weighed seven-thousand pounds. It, too, had to travel the 268 feet to the surface. Attached to the plane were cables that ran up to several winches. The bulk of the lifting was done by one very powerful manually operated hoist. Using it required applying great pressure uniformly, and it turned out that only one member of the team had the necessary strength for the job. The crank required four turns for every quarter-inch rise."

The plane was hand crancked 268 feet to the surface by hand by one man?!?! WoW!!!

[WildBill]

That P-38 is the one on display in Middlesboro, KY I think. I have been through there on several trips driving semi but have not had the chance to stop at the museum. That has to be one of my "this years" motorcycle trips.

[hobbit]

I hadn't heard that Hobbit. Thank you. :D

I'll have something to Google tonight when I get home. I'd think the ice would have preserved it very nice if it didn't rust it first.

With some repairs, they took it off and flew it shortly after it was recovered from the ice. Here's "The Lost Squadron" link:

http://www.thelostsquadron.com/

"The last section of the aircraft, the center section, was seventeen feet by twenty-one feet and weighed seven-thousand pounds. It, too, had to travel the 268 feet to the surface. Attached to the plane were cables that ran up to several winches. The bulk of the lifting was done by one very powerful manually operated hoist. Using it required applying great pressure uniformly, and it turned out that only one member of the team had the necessary strength for the job. The crank required four turns for every quarter-inch rise."

The plane was hand crancked 268 feet to the surface by hand by one man?!?! WoW!!!

Yea, that's amazing isn't it? Do the math. Four complete turns of the crank, by hand, for 1/4 inch of lift, times 268 feet. That's over 51,000 turns of the crank. The guy must have collapsed from exhaustion when he was finally done.

BTW Performance figures for WWII fighters are often vastly overstated. British aviation writers are especially guilty. Thus it rather understates the fact that "Glacier Girl" was one of the fastest piston aircraft in the world when she went down in Greenland in 1942. This P-38 could cruise at 400 mph at 15,000 ft. Very few WWII aircraft could match that and only later models of aircraft developed in late '44 or '45 at that. The Mosquito, P-51, and Corsair are the only ones that come to mind.

[RTO]

What is really amazing about these pieces of flying history is it was only maybe 25-30 years ago when a P-51 or Spitfire or similar were only worth...... maybe $10,000 at most.

Nobody wanted them, the restorations were considered difficult and extremely expensive and the interest in owning one was just not there. I think it was in the early 80's when it became fashionable and trendy to own a flying warplane. Now, many of them cost more than $1 million dollars to own and maybe a quarter million dollars to maintain and fly every year.

[hobbit]

What is really amazing about these pieces of flying history is it was only maybe 25-30 years ago when a P-51 or Spitfire or similar were only worth...... maybe $10,000 at most.

Nobody wanted them, the restorations were considered difficult and extremely expensive and the interest in owning one was just not there. I think it was in the early 80's when it became fashionable and trendy to own a flying warplane. Now, many of them cost more than $1 million dollars to own and maybe a quarter million dollars to maintain and fly every year.

You're right about vintage aircraft prices -they're going through the roof. Up in Northern Canada and Alaska, the really established big dollar hunting and fishing lodges consider a De Havilland Beaver float plane a "must have". A fully restored aircraft goes for well over $1 million, and people are standing in line to get them. This is an airplane that with the exception of modern avionics, hasn't changed from its original 1930's design. It's amazing to think that in a couple of decades, some of these aircraft will no doubt still be hauling hunters and fishermen into north country lodges when they're approaching 100 years old! Nostalgic clients love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

[RTO]

Amazing! I was aware of the warbirds, I had no idea about float planes!

Always been a dream of mine to take a Northern Alaska/Canada hunting and or fishing vacation. I understand a first rate hunting lodge up north rates $25,000 or more per week. Now I know why, they gotta pay for that restored float plane!

[hobbit]

Amazing! I was aware of the warbirds, I had no idea about float planes!

Always been a dream of mine to take a Northern Alaska/Canada hunting and or fishing vacation. I understand a first rate hunting lodge up north rates $25,000 or more per week. Now I know why, they gotta pay for that restored float plane!

The top three or four dozen lodges are ones you and I could never book into. They don't advertise because there's no need. They cater mainly to top executives whose corporations keep them booked years in advance. There was one such lodge in Northern British Columbia for sale when I was up there recently. They were asking $10 million. It was on a 2000 acre private lake, could accomodate 25 clients per week, its gross revenues were $3.4 million annually, and it only operated 5 months a year. That's not up there in the $25,000 per week range, but it's still a lot of jack for a fishing vacation (about $6500 per week). They only had a Cessna though. :D