# Big mistake



## Viper (Jan 29, 2005)

After world war 2 south american airforces bought surplus P-51s from the americans, they used them until the 60s then my grandpas buisness partner bought 2 of them for 10 grand!!  . Why my grandpa didnt buy ten i dont know..... His partner went to pick them up and flew them home on the way back he had to land at a restricted millitary base because of low fuel levels. They inspected the planes and they still had the paint jobs and ensignias of south america. The also found that the six 50.caliber machine guns were still fully fireable and wernt leaded in. fortunatly he was allowed to go home but had to lead the 50 cals in of corse. He painted them, made one a double seat and sold them for a very high price years later.


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## Nonskimmer (Jan 29, 2005)

That's a real shame.


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## Viper (Jan 30, 2005)

yes it is.....


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## evangilder (Jan 30, 2005)

Sadly, there are alot of stories of WWII aircraft that were acquired on the cheap and treated like rummage sale scrap. The P-38 that is in our museum (soon to be gone) was purchased from the reclamation center for $1,250! 

The movie "Battle of Britain" used a bunch of WWII German fighters and bombers that today would be worth a fortune. What ever happened to them? I know that they were part of the Spanish Air Force when the movie was filmed, but afterwards, who knows? The last flyable He-111 crashed a few years ago.


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 30, 2005)

Its all such a damn shame.


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## mosquitoman (Jan 30, 2005)

At least there's complete aircraft in most cases, the biggest piece of a Stirling that's been found was the rear fuselage and was being used as a chicken shed in Holland


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 30, 2005)

Jeez thats a shame. It would be great to have a Stirling flying. Are there any Halifaxes flying?


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## mosquitoman (Jan 30, 2005)

There's one in an unrecovered state at Hendon, there's a composite of several crashes at Yorkshire Air Museum Elvington and there's one in Canada being restored but I don't know to what condition (flying, taxiable, static)


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 30, 2005)

i beleive it's to be a static, although the tail turret will work..........


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## mosquitoman (Jan 30, 2005)

Are there any B-26 Marauders left? I haven't heard about any anywhere


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## Nonskimmer (Jan 30, 2005)

The Halifax currently undergoing restoration will become a static display at the RCAF Museum in Trenton, Ontario.


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## Crazy (Jan 30, 2005)

It's all such a damned shame  

 to anyone who takes the time to restore old warbirds


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## Cougar (Jan 30, 2005)

no kiddin eh, after the war anybody could buy a mint condition lancaster from the local airbase for the grand total of 350$


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## Cougar (Jan 30, 2005)

farmers bought them for chicken coops

But around calgary there is somewarbird restoration going on, as far as i know there is a hurricane being restored to flying condition and a mossy on the list to be. The museums lancaster is too far gone because of a cracked spar no engines, its been gutted and has a primer paint job, to make it worse some kids got in it and smashed it to hell. The one in nanton is much better though not flyable and will take a COMPLETE rebuilt from wheels up which will cost 10mill the whole town of nanton doesnt have that so theres no hope in sight for it flying, but it is quite an expierience to go in it. there is alot of warbirds in my area, in many museums but there should be more. Another example is another restored hurricane that was found in a barn in a haystack.


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## Nonskimmer (Jan 31, 2005)

Got any pictures?


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## Cougar (Jan 31, 2005)

ill find some


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## Crazy (Jan 31, 2005)

$350... I don't know whether to dream fondly of buying a mint-condition bomber for that amount, or to be sick at the incredible wasteful purposes people put them to


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## Cougar (Jan 31, 2005)

no seriously it is in the museum and everything, the archives, i live right by a old training base, lots of lancs were there


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## Cougar (Jan 31, 2005)

heres the hurricane found in a barn


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## Cougar (Jan 31, 2005)

Crazy said:


> $350... I don't know whether to dream fondly of buying a mint-condition bomber for that amount, or to be sick at the incredible wasteful purposes people put them to


heres an example of what the bombers were used for after the war, a cattle shelter, this is the lancaster that is now in the nanton museum

heres the site with a complete history of this lanc. its pretty intresting
www.lancastermuseum.ca


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## Nonskimmer (Jan 31, 2005)

Those are some great pictures. Man, what a way to treat 'em! 
At least that Lanc is getting a fitting home. Thanks for the link.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Feb 1, 2005)

i can't beleive it, a couple in England own a actual lancaster cockpit with original fittings but now they have to sell it (didn't say why) and the only serious bid they've had is from a german company, they want to blow it up for a film.............


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## Viper (Feb 4, 2005)

theres a a good chunk of a mock lancaster in this museum, cockpit, and fusalge, it was used in a movie. A lancs cockpit isnt very big, the whole lancaster inside is pretty small and crude. I wouldnt want to be one of the crew in a lancaster.


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 4, 2005)

I wouldnt want to be in any bomber. Fighter on the other hand...


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## Viper (Feb 4, 2005)

true that... a B-17 isnt bad inside though, and it has lots of guns. What fighter would you want to be in?


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 4, 2005)

P-38, Or maybe FW-190D-9


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## wmaxt (Feb 4, 2005)

mosquitoman said:


> Are there any B-26 Marauders left? I haven't heard about any anywhere



Yes there is one in South Florida and I'm not sure but I think there is one in Seattle. If there are two they are both flyable. Sorry I can't be more definitive I saw them in two seperate documentarys just recently and about the same time I heard that one of the places had monetary problems so it could be one that got a new owner.

I'd go with a P-38 too.


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 4, 2005)

The L model though, of course


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## Viper (Feb 4, 2005)

id go with a P-51-h or a later variant spit.


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## Viper (Feb 4, 2005)

Are there any B-26 Marauders left? I haven't heard about any anywhere 

there is one in alaska that crashed over the alaska highway. IT wasnt recovred until 1972 and what there was left of it wasnt pretty the whole nose was smashed off no engines ect... they restored it to flying condition.


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## mosquitoman (Feb 4, 2005)

Personally I'd go for a tempest for the power (engine and cannons)


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 5, 2005)

I wouldnt mind having a go in a Stuka


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Feb 5, 2005)

oh sure, ignore the fact that they want TO BLOW IT UP!!!!


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 5, 2005)

Nobody cares lanc


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Feb 6, 2005)

but it's an original cockpit!!!!

it was used in the filming of that beer advert with the dambusters an the guy catchin the mines............


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## mosquitoman (Feb 6, 2005)

I care, it's just I'm a skint student so I buy it myself


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## Viper (Feb 21, 2005)

awel its jus the cockpit, they melted real lancasters to make pans out of them.


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 21, 2005)

the lancaster kicks ass said:


> but it's an original cockpit!!!!
> 
> it was used in the filming of that beer advert with the dambusters an the guy catchin the mines............



That is one of the best adverts ever! 8)


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Feb 22, 2005)

then you should care about the loss of the cockpit!!


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## cheddar cheese (Feb 22, 2005)

Nah...it had a good life  Besides, If its being used for a war film itll be great!


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Feb 23, 2005)

you wouldn't be saying the same if it was a plane you liked............


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## Medvedya (Feb 23, 2005)

And they might always balls up the take! Seems a bit wanton when you can build a completely convincing replica pit for that sort of thing.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Feb 23, 2005)

yeah it is a bit stupid, the electronics on it actually work so you can even power up some of the systems............


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## Medvedya (Feb 23, 2005)

Oh well, that's just pointless destruction then. It's not as if anything to do with WWII aviation is in abundant quantities. Very silly.


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## hellmaker (Mar 20, 2005)

There are few people who invest time and money nowadays in restaurating ww2 planes...It's trully a great loss...I myself consider ww2 aricraft the best flying machines ever built... Those were the days when flying was indeed something special...Now everything is controlled by computers which aren't even safe enough...and though craches mainly happen due to computer error human pilots are more often blamed for the accident...Now whith no true flying experience how can they take control in an emergency, they turn to computers instead of concentrating on their own pilot-trained reactions...This is bullshit...


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Mar 20, 2005)

but it has revolutionised air travel however...........

bit i mean blowing it up!!


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