Are there any warbirds like the Kee bird was?

[PWR4360-59B]

The B29 frozen in time deal. Are there any in flying condition that need rescuing? It would be fun for a bunch of us old airplane types to get to fix some old plane and fly it out, this time make sure the fuel tank is tied down though.

 

[oldcrowcv63]

It would indeed be fun, but also extremely expensive is my guess. Sorry guys, if I had that kind of money I'd spend it at the controls of my own Stearman, DeHavilland Gypsy, F4F/FM or P-40. 8) I sure wouldn't spend time haunting this web... well maybe just a little time....

 

[meatloaf109]

love you too, crow...

 

[evangilder]

There are still some out there. It would be cool to do an expedition like that, but it is really expensive to put something like that together.

From the P-38 Glacier Girl site:

How do you get a P-38 out of the ice? Simple...melt the ice!

Well, maybe not as simple as that, seeing how it was 268 feet of ice. Basically, you start with a six-digit budget, followed by transporting tons of equipment that include arctic survival gear and heavy construction machinery, and top it all off with adventure-minded individuals willing to take the hardships and risks associated with one-of-a-kind expeditions to a hostile environment. That's what it took to recover a P-38 from "The Lost Squadron."

Glacier Girl - The Lost Squadron (Recovery of a P-38 from beneath a Greenland ice cap)

Not to say it isn't doable, but it take a lot of money to get to them. Glacier Girl was under 268 feet of ice.

 

[MikeGazdik]

There are still some out there. It would be cool to do an expedition like that, but it is really expensive to put something like that together.

From the P-38 Glacier Girl site:

Glacier Girl - The Lost Squadron (Recovery of a P-38 from beneath a Greenland ice cap)

Not to say it isn't doable, but it take a lot of money to get to them. Glacier Girl was under 268 feet of ice.

I read the book about the recovery of her. And yes that would be a fantasy come true to help a piece of history like Glacier Girl to fly again. Very few people outside of aviation freaks, understand how awesome it was for me, when at an airshow to actually touch, with my bare hand, Glacier Girl in person! It was at a Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in Columbus, Ohio. And here I am all exited over a P-38!!!! I will never forget it.

 

[GrauGeist]

There's a reason why they call it the "Lost Squadron" where the Glacier Girl was found...there's more of them down there...

The shifting glacier has scattered them, though. Last I heard, there was a German expedition out there looking for them.

 

[Airframes]

Yep, and quite a number of years back, one of the B-17s that was with the same flight, was discovered and investigated. Although complete, and many parts easily recognizable, the ice had already started the process of crushing it. Had it eventually been excavated, it would have been a very, very expensive pile of scrap.

 

[PWR4360-59B]

I was thinking on the lines of something intact and maybe sitting at a remote airport someplace in the world. Kinda like the fire plane on the one ICE pilots show.
I still don't get that one. The glacier girl deal is another one hard to understand. With all the work it would have been easier to reverse engineer a P-38 and build one from scratch.

 

[muscogeemike]

If I remember correctly at least one man died attempting to recover an ice covered B-29.

 

[gumbyk]

I was thinking on the lines of something intact and maybe sitting at a remote airport someplace in the world. Kinda like the fire plane on the one ICE pilots show.
I still don't get that one. The glacier girl deal is another one hard to understand. With all the work it would have been easier to reverse engineer a P-38 and build one from scratch.

And then you're left with a 'replica' (or at best a 'reproduction') Its just not the same.
And don't underestimate the amount of time and work that goes into reverse engineering an aircraft.

 

[GrauGeist]

As it stands, Glacier Girl is not only the world's most complete and authentic P-38, it is also the only complete P-38F in the world, there is another F, but it's a beached wreck in Wales.

It was certainly worth the effort.

 

[A4K]

Read about that recovery in 2001, pre restoration. They know the general locations of most (if not all) the remaining aircraft from that flight, and were offering then (possibly still are) the opporrtunity of pulling up the bird of your choice on the grounds that you pay full price, no matter what condition she comes up in - quite a risky investment. (As Terry pointed out, B-17F 'Big Stoop' was located, but has been crushed and pulled to pieces by the ice movements)

 

[PWR4360-59B]

I thought I heard that Glacier Girl, was almost a total rebuild with somewhere near 90% of the parts needing to be remade. Don't know for sure.

 

[tyrodtom]

I thought I heard that Glacier Girl, was almost a total rebuild with somewhere near 90% of the parts needing to be remade. Don't know for sure.

According to the Glacier Girl website 80% of the aircraft is origional.