MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
Years ago a friend of mine, a Waco biplane enthusiast, listed a basket case Waco in TradeAPlane, showing an unreasonable high price to allow for some negotiation. He got a call from an older gentleman who asked about the airplane. They were both serious antique airplane enthusiasts and had a nice chat, followed by the old guy asking if my friend would sell the Waco project for $X, a couple of thousand bucks less than the listing. My friend replied he would take that for the project and the older man said he would give it some thought and get back to him.
The older man would call once in a while and they would have another nice chat, followed by him making a lower offer for the Waco. My friend enjoyed the conversations and grew rather maudlin about the old man's interest. "He'll spend his last years working on that airplane, and never finish it." he though. Then came the day in which the old man made another lower offer and when my friend said he would take it, the old guy said, "Okay, I'll send you the money and send some guys by with a truck to pick it up."
The money came and then one day a truck arrived, not the U-Haul or beat up stakebed farm truck my friend had assumed it would be, but a gorgeous shiny new 18 wheeler, with "Phillips 66" on the side.
The old gentlemen buyer was named "Mr Phillips." Checking the phone number showed it was near Bartellsville, OK, the HQ of Phillips 66 Oil Company, and the owner of that company was a known biplane enthusiast who hosted a big biplane fly in each year. He had been talking to THAT Mr. Phillips! My friend had let a billionaire talk him down in price.
The older man would call once in a while and they would have another nice chat, followed by him making a lower offer for the Waco. My friend enjoyed the conversations and grew rather maudlin about the old man's interest. "He'll spend his last years working on that airplane, and never finish it." he though. Then came the day in which the old man made another lower offer and when my friend said he would take it, the old guy said, "Okay, I'll send you the money and send some guys by with a truck to pick it up."
The money came and then one day a truck arrived, not the U-Haul or beat up stakebed farm truck my friend had assumed it would be, but a gorgeous shiny new 18 wheeler, with "Phillips 66" on the side.
The old gentlemen buyer was named "Mr Phillips." Checking the phone number showed it was near Bartellsville, OK, the HQ of Phillips 66 Oil Company, and the owner of that company was a known biplane enthusiast who hosted a big biplane fly in each year. He had been talking to THAT Mr. Phillips! My friend had let a billionaire talk him down in price.
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