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Re: with these prices, the future?

Posted by Cees Broere on Mon Oct 28, 2002 05:22:59 AM

In reply top Re: Christer - Spitfire response from 24 October posted by Christer on Mon Oct 28, 2002 05:01:53 AM

Christer,

Interesting topic, very refreshing (sobering?) to learn about the prices you need to pay for a airworthy rebuild, and then only for a single engined fighter. Just look at the amount they had to pay for the restoration of Glacier Girl, about 3.000.000 USD.

I was wondering what the future would be for restorations to airworthy standard. The costs for a single engined fighter are already high but what if you want to restore a Blenheim or B-25. If you remember the restoration of the B-24 by the Collings Foundation which cost also about 1.000.000 USD (that time) and there was a fair bit of sponsering as well what would be chances that the restoration of an airworthy bomber would be considering the enormous costs for restoring one from the ground up.

Don't you think that there will ever come a certain moment where it just isn't financially possible to take on such a project and in fact bringing all future restorations to a screeching halt? Indicating that newly recovered airframes will only be restored to static display condition. Or the owners to be are prepared to pay millions more for such a restoration.

Or am I too pessimistic

Cees

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