WIX Archives
Case in Point
Posted by Jim Harley on Tue Nov 20, 2001 12:52:58 PM
In reply top Was: Beware parts consolidation posted by Paul on Tue Nov 20, 2001 06:13:32 AM
How many Mustang airframes donated parts to Bob Odegaards P-51 Dazzling Donna? I've heard varying numbers but it was quite a few...and..what dictated the actual serial number for registration?
Airplanes are very much different than cars...cars don't leave the ground. Airplanes require degrees of safety and tolerances that cars cannot even touch. I truly believe it is bad to compare the two. Warbirds are generally rebuilt as per Military repair manuals and restoration shops do nothing more than what an active aircraft would undergo as per military overhaul. ANY aircraft can fall under these guidelines.
I don't agree in building an aircraft wholly around a data plate..there should be a seperate category....such as an "R" suffix attached to the a/c registration. If you start with an intact or relatively substantial remains of an aircraft with a dataplate, rebuilt to airworthy standards, there is nothing saying this a/c is a replica...it is simply an extension of it's service life. Kermit Weeks' recently flew the ex Paul Mantz B model...not much of this airframe is original but it was built around a substantial amount original unservicable airframe. In my eyes this airplane is still original...and very real.
Jim