WIX Archives

P-38 Opinion Poll

Posted by RobC on Wed Jun 11, 2003 05:44:44 PM

In the May/June 2003 issue of Warbirds International, author Michael O?Leary describes the recent trade of P-38 N5596V as follows: ??in one of the strangest (some Warbird owners have said ?strange? should read ?stupid?) transactions in the warbird business, then traded the flying aircraft for the Commemorative Air Force?s damaged North American P-82 Twin Mustang and the wreckage of P-38 Scatterbrain Kid II.?

My question is, strange/stupid for whom? The CAF, which does not have the resources to rebuild either aircraft, received a P-38 to once again fulfill their mission of flying each major WWII fighter. The P-82 did not really fit their mission, even though it is a bitchin airplane.

The new owner got a 2-for-1 deal that makes a lot of sense, too. The last P-82 project was advertised for $1 Million and presumably sold for close to that amount. Mustang projects in this condition do not sell for much less. The CAF project is a very straightforward rebuilt by today?s standards. This leaves a value of the P-38 project at around $400,000. While more heavily damaged, it is very complete and quite restorable. For an owner who can afford it and wants both of these airplanes, it makes sense. Certainly if a guy wanted a P-82, this was the only one available.

So who was stupid here?

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