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Re: Brantford 2003 photos

Posted by Tony Broadhurst on Fri Aug 29, 2003 07:45:35 PM

In reply top Re: Brantford 2003 photos posted by Mike Henniger on Fri Aug 29, 2003 04:55:38 PM

Mike,
You are ahead of me on FV720/CF-CVT. When I saw it at Welland in 1999 there was still a lot of work to do on it. I knew it had been registered again, but was not aware it was actually back in the air. I have seen no mention of FV720 on the CWH website.

FV720, was one of the last Cornells completed by Fleet and the final seventy or so appear to have had no useful RCAF service, only storage. The record card gives TOS 22.9.44, but if, as we are told production finished in Spring 1944 there leaves an unexplained gap. Some were stored by the USAAF for a while, at Reading, PA, perhaps FV720 was one. In May 1947, FV720 was tranferred "Free Issue" to the Royal Canadian Flying Club Association and later registered as CF-CVT to the Brandon Flying Club.

One small correction to Bob Ogden's "Aircraft Museums and Collections of the World", which lists CF-CVP, ex-FV730 as being with the Collingwood Collection. On the 1999 trip I found the Cornell had gone from Collingwood and that the quoted identity had been incorrect. The aircraft the collection had held was FV720/CF-CVT and it had moved to Welland Airport for restoration by Bruce McRitchie - which where I came across it the following day.

You may well be right that this was the one involved in the accident.

As to why the CWH now fly three examples I cannot say, though according an article in the RCAFA magazine "Airforce" (Summer 2002) the Warplane Heritage was conducting a course of "refresher" flying for pilots more used to modern tricycle aircraft using their Cornells and Harvards.

If you photographed FV720 at the Ottawa Flight Fest I would be interested to see it.

Many thanks for answering my query, Tony

: : The CWH Cornell (I believe the registration is CF-CVT)th
: at
: : had the accident last year has been repaired and is fly
: in
: : g again. There is another Cornell under restoration in
: We
: : lland, Ontario by the same group as well.
:
: I recently came to realize the CWH has three Cornells (whe
: n you live in Ottawa you often can't keep up with what is
: going on down in Hamilton). I could be wrong, so feel fre
: e to correct me. I don't know why a museum like the CWH w
: ould operate so many of one type, but there may be a good
: reason.
:
: Here are the details of the airframes that I believe the C
: WH operates
:
: #1 I first saw this one at the Hamilton International Air
: Show in 1995 and more recently at the CWH in December 2002
: ...
: Model: Fairchild-Fleet M-62A-3 Cornell
: S/N: 10694 RCAF
: C/N: FC195
: C/R: C-GCWC
: Owner: Canadian Warplane Heritage
: Codes: "Spirit of Fleet II"
: History: Conell II [PT-26B] (1943) 10694 RCAF TOS (1943/5
: /17), SOS (1946/12/2), CF-ESD, C-GCWC registered M-26A-3
: Notes: 10694 is marked with the name "Spirit of Fleet II"
: in memory of the 1000th PT-26 build by Fleet in Fort Erie
: which at the time was named "Spririt of Fleet".
:
: #2 I saw this one at the CWH in December 2002 for the firs
: t time and is the same one Eric photographed this week...
: Model: Fairchild M-62A-3 Cornell
: S/N: FV702 RCAF
: C/N: 1070
: C/R: CF-CVF
: Owner: Canadian Warplane Heritage
: Codes: "Spirit of Little Norway", "163"
: History: Cornell II FV702 RCAF TOS (1944/9/22), SOS (1947
: /5/6), CF-CVF (1997/9/24) registered M62A-3, first post-re
: storation flight (1998/6/24)
:
: #3 This one I just saw for the first time at Ottawa Flight
: Fest. As I understand it, it was this one the was involv
: ed in a forced landing a year or so ago. If I have my fac
: ts wrong please let me know. Here is what I know so far (
: but I am not finished my homework yet)...
: Model: Fairchild-Fleet M-62A-3 Cornell
: S/N: FV720 RCAF?
: C/R: CF-CVT
: Owner: Canadian Warplane Heritage
: Codes: "Spirit of Fort Erie"
: History: _____ (1943) FV720 _____, CF-CVT (2001/6/5)
:
: If anyone can help by providing some more details please l
: et me know.
:
: Regards,
:
: Mike
:

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