WIX Archives
Re: Jim Pearce's warbird imports
Posted by Dave on Sat Oct 11, 2003 11:06:42 PM
In reply top Re: Jim Pearce's warbird imports posted by Cees Broere on Sat Oct 11, 2003 01:24:40 PM
Cees
To use a word being banded around a lot lately , any recoveries are 'sexed up' all the way down the line from the recovery crews , the importers/ owners and the aviation press etc. Don't forget it is a big money buisiness and like any product that is going to be sold the more hype surrounding it ,the more $$$ it will bring in at a later date...adding phrases such as 'rare'and 'ace' in the headlines draws everybodies attention. I think only the very silly can't distinguish the difference in what the end result is going to be from seeing a photo of , say , the complete Me110F wreck and the pile of alluminium , that when pieced together might resemble the shape of a rare aircraft [ remember that 'jigsaw puzzle' Russian Spit laid out on the hangar floor ?]. IMHO , as long as buyers know what they are getting , i.e. photos of the 'raw material' , that later will constitute a bright and shiny 'rare' aircraft .. fair enough.
Jim Pearce has been one of the pioneers of getting several superb ,basically complete wrecks out of the East ,but unfortunately for every one of those, there are ten that are piles of 'bits' ....in the long run these are important in thier own right , supplying parts to help complete the others. Of course the rebuilding of the 'bits' aircraft in itself , just means the finished machine is a 'new build ' with some original parts ... maybe we should call them 'Flugwerkers' ;-).
Then we get to the tired arguement as to what consitutes an 'original ' and what doesn't...I think at this time the majority of opinion leans toward an original center section/fuselage.
That said I have never heard anything other than a high opinion of Jims' buisiness ethics , and indeed , by allowing photographs to be published of his wrecks ' as is ' he is showing honesty from the outset.
There are several others who don't allow any such thing ..until the rebuild is well underway ,and others still who totally mislead by telling half truths .... a certain German Buchon conversion comes to mind ;-0
further comments welcomed !
Dave
: I agree with your opinion about the joints, castings etc.
: and that is exactly what we save from the scrap left after
: we have recovered a wreck in the hope that they might be
: useful for other projects, in fact some of the parts from
: my cockpit project came from digs. But in the press you al
: ways read that a rare German aircraft has been recovered a
: nd then you see a large heap of shredded aluminium. In tha
: t case it is the 'fault' of the journalists. But I would s
: till not call the majority of the recovered heaps an aircr
: aft but a load of spare parts. But then again that is just
: a matter of opinion, and not my intention to condemn the
: work Jim Pearce has done over the years.
:
: Cees
: