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F4U-5N Corsair, BuNo.122179 restoration

Posted by Rob Mears on Wed Nov 12, 2003 03:19:54 PM

I received a couple of shots today of BuNo.122179 (the real one) which has now been relocated to France and completely disassembled in preparation for it's (long term) restoration to airworthy condition.

This is the same machine that suffered the forced landing near Houston in 1984, subsequently catching fire in the accessory compartment forward of the cockpit. The new owners have purchased a rebuildable spar and have begun the process of tracking down many of the other small parts that have been pilfered from the airframe over the last 20 years.

BuNo.122179 has served as a parts source for no less than three other Corsair restorations since the mid-1980s. It's data plate was recovered and used to register another previously unidentified F4U-5N (BuNo.123168) following the restoration of that aircraft.

Most know BuNo.122179 as the derelict airframe that spent the last few years in open storage behind Tom Reiley's facility in Kissimmee, Florida. If you know the plane, then you know this restoration is going to be one heck of a long-term undertaking. I've always hoped that someone would step in and resurrect this Corsair before it was pilfered into non-existence. Good to see it in the hands of it's new caring family :)

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