WIX Archives
Re: How we describe warbird projects -long - views sought please
Posted by Scott WRG Editor on Wed Dec 05, 2001 08:07:47 AM
In reply top Re: How we describe warbird projects -long - views sought please posted by Steve Young on Tue Dec 04, 2001 02:27:05 PM
: : P.S. We have found three different serials on different
: pa
: : rts of the Spit wing during it's rebuild, I'm currently
: ty
: : ring to find out if any of these bits were part of an ai
: rc
: : raft with combat history. So far we have a mkII serial a
: nd
: : two mkV serials, iiiiinteresting.....
This brings up and interesting point. How do you classify and aircraft with parts from different aircraft? Especially if the parts were changed in military service? With cars a collectors piece would have to have the numbers match. But in military service, especially in wartime, this wouldn't have been a concern for aircraft. Mechanics would take parts from whatever aircraft they had that had been grounded and fix the aircraft to get it airworthy. This happens today. Most air forces have donor aircraft that supply replacement parts for airworthy aircraft. Davis-Monthan AFB/AMARC's purposes is the recycle parts and entire aircraft into spares for the current fleet.
My point is this. You take delivery (say your a museum) of an A-6 Intruder straight from AMARC or even a reserve squadron (although I don't think there are any, but regardless). Now this aircraft has seen service for 30+ years. It doesn't have it's original engines, avionics, canopy or even the wing box. Now is this aircraft "Authentic". I think so.
The problem is the variables involved. They are much more complicated than cars and defy easy classification. History and originality definately do affect the value of an aircraft. But you can't come up with and easy classification system, all aircraft are different.
Scott