WIX Archives
that's exactly what should be done
Posted by Rob Mears on Thu Jan 08, 2004 10:58:37 PM
In reply top Re: Finnish Buffalo poll posted by Jim Church on Thu Jan 08, 2004 08:20:39 PM
Imagine the nightmare of a one of a kind Buffalo taking to the skies and the fuel system catching fire. All the effort of a perfect restoration, and we'd be right back to having absolutely no known survivors left to ponder over. I can remember the days not too long ago when warbird lovers commonly expressed a degree of anguish in regard to no one having had the foresight to preserve at least one Buffalo.
I also agree that the Buffalo should surely be at the top of the list of "planes to replicate for the purpose of flight". Like the 190, 262, Ki-43, F3F, and Polikarpov; we need to see five of these rare birds birthed to make up for allowing the type to drift so close to complete extinction. The surviving Buffalo should be minutely studied in coordinance with any surviving factory plans and its engineering preserved through perfect replication of new airframes. Since some surviving drawings have been known to be not exactly to spec with the aircraft actually produced by the parent company, the archived plans could also be checked for accuracy by cross refrencing the airframe.
It's planes like this sole surviving Buffalo that will give us some factual insight into exactly how far we have progressed as a preservationist society, and how far we still have to go. I would be extremely proud to see someone step up and do the above in order to further the legacy of the infamous Buffalo. In actual fact, the warbird community simply might not have reached the threshold yet where this kind of regard comes as a given response to this type of unique recovery. Hopefully one day this kind of response will be the norm rather than odd exception.