WIX Archives
Extremely well put Rob, I couldn't agree more... n/t
Posted by Richard Allnutt on Mon Feb 02, 2004 05:30:24 PM
In reply top a question of 'profit'? posted by Rob Mears on Mon Feb 02, 2004 02:13:39 PM
: Whether it is money itself or the heartfelt reward of a jo
: b well done, relative 'profit' is the grease in the wheels
: that make the world go around. It's a shame some people
: have the big picture right in front of them, and still the
: y choose to zero in on any singular aspect of a circumstan
: ce that they can panhandle as some righteous cause against
: "greed".
:
: If not for some perceived idea of profit, there are few if
: any factors that would stand to generate enough justifica
: tion for the recovery of relics like the Swamp Ghost. Any
: one who thinks that Tallichet or anyone else will PROFIT f
: rom this venture after the years and money spent in negoti
: ations, licensing, the cost of the various expeditions, re
: covery, relocation, and the complete restoration of such a
: machine are completely fooling themselves in my opinion.
: I figure Tallichet has enough money and enough warbird ex
: perience under his belt not to be sitting in his office dr
: ooling on how much cash he stands to make from this ventur
: e. Some people might say the same about Doug Champlin's e
: fforts against the Navy toward the recovery of the Devasta
: tor off the Florida coast. I somehow doubt that he stood
: to make enough profit to justify the headache he went thro
: ugh for that one. The 'profit' in these cases is more aki
: n to the knowledge that one has affected the successful sa
: lvage and preservation of an extremely rare or the only kn
: own surviving example of a very historical aircraft.
:
: The same goes for Glacier Girl. Other than the warm feeli
: ng one gets from spending millions to recover and restore
: a hopelessly lost & forgotten aircraft, how much money do
: you think the owner has made back toward his investment?
: In retrospect, can anyone honestly declare that history an
: d society would have been better served by leaving Glacier
: Girl and the faded memory of that flight buried under the
: ice cap?? If the recoverers in these circumstances wante
: d nothing more than to make money, I'd lay bet that they'd
: be the first to declare that there are far more lucrative
: investments to be made other than financing the recovery
: of rotted aircraft hulks from the far reaches of the globe
: .
:
: The "personal profit of a few" quote referred to in the or
: iginal post goes beyond the pale in regard to its supposed
: ly serving the greater good of said "priceless relics". H
: ow ironic is an argument that would champion the desire to
: see such a plane remain stagnant in a remote jungle swamp
: where only a very small number of hard-core expeditionist
: s will ever be able to enjoy the physical truth of her exi
: stence? This, versus its recovery and restoration where h
: undreds of thousands of air show goers could revel in the
: history of the plane, her crew, and her rarity. Even prop
: er preservation in its current condition at a suitable mus
: eum would be a far more suitable fate for the plane than t
: he privelege of a handful of explorers being able to docum
: ent her slow return to the elements.
:
: The irony in Mr. Taylan's argument is that "The Few" more
: so represents the occasional hard-core expeditionists who
: 'profit' by maintaining the deteriorating corpse of Swamp
: Ghost as some sort of obscure rotting touchstone deep in t
: he wilds of New Guinea. The fact that they can maintain t
: heir point of view even as the plane is being rapidly scav
: enged of its 'priceless' components further stands to illu
: minate the motivation of "The Few".
:
: How much honor can be paid to the memory of this aircraft
: and the circumstances that preserved it as a relic of war
: while it is hidden away, half submerged in some remote swa
: mp? The world, and more precisely the American public (wh
: o paid for and rightly own the plane) might find a half do
: zen low quality photos of her on the web if they search ha
: rd... Nothing in comparison to having the same plane taxi
: up on the ramp at 20+ air shows a year with a dozen histor
: ians to tell her story and maintain the vitality of the tr
: uth surrounding her history.
:
: As I see it, some particular circumstance of fate effectiv
: ely grasped this particular plane and secured it (albeit t
: emporarily) in such space and time to survive as testament
: for the countless other aircraft of its type that were ei
: ther destroyed in combat, or returned home to meet their i
: nglorious end as nothing more than post-war garbage.
:
: I feel there is an innate desire in mankind to preserve th
: e truth of past events that have agressively altered world
: society, and also to preserve the memories of honorable t
: imes in which men served up their lives en mass for a part
: icular cause. This being the case for future's sake, it's
: up to the preservationists of the world to do what they c
: an to maintain the living links to the past that keep impo
: rtant facts from being regarded as little more than fairy
: tales.
:
: The Swamp Ghost is arguably one of the rarest surviving to
: uchstones of WWII aviation history, and I personally think
: its urgent that people be able to look beyond the hand in
: front of their face and make themselves aware of what is
: most important for the long haul. What will be more impor
: tant 200 years from now...that a small number of extreme e
: xpeditionists were able to trek into the wilderness and se
: e the Swamp Ghost where she came to rest before being effe
: ctively dismantled bit by bit during the mid-21st Century
: by local scrap merchants, or that the journey of that same
: plane was seen through to its proper end by being relocat
: ed and preserved for the benefit of the masses, and for th
: e future's more vivid understanding of the past?