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Re: To recover or not

Posted by john parker on Mon Feb 02, 2004 06:12:42 PM

In reply top To recover or not posted by Cees Broere on Mon Feb 02, 2004 02:26:38 PM

: Hi all,
:
: What would be the reason why an aircraft wreck would be re
: covered. Is that it's rarity, it's historical importance o
: r the amount of money that can be earned. In some cases th
: e historical aspect would be more imporant such as the Hal
: ifax recoveries from Norway, a possible Stirling from any
: fresh water lake, but I'm sure that if a complete Lancater
: was found intact at the bottom of a fresh water lake, the
: re would be no interest to recover it in one piece and res
: tore it. But if a German type was located it would be rais
: ed almost immediately?
:
: Does this mean that aircraft are only being recovered for
: money and will there be in a few years time a surplus of s
: ay 109's and will everything come to a standstill?
:
: Cheers
:
: Cees

Hi Cees

This discussion happens from time to time and it is a very worthwhile one.

Whilst it is true that ocasionally a few blagards emerge who just make a quick quid out of anything that comes along be it aircraft, drugs or people smuggling, the vast majority of people seem to recover and restore aircraft for the love of it.

Of course people have to cover costs butI can't imagine that the average Bf109 or Spitfire restoration results in much by way of profit. There are exceptions naturally (perhaps a certain Brewster comes to mind) but the cost of finding, recovering , rebuilding and marketing aircraft is not cheap so I for one wonder if the case for making a sizable profit is a little overstated.

Thanks for reading

Kindest regards
John Parker

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