WIX Archives
Re: "Rescue"
Posted by Dan K on Fri Feb 22, 2002 12:41:37 PM
In reply top "Rescue" posted by Joe Scheil on Fri Feb 22, 2002 12:04:51 PM
: Please don't be so hard on the Walter Soplatas of the worl
: d. He is the reason that the airframes have survived in t
: he first place. It is visionaries and dreamers that have
: saved the stuff when all others felt they were junk. He h
: as a place that is safe from economic predation, his farm,
: and his "preserved" aircraft will remain so. The F2G, Fg
: -1 and all of the other will one day be restored, but they
: probably will sit there for many more years first. He ca
: red about the stuff, he put the sweat of his life into it,
: so to criticise his methods is incredibly bad taste. If
: you look at the "preservation" movement elsewhere, note th
: at many "Museums" have collapsed and the aircraft are dest
: royed when they are part of the "public" domain...See Flor
: ence SC, Southend, and many others. Soplata's family has
: his fierce dedication to those aircraft. To let them fall
: into the hands of some of the "preservationists" would be
: tragic. Use your resources to save things that need savi
: ng, don't try and "save" saved aircraft again!
I couldn't agree any more with Joe and Jim's assessments. IMHO Walter Soplata is a U.S. warbird folk hero!
Now if I could just persuade the family to trade me that XP-82 project for my PT-19 project EVERYTHING would be right with the world!
Best wishes (fair skies, tailwinds, yada yada...),
Dan