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Re: Oh dear oh dear oh dear

Posted by Brad on Tue Mar 05, 2002 02:24:58 PM

In reply top Oh dear oh dear oh dear posted by Mick on Tue Mar 05, 2002 11:35:41 AM

: And what exactly is my attitude that the warbird world cou
: ld do without ? :
: Is it the attitude that won't allow me to be bullshitted t
: o by warbird owners or whoever is defending their dodgy pr
: actices ?
No, it is the I don't pay the bills, but you should restore your plane the way I want it attitude that I am talking about. I have heard you say more than once, "we all own the history of the plane if we have an interest in it". YOU DON'T OWN ANYTHING REGARDING SOMEBODY ELSE'S AIRPLANE. I don't own anything either. But, I have been involved with the operation and maintenance of warbirds for a while, and I can tell you that nobody owns anything unless they write the checks!
:

:
: I'm not the only one who is looking into the history of Jo
: hn Paul's A36, there's plenty of people out here in enthus
: iast land who are wondering about it.

I say again, the family would have posted the history of this plane, but you were a complete ass to them before they had a chance to tell the story. You said something along the line of "tell us the history of this airplane, if you know anything at all". They made one post, and that was the end of it. If you walked up to a warbird owner/operator/mechanic at an airshow and acted like that, you would find yourself standing alone, staring at an airplane, trying to see if the rivets holding the data plate on were original or not. You know why, they don't care if their P-51 is 100% original or if it just looks that way! They have a mustang to fly, and you paid your money to come see it fly. They don't owe you an explanation about why it is painted like George Preddy's plane when you know good and well that it spent it's entire military career as an instructional airframe in Missoula, Montana. Do you really want to know the truth behind John Paul's airplane? Walk into the hanger in Idaho and ASK NICELY! I guarantee you will get a satisfactory answer.

:
: You might not mind being fed bullshit Brad but I DO, and s
: o do many more people like me, including Mr Warbird himsel
: f I should think.

Ya know what, I couldn't care less if I am looking at a Corsair actually flown by Pappy Boyington or if it was built out of the wreckage of five others with the original data plate and called his. I also don't care if the Corsair is built out of tar paper, beer cans and red beans, with a data plate made from a milk carton. All I care about is having access to a Corsair right now and my daughter being able to see a Corsair twenty years down the line. Am I defending dodgy practices? No! Do I think people being intentionally misleading for profit should go to jail? Of course! Do I think a new owner should get sympathy because he bought a FW-190 that started out life as a Cessna 172? No! The warbird world is a buyer beware business. If you don't do your research you have nobody to blame but yourself.

I have spent ten years in the U.S. Airforce, most of it as an aviatior. I have carried stuff to people who couldn't help themselves in over 100 contries and all seven continents(well,I guess they didn't really NEED the beer on Antarctica) so I am all for the rights of the downtrodden. I am also ALL FOR people having their say, but I can assure you that if you ever want out of the viewing stands at an airshow and into the drivers seat, pissing off the owner isn't the way to do it. I spent many years in the silent majority, but I have finally arrived at the operation/maintenance end of this business. The owners are just regular people that have money. Most of them do it for the love of flying, not the return on their investment. If you walk up to them at an airshow and tell them the history of their plane, they are not impressed. MOST LIKELY THEY ALREADY KNOW IT! UNLESS YOU ARE WRITING A CHECK TO BUY BONG'S ORIGINAL P-38, YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT THE DATA PLATE SAYS.

That being said, I will get off my soap box. I have to get to the hanger. There is a Lake Michigan Wildcat that needs my attention, and I have to get in a C-17 back to the war later this evening.
Best Regards,
Brad

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