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Here ya go (+ info)

Posted by Rob Mears on Fri Mar 15, 2002 02:46:04 AM

In reply top Rob, ID please!!! posted by Joe Scheil on Fri Mar 15, 2002 12:22:44 AM

Wow, they actually decided to go on and move it. This plane is one of only two actual Vought-built F4U-1D's in known existance. The other is restored and on display in the National Air & Space Museum in Maryland.

Yagen's project Corsair is F4U-1D BuNo.82640. The construction number for the plane is '4487'. Many sources have misidentified this plane as BuNo.82611, but that is not the case.

This plane was taken on by the War Memorial Museum in Newport News, Virginia in 1949. During its stay there, the port wing was torched off at the fuselage order to facilitate the display of the aircraft. That wing panel and wing root were discarded.

In 1985 it was purchased by Steve McClellan for the 'Old Dominion Wing' of the Confederate Air Force. It was tinkered with a bit, but mainly left in storage due to the fact that the primary load bearing component of the aircraft had been essentially destroyed.
During the early 1990's Scott Wood bought into the project, but the fact that it was essentially unrestorable urged the sale of the plane in 1995.

Gerald Yagen took delivery of the plane and invested four years and $50K in its restoration before they inevitably reached the point of needing a new wing spar. Scratch building a new main spar was investigated, but it was ultimately decided that doing so at the time would not be cost effective. Once the restoration essentially ground to a halt, Mr. Yagen began looking around for a airworthy example. He purchased a low time FG-1D out of Oklahoma in 1999, and the F4U-1D restoration was shelved.

I've seen it showcased on their web page for a while, but this is the first I've seen it offered for sale. This plane mated to Tim McPhearson's FG-1D center section would prove to be the only truly airworthy F4U-1D in the world (except for the 10% of the plane that was Goodyear built ;)

Rob

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