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I may be wrong, but I think he's talking about dataplates...

Posted by Lynn on Wed Apr 17, 2002 08:03:50 AM

In reply top Re: So it's official posted by Cees on Wed Apr 17, 2002 04:07:38 AM

or parts from a known airframe. As a hypothetical example, if someone (by some miracle) were to find a crash site in Hawaii of one of the several TBD Devastators which were lost in training accidents and came back with something as inconsequential as a cowl flap, I believe what's being said is that cowl flap can be used as a springboard to claim historical authenticity in a reproduction, thus raising the intrinsic value of the aircraft. Most folks with common sense would reject that outright, but in the rarified world of warbird pricing, establishing any kind of claim to originality or authenticity makes a difference measured in thousands of dollars. Thus, we have people selling dataplates from recovered aircraft wrecks for exorbitant prices (didn't I just see one from a Hurricane here on WIX for something like $2500?), and rebuilders will incorporate that dataplate into their recreation to establish a historical identity for the aircraft.

Or, to put it another way- "It's all about the Benjamins..."

Lynn

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