There is much more to this than money. Like a BoB veteran Spitfire, a B-17 with combat history transcends mere money.

If one were financially practical, there would be no flying warbirds, or few working relics (ships, cars, trains) of any kind. People spend vast amounts of time and money simply to preserve a link to the past (and maybe have a bit of fun). A friend just sold a beautifully restored Beech Staggerwing for more than $300,000. After subtracting for parts and material costs, his labour was barely rewarded…I’m sure he could have made more per hour by cutting neighbors lawns.

You are absolutely right of course. If one is doing it entirely through ones own finances, and is not paying a commercial rate, one is unlikely to be rewarded for time expended. I was looking at it from a bit of a commercial viewpoint, as a project like this will likely be subcontracted out, at which point the costs begin to spiral upwards alarmingly!

As regards your combat veteran Spitfire, I would suggest that aircraft such as the ex Peter Cazenove machine mentioned elsewhere will have very little, if any original material left in the structure, following restoration, which kind of negates any value as a combat aircraft. Swamp Ghost isnt in this category quite, but I truly believe a restoration to fly would severely compromise its historical worth..

Bruce