I have been busy scanning my old Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides so I can get rid of them and keep everything in digital format instead. This is pretty fun because I haven’t looked at most of these sldes in years (who actually has a “slide projector” these days anyways?).
The below photos are of an extremely rare aircraft, the former Planes of Fame Museum’s (Chino, California) North American O-47B. This portly aircraft had a certain appeal to it and it did have a suitably warbird-sounding Wright 1820 engine. I remember around 1979 you could get a ride in this ultra-rare aircraft for the princely sum of US$40.00 (by the way, a ride in the Planes of Fame’s P-51 “Spam Can” was only US$75.00 at that same time. That barely paid for gas (petrol)–yikes. However, at that time, even a paltry US$40.00 was a little too princely for me. I timed one of the flights and the aircraft and passengers were airborne for 40 minutes. I will forever regret not going on one of those glorius, open-canopy rides, especially since this aircraft was destroyed just a few years later in 1982…………..
The aircraft was part of a flight of 5 aircraft at Porterfield, California. The aircraft was landed gear-up. The main fuel tank sump drain-valve on the bottom of the fuselage was ground off on the runway resulting in fuel leakage that caught fire, subsequently destroying the aircraft. Apparently, no fire equipment was immediately available at this airfield.
Whether the gear was accidently not lowered or that there was a mechanical malfunction had not been determined to the best of my knowledge, but the pilot did state that he checked the gear-handle position several times prior to landing. Happily, nobody was injured in the incident .
I understand that this particular O-47 actually had a local history, having been based at the long-defunct Griffith Park Aerodrome in Los Angeles while in pre-war service with the National Guard. For those of you with local Los Angeles knowledge, the runway of this former aerodrome was located right smack in the parking lot of the current-day Los Angeles Zoo!
The Planes of Fame Museum actually has another O-47 airframe on hand at Chino, and who knows, another O-47 may again fly one day.
The below nostalgic photos were taken in 1980 at Chino.
Best,
– octane130 –
By: Ryan Keough - 4th December 2007 at 14:30
Octane 130 – the WIX forum has an O-47 survivors thread going right now… would you consider coming over and posting this information there for the benefit of the members there as well?
The topic is at: http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17708
Many thanks!
Ryan Keough
Associate Editor, Warbird Information Exchange (WIX)
www.warbirdinformationexchange.org
By: octane130 - 19th October 2007 at 06:44
Below are some recent photos (supplied by another enthusiast) of the Planes of Fame Museum’s (Chino, Calif.) OTHER O-47 airframe that they have on hand. This aircraft may once again fly the skies of Southern Californa!
Best,
– octane130 –
By: octane130 - 10th October 2007 at 04:20
Yes, I understand some posters’ concerns about being able to view digital images long-term due to the constant changes in imaging and format technologies. However, I have a small group of slide images that I will permanantly keep in their orignal form (slides) and these O-47 images are included. I also keep duplicates of everything digital in bitmap, jpeg, on DVD, flash drive, hard drive, etc. in full anticipation of changing technologies.
Just as an aside, I always used Kodachrome 64 (even Kodachrome 25) slide film back then 30 years ago wherever possible. There also existed for a short time a Kodachrome 200 and I know I that I used it, but I cannot tell which Kodachrome slides these are now since they are all just imprinted “Kodachrome.” As I knew back then and just as expected, after 30 years, the Kodachrome slides (“substantive emulsion”) exhibit no deterioration at all, whereas the Ektachrome slides (“non-substantive emulsion”) now show noticeable deterioration in image quality. Kodachrome was the “king” of films.
Best,
– octane130 _
I’ll continue to post more of my old slides that I think will be of interest to viewers, and I have a bunch :).
By: Bager1968 - 10th October 2007 at 00:46
The best long-term storage is alwayl a hard copy, that needs no set item of tech to view/read.
You can always do a new scan/copy from the original, but not always from a storage media that needs X type computer with Y drive and Z program.
By: adrian_gray - 9th October 2007 at 17:15
Possibly the most unusual beastie to have been seen on the forum for a while! Thank you for posting – what a pity she is no more!
Just one cautionary note, though… Your slides have lasted nearly thirty years. Even if your digital media lasts that long, can you be confident that you will still be able to read it?
A cautionary tale: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2534391.stm
Adrian (who, I should probably point out, probably rightly has a reputation as a reactionary old fart)
By: octane130 - 9th October 2007 at 16:52
Wasn’t it a O-47 that was used in the final scenes of the 1965 ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ due to the original plane crashing, killing Paul Mantz?
Yes, as JDK posted, this is the very same aircraft that was used in the “Flight of the Phoenix” as a stand-in aircraft. The aircraft was on loan from “The Air Museum” in Ontario, Calif. The museum moved to nearby Chino, Calif. in the late ’70s and is now, of course, the renowned Planes of Fame museum.
– octane130 –
By: Stieglitz - 9th October 2007 at 11:28
Wow! Nice stuff you scanned there Octane. I had never seen a pic of this bird before. It’s a joy to see what people can find in some old boxes.
Thanks!
Stieglitz
By: JDK - 9th October 2007 at 11:15
much modified TBM avenger I seem to recall…
Nope.
See: http://www.aerovintage.com/phoenix.htm
And: http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Mantz-P1.htm
(Warning – photos of the Mantz crash.)
The movie, of course, remained in production, but key scenes planned for the ending of the film remained unshot. The footage from Buttercup Valley was usable, up until the accident anyway, but it amounted to a minute or less of film. The film crew, having no airplane to film, packed up and moved back to Hollywood while other plans were considered. As the impending film release date approached, Twentieth Century Fox finally came up with a makeshift replacement. A stubby North American O-47 belonging to The Air Museum at Ontario, California, was hurriedly modified to fill in as the Phoenix, at least for distant shots. The landing scenes were awkwardly deleted from the script but the end of the film ended essentially as planned, with the survival of the eight men from their desert ordeal. The Mantz footage depicting the takeoff amounted to about 18 seconds in the completed film, with the replacement O-47 footage occupying about the same time in later scenes. The completed film, released in December 1965, does the best with what it has, but the loss of the flying Phoenix early in the filming sequence is obvious.
By: Lindy's Lad - 9th October 2007 at 10:54
Wasn’t it a O-47 that was used in the final scenes of the 1965 ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ due to the original plane crashing, killing Paul Mantz?
much modified TBM avenger I seem to recall…
That O-47 looks like it has been at the Harvard parts bin – canopy….wheels… tail….. Nice wee beastie though!
By: stangman - 9th October 2007 at 09:31
Wasn’t it a O-47 that was used in the final scenes of the 1965 ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ due to the original plane crashing, killing Paul Mantz?
By: JDK - 9th October 2007 at 07:32
Great stuff Octane – sooo much rarer than that North American P-… what was it again?
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October 9, 2007 at 7:18 am