If you won the Lottery what 'Warbird' would you attempt to buy and why?

An easy choice…

An ex Royal Navy AEW Skyraider, there are still a fair few of them around waiting for restoration of some kind. Seafuryfan, how about a two-ship display team 🙂

B-17 for family history… and if it’s a BIG lottery payout (if the EU insurance rules go into effect, I might get a French one cheap).

For a smaller payout…A Grumman Albatross (in ARS markings) just for the fun of water flying…and to remember the sacrifices of the USAF rescue services “That Others May Live”…and since they’re reasonably cheap, a Sikorsky H-19 (S-55, Whirlwind to go with it).

For a real small payout…Cessna birddog…at least I can buy the fuel for it…unlike #1 & 2.

For a really small payout…or even if I get a raise…A Stinson L-5.

Well…
If it were possible… I’d buy the Handley Page Hampden at the Canadian Museum of Flight. It bothers me to see such an awesome aircraft sitting outside in the damp weather that we have here in British Columbia.

Secondly, I would probably write a nice FAT check to Elliott Smock. It sounds as if he needs a large hangar and more Whitley parts! 😀

Todd

Stewart et al–

Interesting thread (and a concept I’m sure most of us toy with from time to time)…What I’d attempt would of course depend upon the size of the windfall. Only a truly huge jackpot (over $100mil) would spur me to try buying any sort of Warbird and operating it on the circuit (if that DID happen, a certain Fury and a certain Mustang would be moving northeast)…I agree with Melvyn, a “small” lottery win wouldn’t cut it in that regard, and in my own case with that sort of win I’d be doing things like paying off my house and probably buying two cars, a new one and something vintage and interesting for cruise-nights in summer.

A “midsize” pot (say, $15mil) would be where things would get interesting. With that sort of coin, I would likely be acquiring things to assist existing initiatives. For example, I’ve long mused about how nice it’d be to buy Seafire PR503 and one of the ex-RCN Furies, and present them on longterm loan to the Shearwater museum. Or bankroll the rebuild of the Omaka (NZ) Bolingbroke…or the CAvM Beaufighter discussed elsewhere on the forum. I wouldn’t have to face the worries and colossal expense of operating any of the above; but they’d be on view, restored, in places where they’d be much appreciated, and as an enthusiast, that would suit me just fine.

S.

OK, probably a tad predictable with this one.

I would drag that G-2 BEAST from Hendon and get her up where she belongs.

Anyone who can remember being thrilled by the sight (and sound) of Black 6 tail-chasing the nearest available Spitfire will know what I mean.

We all need some AXIS MUSCLE!!! :dev2:

Regards

Mr Predictable :rolleyes:

CrazyMainer, you don’t want that LB-30 in Ft. Collins…no engines, beat to hell, no vertical surfaces…a real mess…what they’re gonna do with it I don’t know…

Mark,

I know how bad it is, but I have some conection for parts you know how much of a scrourger I am.

Cheers
RER

I would try and get hold of the Sea Vixen and if I got it, repaint into its old paint job (that being the D3 Orange and yellow one by the way).

If I could not get the Sea Vixen I would like a 2 seat Canberra (are there any that could be made airworthy ?) or maybe a 2 seat Hunter.

CrazyMainer, you don’t want that LB-30 in Ft. Collins…no engines, beat to hell, no vertical surfaces…a real mess…what they’re gonna do with it I don’t know…

Bill Arnot did the perfect party plane back when he had his B-25 ‘Silver Lady’ up and flying from Texas (it now resides in the pacific northwest at a museum there), he had coolers full of drinks, lawn chairs, food….the whole schmeer, and he could haul friends with him…he rolled onto the Aspen tarmac with that -25 one year loaded with all this stuff and about 10 friends….my vote goes to a B-25 party plane that can still be a major contributor to any show it goes to…

Individually, I would love to have a Corsair with a back seat so I could take at least ONE person with me to airshows…probably an earlier model FG or F4U-1A/D…

M

I would purchase, with an offer the owner could not refuse, the Sea Fury that is being built using components from Sea Fury WG655.

Then I would ask John Beattie if he wants to regain his currency, and teach me to fly it. And then some time later I would invite all the Forum come and have a flight in her.

Except he’s sold the Walrus project…

Ahh right! Do you know who too Dave? As I thought the sale to a group in NZ had fallen through earlier this year or was that why it had fallen through?
Well it was a hypothetical one anyway 🙁
Thanks any way Dave,
Alan.

Except he’s sold the Walrus project…

Further to my previous answer I might buy the Walrus project from **** Melton,if he still has it?,and get him to finish it and then I have got most of my previous thoughts covered and a unique shape back in the skies to boot!
Alan.

I like the idea of helping museums with static examples. If I was going to buy something to fly, I’d be tempted by anything historic, of which there are currently no airworthy examples and a spot of restoration…

Mark (who’s fairly new around here)

If you start off with one million and invest a lump of it you could quite happily buy a warbird L-5 or Auster and enjoy yourself for a very long time before you ran out of money.

Well, I’d love to have one of the following:

Macchi 205
Fiat G.55
Bf109
FW190

Considering that the last 2 could be made new from Flugwerk at a “reasonable” price, I guess it’s just a matter of winning that darn lottery 😀

Alex

P.S.

The highest amount won with the most famous italian lottery, called “Superenalotto”, is something like 110.000.000 € ….. I have shivers only thinking about it!!! U could buy the whole “Duxford package”, grass included! 😀 😀 😀

Aha….now we’re talkin…..

project

Hi
I’d buy the whirlwind bits recovered from that scotland dig in the 70’s , take them out of storage and rebuild it.
Even with replacement engines it would be good to see flying
Cheers
Jerry

Okay, let’s say I won £8m. I would buy and restore the hangars at Driffield, leasing three of them to companies who specialise in document storage, etc. I should therefore be able to recoup the income spent on the project (Stage One). I would then buy the adjoining camp (Stage Two), with its 68 houses and eight accommodation blocks. These would be restored and/or converted and sold on the open market generating around £14m. This would be used to pay for restoring the rest of the camp (which should also generate a small amount of income). There is space to build additional houses (profitable) and which could help pay for the restoration of the officer’s mess.

Technically I’d still have around £8m in the bank. I’d use this to buy the airfield, removing the remaining 10% of concrete (Driffield lost its runways back in the 1970/80s) and revert RAF Driffield back into a grass airfield, which was smaller than it is today. By selling off the surplus land and concrete rubble, I’d technically make the project (Stage Three) almost self-financing, thus I’d still have around £8m in the bank. Take away a couple of million to pay for restoring the fourth hangar (flight operations) and for rebuilding the control tower and I’d still have around £6m.

I would bribe the MoD to move a VGS to Driffield and pay for the restoration of a number of former Air Cadet Gliders, resulting in the formation of a historic flight. Oh, what aeroplane would I buy and restore? My heart says Halifax, but the budget says something slightly smaller. Maybe an Avro 504 replica or Wellington?

In life most things are easy, the difficulty is in trying to find the money. Where does one find £8m?

Martin Baker MB-5 please, then I’d bounce Stormbird’s Kangaroo!

Failing which Lockheed Hudson (not a Lodestar, a Hudson) with a Miles Whitney-Straight (ok not a ‘warbird’ but was used in military service) for weekends!

As they are cheap, I should buy a TBM 3W2 paintedin a Dutch Navy livery, a TBM-3Es in a Japanese Navy livery and a TBM-3 in Borate Bomber configuration. BW Roger