Lockheed 10 restored For BATA Czech Republic

Its going to be at Točná airfield just SW of Prague.

Some more info here:

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5574822-last-flying-electra-10-lands-at-warplane-heritage-for-maintenance/

By the way, it turns out that I am wrong about the Electra going to “a Bata family museum.” I just talked to the restoration shop manager, Leeb von Fange, at Wichita Air Services, and he said the airplane is actually owned by a Czech aviation enthusiast, not the Bata family. That person will be putting it on display in a hangar built for the purpose on an airfield near Prague. The airplane may–or may not–be flown at air shows. And it will be flown, not shipped, to Prague in late April or May.

Thank you, sir. Big help!

Although contemporary Czech sources are hard to find (translated), there’s a fair bit on the web. And, diving into the story, there may be more to it than just the Bata’s fleeing. And it would seem I was a bit too fast saying the Bata family themselves used the L-10: it was their general manager and some other executives on what appears to be a business trip. Remember that Poland was still a free country at that time.

More info on Bata’s pilots and the L-10’s escape to Poland: http://issuu.com/martfumedia/docs/the_bata_pilots_-_final_draft

And the name of pilot and some passengers here: https://fcafa.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/oldrich-dolezal/

Ericmunk, I’m hoping you can help me here, since I’m writing for Aviation History magazine about this airplane.

You say the Electra was used by the Bata family to escape the Germans. I can find general references to the Batas fleeing to Switzerland and thence England, though no mention of the Electra, and one specific reference (Wichita Eagle newspaper) about the Electra having carried Thomas Bata “to freedom in Poland,” which makes no sense, and the airplane’s crew having then carried to England.

Can you help me by being more specific about what the airplane actually did? I’m guessing it carried Thomas Bata and his immediate family to England via Switzerland. Would that be correct?

Indeed, arguments pro and con are endless. And the Bata museum is a very fitting place for this particular aircraft (since the family used this one to escape the Nazi invasion of their country).

There is a couple of good threads on aircraft originality on this forum, I am sure you are aware of these? This Lockheed 10 would seem to be very original indeed, with little components changed or replaced over the years.

PS: the last ‘airworthy’ aircraft I pulled out of a museum (and which had been flying right up to inclusion in the museum), required a two-year restoration due to glue deterioration, storage damage, improper display supports, visitor handling damage, etc. -> displaying – even under cover – is no guarantee for the long term survival of an airframe. As is flying it. But I prefer the latter 😉

This aircraft will essentially be kept in airworthy condition, though certainly hoses and seals, etc. will deteriorate over the years. It has just flown and is flyable, the difference being that the owner (the Bat’a family) won’t fly it any more. Of course the argument is endless–museums burn down, Taliban destroy artifacts, tsunamis erupt, climate change will kill us all and take our restored airplanes with it, whatever–but the least arguable of all consequences is that airplanes too often crash if they are flown. This is an original Electra, unlike a bitsa Blenheim or a data-plate Mustang, and it deserves to be preserved.

Great post. 😉

This aircraft will essentially be kept in airworthy condition, though certainly hoses and seals, etc. will deteriorate over the years. It has just flown and is flyable, the difference being that the owner (the Bat’a family) won’t fly it any more. Of course the argument is endless–museums burn down, Taliban destroy artifacts, tsunamis erupt, climate change will kill us all and take our restored airplanes with it, whatever–but the least arguable of all consequences is that airplanes too often crash if they are flown. This is an original Electra, unlike a bitsa Blenheim or a data-plate Mustang, and it deserves to be preserved.

Not wishing to open that can of worms again, but museums burn down too.

Maintenance-wise there is nothing better for an aircraft than it being kept in airworthy condition…

Nothing sad about it. You fly it, you eventually crash it.

That’s sad, the second flyable example of these rare aircraft to be entombed in the last few months, along with the faux-Earhart one in Seattle. 🙁

Yes, but it’s going into a Bat’a museum in Prague and will never fly again no matter how many seats there are for polishers…

What’s particularly interesting to me, by the way, is that this IS Bat’a’s original company airplane.

I would think that it is easy enough to get plenty of volunteers for polishing duty when you have a nice old aeroplane with lots of seats! 🙂

As you say a lovely result. How many manhours does that shiny finish take to maintain.