[Bryan Wood]

While leaving the airport today my eye drifted to an airplane sitting outside in the rain and I started to wonder about some of these airplanes that we all see just sitting and rotting. This particular one is a Stearman that is backed in between T hangers with blue tarps laying on the ground around it. I've heard that the county moved it out of its hanger about a year back for some reason that is unknown to me and left it for the stray cats to live in. Seriously, when driving down the ramp strays scurry towards and disappear into the old airplane. There is something that seems wrong with an airplane like this just sitting there rotting away. As I drove on towards the gate I passed a Grumman Yankee with flat tires and the canopy cover ripped and hanging limp towards the ground. There is also a Cessna and a Cherokee on this row of tie downs in similar conditions. Right near the gate there is an Archer that had its canopy cover spun by the wind exposing the side windows on the pilots side sometime around last Christmas. Every time I drive past this particular plane the urge hits me to stop and fix the cover, but with the wackos in the world today I don't dare. This isn't an old Archer either, it has the round air inlets into the cowl. There is just something about seeing all of these airplanes basically forgotten and unloved that makes me a little sad. Surely there are those of you like me that had a burning need deep in the pit of your soul that could only be filled with an airplane. The problem for me was that this need manifested about 2 1/2 decades before life circumstances allowed it to happen. I remember seeing a Navion sit for almost 20 years on flat tires and wondering if it would ever fly again. I often dreamed of finding the owner and making some offer and returning it to its glory, but knowing that it had sat to long to be any good to anybody. I guess the owners must have their reasons for keeping and letting these airplanes deteriorate over time, but none of them seem good when driving by and seeing their rotting hulks.

 

[jdmunzell]

Stearman??

Just curious...what airport are you talking about with a deserted Stearman?

Jeff
-8 wings

 

[Bryan Wood]

Stearman

Reid Hillview in San Jose, CA. There was also one at San Jose INTL under a shelter rotting for 10 or 15 years. I don't know if it is still there or not. The same owner had a P51D that sat for 10 years or so and finally went away. I had heard that the last time he started the Mustang it caught on fire which he put out and never tried to start it again. ??? It just sat in puddles of hydraulic fluid and drew attention from everybody passing by.

 

[osxuser]

My dad bought our Cardinal from a guy that had let it sit for 11 years. He would religously start it every 6 months, then change the oil and MMO the cylinders. We paid very little for it initially, but have almost market value into it now that we have owned it for 4 years, pretty sad that most of these airplanes that sit like this aren't worth fixing unless you can get them for a real steal AND do most of the work yourself.

 

[TerryPancake]

Sjc

I saw that P-51 at SJC sitting for years. I heard the plane was caught up in a divorce battle. It was the husbands baby and the wife wanted it out of spite. Probably just a mean rumor.

 

[grover]

seabee

I remember having these same feelings. years ago, there was a farm that had a Seabee sitting outside. we stopped in once and inquired about it. the folks were very nice, but no it wasn't for sale. they were going to fix it up "some day." that farm is on the way to the veteran's cemetery. so we drive by once in a while. the plane is long gone.

 

[Mr. Mikey]

I used to work at our local airport here in Panama City. For years there was an old Twin Bonanza parked out behind the hangars that I passed by dozens of times a day.

I walked up to it one day for a close look. As I walked around to the empenage I touched the elevator and the trailing edge crumbled into dust where my fingers touched. The aluminum was so corroded it was thinner than eggshell.

What a shame.

 

[jbDC9]

For years there was an old Twin Bonanza parked out behind the hangars...

I can almost understand a T-Bone being abandoned... big, complex airplane with big, expensive geared engines to overhaul when timed out. But you see so many abandoned 150s, 172s, Cherokees... seems like every airport around here (Houston) has an abandoned Cherokee or three laying around. There's an old Cherokee 140 at Weiser, fuel tanks missing, parts robbed, wing spars corroded and shot... owner can't be found and hasn't paid any tiedown fees in years. It'll never fly again. Sad.

I wonder why some owners hang on to these old dogs for so long when they never fly them, don't maintain them, needs some work, but "we'll get to it someday". Is it for bragging rights at a party to tell women "I own an airplane", never mind the fact it hasn't turned a wheel in years and has weeds growing up over the wings?

What really chaps me are the guys that do this to their airplanes, but waste hangar space to do it. T hangars are almost impossible to get, yet some guys have an old Tri-Pacer in there, maybe a boat and an old Corvette under the wings, surrounded by all sorts of junk, an inch of dust and dirt on top of it all, and the hangar hasn't been opened in years. Dude, sell the plane, put the other junk in an off-airport storage unit and let someone else have the hangar who might actually use it! Sorry, had to rant a little...

I just don't get it.

 

[osxuser]

...

What really chaps me are the guys that do this to their airplanes, but waste hangar space to do it. T hangars are almost impossible to get, yet some guys have an old Tri-Pacer in there, maybe a boat and an old Corvette under the wings, surrounded by all sorts of junk, an inch of dust and dirt on top of it all, and the hangar hasn't been opened in years. Dude, sell the plane, put the other junk in an off-airport storage unit and let someone else have the hangar who might actually use it! Sorry, had to rant a little...

I just don't get it.

Hear hear! Unfortunitly, it's cheaper to pay for hanger rent than the equivalent off-airport storage. And since most airports require and aircraft to be in the hanger, it would seen that most of these people keep the aircraft for that reason. I was looking at a Grumman AA-1 that had been a hanger queen for quite a period of time. Unfortunitly, the owner still thought it was worth 20K not the 15K I would have paid for it. So now, I'm building an RV instead.. .. ..

 

[Ironflight]

Unfortunitly, the owner still thought it was worth 20K not the 15K I would have paid for it. .

I think Steve hit the nail on the head. A lot of folks just can't admit that since the plane has been sitting, if they were to sell it, they couldn't get their money out of it, since it will need an overhaul, new this and that, and any buyer would take that stuff off the purchase price. They are unwilling to take the loss, and end up losing ALL the value when the airplane becomes unrepairable. It is a death spiral for the airplane, and we probably lose a lot more airframes to this kind of neglect than to accidents. A lot of them start the spiral when operating and maintenance costs reach the point where the owner can't afford to fly it regularly...and then it's all downhill from there.

And if you think AIRPLANES are bad, you should see the thousands of people who buy boats and then let them rot in their slips, or in storage here in the Galveston Bay area....

 

[rv8ch]

Blocked hangers

What really chaps me are the guys that do this to their airplanes, but waste hangar space to do it. T hangars are almost impossible to get, yet some guys have an old Tri-Pacer in there, maybe a boat and an old Corvette under the wings, surrounded by all sorts of junk, an inch of dust and dirt on top of it all, and the hangar hasn't been opened in years. Dude, sell the plane, put the other junk in an off-airport storage unit and let someone else have the hangar who might actually use it! Sorry, had to rant a little...

I just don't get it.

I agree completely. If I were running an airport with a long waiting list for hangar space, I'd have the hangar fee linked to the usage of the aircraft. The more you fly, the less you pay. This assumes that the guy renting the hangars is also making money selling fuel. Not sure how common that is.

 

[pat]

hanger queen

These hanger queens and grass ferries can be very enticing to purchase, rebuild and fly or sell but please be very wary and scrutinize (read research)
your potential purchase. Prior to the start of building my 8A I recovered, restored ect... several of these planes for other people and believe me the only person that made any money was me and I did it as a labor of love and very cheap.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

Swift

I have checked on these derelict planes from time to time over the years. One was in a open t-hanger/airplane port, it was Globe Swift, inch thick in dust and bird droppings. The guy would not sell, despite not being able to fly for 10 plus years. I guess it was a link to his flying past. I get that. I had a friend buy a Stinson that was derelict. It was a total tear down but with lots of work it was a nice plane. Was it worth it? Personally I would rather built a new kit plane, but he liked it.

Some of these planes have financial issues like back airport tie down fees. There was this one of a kind homebuilt, a little more than a ultra light, that was on a field for too many years to count. The plane was not worth the tie down bill. Sad but repeated all over the country.

Speak about sad I just saw on the news Tom Cruise took off in his P-51. Just another reason of many reasons to hate him.

http://www.mojaveweblog.com/pages/060131-1.html

George

 

[robertahegy]

On Air Troy Estates I have a neighbor on each side of me that has an airplane that hasn't seen the light of day in the 14 years we have been associated with the strip. One is a 170 Cessna, the other a 180 hp Mooney (mid 60's vintage). They are both so mouse and bug ridden I fear they are both junk. I try to shame them both into selling or donating, but they both claim they will fly them again. Yeah right!!! What a pity. Both are retired.

Roberta

 

[rv9aviator]

We have a mid 60's 172 that I have seen sitting for at least 10 years in a T hanger. It was all faded and covered with years of dirt. I asked about buying it and the owner absolutely wouldn't even talk about it. A couple of years went buy and low and behold he had the plane repainted an ugly pale green with dark green stripes. Someone said he pays a pilot to take it up once a year but I've only seen it fly once in ten years. It is now just as dirty and crummy as it was before he had it painted. We are in bad need of more hanger space here and I agree that there needs to be some stipulation about not taking up space with a non flying plane.
We do have strict rules about what can be inside of our enclosed hangers. Only one airplane no matter if two would fit or not. No automobiles except the one you drove to the airport. No fuel storage of any kind and only minor maintenance can be done.

 

[Phyrcooler]

There is a movement in the boating world to require all boats to leave their slip under their own power (motor or sail) once every six months, or once per year, depending on local law. It is catching on slowly - especially in areas where there are a lot of derelicts. It needs to be pushed in all areas of aviation and boating. In both sports, there are problems with a lack of hanger/tie-down/slips/moorings.

If it can't move under power as intended... fix it or sell it!

 

[Mr. Mikey]

There used to be a doctor here that had an Aero Commander in one of our big hangars.

Once a year he would come through the gate. Word would spread "Dr. Death is here...boy that year went fast". Inconspicuous little groups of students, ramp guys and regulars would stand outside and watch as one of us line guys would exhume the aircraft.

He would say "thanks" open the airplane, get in and start it up. No preflight, no walk around, nothing. He just parked the car got in the plane and taxied out.

No joke, that plane left a contrail of dust, bird nests and bird crap for a mile.

When he landed and taxied back in, he would just shut it down and say "Top it off and put it away".

For all I know, he's still doing it.

 

[Mike_ExpressCT]

another true loss

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0100831/L/

This beauty has been sitting at the Ohio State University airport (OSU) for almost 9 years now...as the story goes, the owner bought it and was flying it home when he stopped for the night in Columbus, rented a hotel room for the night, and then had a heart attack and died in his hotel room. For as long as the airplane has sat there, the pilot's family has been in court battles against the family he bought the airplane from, and the plane has been ruined from the neglect. Strangely enough, it's been hit by lightning twice since it was parked there...

Talk about a waste...Albatrosses aren't a dime a dozen any more...

 

[iwannarv]

My dad and I were talking awhile back about some of his previous airplanes that he had before I was born, and at what prices he let them go at. He got his tailwheel endorsement in an old Champ he loved to fly. We both were curious about where that Champ was now, so we dug through his logbook and found the N number. I got on the internet and googled it and turns out it was registered at an airport about 45 miles away! We happened to be in the area one weekend (Small Airport in South Central Ks) and we decided to run out to the airport. We drove around to a set of hangars, and sure enough we were greeted by the sad-looking champ sitting in an open hangar (at least it wasn't out in direct weather). It had been untouched since my dad owned it over 20 years ago. We even looked up the guy's name in a phone book and called him to see if he would possibly sell it. He said he had flown it within the past 5 years, and he might consider doing something with it, but he thought it was still a pretty good little condition airplane. Not so, there were holes in the fabric, the wood was most likely junk, and it probably would never fly again. My dad and I thought it would be fun to get it and restore it so I could recieve my T/W rating (I'm 17), but that is only a dream. (I'll just have to put up with my instructor's decathlon, darn it) But the feeling of recieving my rating in the same airplane my dad did would be a great one.

At my local airport (1/2 mile grass strip) I decided I'd look through a crack in a hangar door that I had no clue what was in it, or who even owned it.(Wasn't trying to be snoopy or anything, just wondering if there was and airplane sitting in there!) Sitting inside was a decent-looking little Cheif. I asked my dad about the hangar later, and he knew the older guy who used to have the hangar, but he wasn't sure if anything was in it anymore and the hangar had been abandoned. He was suprised when I told him about the Chief, so we went to check it out. The hangar door wasn't even locked or anything, so we just slid the door right open. We looked at the Chief and it actually looks like an airplane that would be worth saving! It probably hasn't flown since before I was born. But, the guy who owns it won't even consider selling it. It is a shame because the wooden rafters in the hangar are bowing, and it seems that some winter a huge snowstorm could cause the hangar to cave in , ruining the airplane. The owner of the plane is aware of the situation with the hangar, but doesn't have the desire to do anything about it.

I wish I could just snap my fingers and bring some of these good ol' simple flying machines back to life so I could get the feeling of flying in the low and slow days of aviation... I'll just put around in my C150 and pretend for now...

 

[rockit]

Stearman at Reid

yes i know a little about the stearman at Reid. I have seen it. Very original but deteriorating fast unless someone does something about it. A man had in a hanger for many many years. He bought it as a military surplus and parked it. Never flew it. He finally stopped paying rent so the city has it out in the open. The man has passed away and now the family is scrapping it out over who gets it. They don't realize it is a treasure and needs to be protected. Still has original military colors and 40's instruments.

 

[gmcjetpilot]

This reminds me, GET A WILL!

A few years a go I loosened my tightwad ways; I spent $1,500 on a Will & Testament and set up "trust fund" accounts. I was thinking what is going to happen to my assets? What are my wishes and who will make sure they are carried out. So I set it all up.

It was not something I wanted to spend money on, but it had to be done. Long and short I am not going to give legal advice, I am not a lawyer. However I am glad I know where my tools, airplane and other assets will go. Also I choose to have a Law Firm as my prime executor. Basically they must "execute" my wishes. The business of estate law is highly regulated and protected. I plan on being around for a while, since I am in good health and young, but you never know.

Laws vary in every state. It's worth looking into. If you don't have a W&T or know about estate law, you should educate yourself. You will save your survivors much grief and may be lots of taxes. Its ridiculous families fight over estates, but it happens all the time. A good W&T prevents those shenanigans. I experienced a little of this with the passing of my parents.

A Will & T is money well spent. I suggest going with professional law firm that specializes in estate law. There are scams out there on the internet that may be set up to steal personal info. NEVER GIVE PERSONAL INFO OUT ON THE WEB. Going with a real law firm is the way to go to prevent this. However you will pay a premium.

Once set up there is usually no cost to maintain your estate's Will & Testament. However if you amend it or change it there will be fees, usually on a hourly rate. If they have to execute the estate they basically charge the estate an hourly rate to settle it. It can be a few hours or a lot more depending on how extensive it is. It really is a bargain.

However reading the Grumman story and others, reminded me of why I spent good money for something I did not want to spend money on. One advice about W & T's, you get what you pay for. A do it yourself deal may not be worth the paper its printed on. The Terri Schiavo debacle (remember the brain dead woman that sadly became politics and a cause celeb) is the reason for a living will. If you don't want to be in an indefinite vegetative state or want your RV to go to charity or someone in particular, than write it down.

These are the reasons we all need W&T's. I am donating my tools and many aviation related assets to charitable groups. I like knowing it will go to good use. Who knows, may be I'll re-marry a 22 year old "Dancer" named Candy, when I am 88 and give it all to her. lol You can always up-date your W&T.

Cheers George