gray eagle
SOH-CM-2026
This is a good story.
[video]http://www.dump.com/pilotreunited/[/video]
[video]http://www.dump.com/pilotreunited/[/video]
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Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
World War II pilot reunited with his plane
- Thread starter gray eagle
- Start date
Bomber_12th
SOH-CM-2025
One of the most authentic warbird restorations ever done - OY-1 USN BuNo 02747 (USAAF 42-99512). The aircraft was restored with replication of the exact patched-over battle damage that can be seen in original photos of the aircraft. It has, for instance, a working, rarely-fitted, IFF set that was fitted to some USMC OY-1's, this one included, as well as every other piece of hardware/equipment that was in-place originally and with all authentic stencils, markings, and paint, etc. All driven by the passion that Duncan Cameron had in getting the aircraft completed so that Mert Hansen could see his old aircraft again, just as he last remembered it.
The aircraft has since been sold to the Texas Flying Legends Museum, who continue to fly it and bring it to air shows (such as Oshkosh this past summer): http://www.texasflyinglegends.org/oy-1-sentinel-l-5
Note the painted-over serial number on the tail, with a different shade of OD - just as originally done in-service.
Here's a photo by Taigh Ramey from Reno 2012, with Mert, his wife, and the exact aircraft Mert flew in combat with over Iwo Jima.
The aircraft has since been sold to the Texas Flying Legends Museum, who continue to fly it and bring it to air shows (such as Oshkosh this past summer): http://www.texasflyinglegends.org/oy-1-sentinel-l-5
Note the painted-over serial number on the tail, with a different shade of OD - just as originally done in-service.
Here's a photo by Taigh Ramey from Reno 2012, with Mert, his wife, and the exact aircraft Mert flew in combat with over Iwo Jima.
Bomber_12th
SOH-CM-2025
Note the finish on the throttle quadrant in this photo of the cockpit, compared with the freshness of the rest of the restored aircraft - when the throttle quadrant was being restored, the post-WWII paint was carefully removed to reveal the original remnants of the wartime paint below. Interestingly, a 'ghosted' impression of a classic 40's pinup girl was found where someone had applied the artwork at some point in the aircraft's service.
