In another thread I offered that if I could own any warbird I'd like to have a Hurricane. I realized this would be a fun thought exersise!
So you all just won the biggest ever lottery. What would you buy? Here is my list with some insight into the thinking.
For a "daily flyer" - Hawker Hurricane - I'd paint it like the "Last of Many" in the royal blue, gold and white scheme as it was raced in England in the 50's. (I personally think giving it a military scheme when it never was in the miltary and had a rich history in the civilian scheme was a crime). I picked it because I everything I've read about flying them makes them seem like a great plan to just enjoy and it would stand out at the fly-ins.
If I decided to "race" something I would build a serious program around the F-190 airframe and a race prepped R-2800. (that assumes I wouldn't do something radical like starting with an Iskra airframe and bulding something like Shockwave around an R-2800, which I think is the engine of the future for unlimited!)
If I had a LOT of money I'd also have a replica of the "Beguine" and the P-40Q.
If after that I still had some cash the Red Baron would be the next replica project. After that try and get a replica one of the P-39 racers and maybe a P-63 back in the air in racing colors.
Finally, given unlimited resources I'd try and find if the wreck of the F-15a Reporter I saw in a hangar in Santa Monica was still around and build a new one from those parts to get an F-15a back in the air.
I could think of a ton of other things I'd try and get "back in the air" (likely as replicas) like the Bellanca Tri-motor long distance racer of the 30's but that should be enough to get the conversation started!
So what would be in your giant hangars?
Spacegrrrl
So you all just won the biggest ever lottery. What would you buy? Here is my list with some insight into the thinking.
For a "daily flyer" - Hawker Hurricane - I'd paint it like the "Last of Many" in the royal blue, gold and white scheme as it was raced in England in the 50's. (I personally think giving it a military scheme when it never was in the miltary and had a rich history in the civilian scheme was a crime). I picked it because I everything I've read about flying them makes them seem like a great plan to just enjoy and it would stand out at the fly-ins.
If I decided to "race" something I would build a serious program around the F-190 airframe and a race prepped R-2800. (that assumes I wouldn't do something radical like starting with an Iskra airframe and bulding something like Shockwave around an R-2800, which I think is the engine of the future for unlimited!)
If I had a LOT of money I'd also have a replica of the "Beguine" and the P-40Q.
If after that I still had some cash the Red Baron would be the next replica project. After that try and get a replica one of the P-39 racers and maybe a P-63 back in the air in racing colors.
Finally, given unlimited resources I'd try and find if the wreck of the F-15a Reporter I saw in a hangar in Santa Monica was still around and build a new one from those parts to get an F-15a back in the air.
I could think of a ton of other things I'd try and get "back in the air" (likely as replicas) like the Bellanca Tri-motor long distance racer of the 30's but that should be enough to get the conversation started!
So what would be in your giant hangars?
Spacegrrrl
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