Ferrari Mailing List: Re: My Experience with a Kit Car Owner

[Todd Walke (racertod]

Britt wrote:

> Hey, does anybody make flying replicas of WWII aircraft? Now that would be
> neat! Would you car guys feel the same way about a carefully made
> P38/Mustang/B24 flying replica
> as you would a car? What if it was a type of plane that there were none left
> in flying condition or say the only one was in the Smithsonian so that the
> only way you or your kids could experience the sight and sound of that 
> aircraft
> was with a replica. You wouldn't wear a fake Rolex but would you look at and
> admire a replica plane?

        http://www.stormbirds.com/
        Right up here in Everett, WA next to the Boeing plant a group is 
building 5 new Messerschmitt ME-262's, WWII's first operational jet 
fighter.  Less than 10 ME-262's still exist, all in museums and none in 
flying condition.
        They started by restoring an original ME-262 that was sitting 
outside a Naval base, this allowed them to dismantle the aircraft to use it 
as a template.  Airframes are rivet-for-rivet copies.  Modern J-85 engines 
are hidden inside castings that duplicate the look of the original Jumo004 
engines.  Internal systems are done to modern specs:  wiring is modern, not 
the fabric covered original, modern Aeroquip hoses are used, etc.
        The Messerschmitt Foundation in Germany bought one plane and in 
April of this year a ME-262 flew over Germany for the first time since 
1945.  Also, the Foundation assigned the next five serial numbers drawn 
from the work number sequences used on the original 1945 assembly 
line.  They are not so much copies as a continuation of the design.
        If you have an extra $2million or so laying around, you could own one.


Todd
Seattle,WA
'86 GTI, Red of course. (exciting racey car)  263,000 miles
'87 Golf, Polar Silver. (boring work car)     591,000 miles <- Yeah, baby!
http://www.pureluckdesign.com <-Ferrari & VW stuff