Save the Skymaster

[kinglear27]

"Important Update ! Due to unforeseen expenditure problems with another project, the current bidder has had to withdraw from the Skymaster project. The Good News is that she could fly again with some work done. The survey carried out was positive and we have all the facts and figures to make her airworthy again in JUST 8 MONTHS ! Her engines are good and we have 2 x spares !

The Very Important bit is that we only have 3 months ...Yes ! Three months left to raise £65 000 to secure the aircraft and pay for parking for a period of 1 year before the owner starts stripping her down for spares and scrap....We all know what happened to the other one !

We need to talk to investors and request donations and sponsorship to save her. The restoration cost has been factored in at £200k with contingency of £300k. This excludes insurance , licencing & registration. This is not a lot of money compared to a Spitfire or P51 Mustang which cost £2,5 million to restore and is a fraction of the size.

The plan is to set up a Charitable Trust or society and fund raise for the restoration. We spoken to a number of organisations already and they are willing to get on board and give some funding ASAP. Volunteers with the necessary skills will be welcomed ! This helps keep restoration cost down to a minimum. Once restored we will secure permanent hangar space for her and ALL the supporters will be able to visit and get to see inside. Flights will be offered to just as they do in the USA. She can do the airshow circuit in the UK and Europe which will bring in vital appearance money.

Next year is the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift and what a fantastic achievement it would be if we could have her ready and fly into Berlin for the event !

Can I please ask that you share this message and help us save this iconic Warbird.

Feel free to contact me at allan@hcas.me.uk if you are able or willing to contribute to saving her in any way, whether it be fundraising /talking to corporate sponsors and hands on skills etc. Thank you."

Taken from Save the Skymaster Facebook Page. Spread the word! (I am not associated with this project)

[DonaldGrump]

Anyone know where this aircraft is ?

Any links given that I think that facebook is the spawn of Satan!!!

[TKK 140]

Anyone know where this aircraft is ?

Any links given that I think that facebook is the spawn of Satan!!!

and Twitter the child.

[kinglear27]

It is currently at North Weald Airfield in open storage

[DonaldGrump]

Anyone know where this aircraft is ?

Any links given that I think that facebook is the spawn of Satan!!!

and Twitter the child.

Yes conceived by the copulation of beelezbub with a cheap prostitute bent over a skip in ragnarok.

[DonaldGrump]

It is currently at North Weald Airfield in open storage

Thank you....would be good to see it returned to the air...hopefully they will get something together and be well supported without the condemnations seemingly par for the course from this parish.

[CJS]

Not condemnations DonaldG but rather a few unanswered questions there methinks. Sorry to sound negative but there we go!

Again, being begged for money but not being clear on the details (do I get to see it up close / have a cockpit tour / get a flight ( ) with *any* form of donation? What sort of figures are you looking at from other sponsors? Enough to foot a large part of the bill? Twenty quid from the local lions club? Ongoing costs post restoration? Etc etc...)

Good luck to em, though I fear £200k (or is it £300k? Or £500k? It's also a little unclear) is going to be a tough ask.

Edit - quick flick through their Facebook page seems to show a similar story over the last year or so. I genuinely (and I do mean that) wish all these return to flight projects all the best, but I just don't see it happening *unless* the aircraft is iconic enough. The Mosquito or Just Jane seen about the only realistic ones at the moment (maybe the Shak too).

Again, this seems a project blighted by fairly poor pr. As others have discussed ad nauseam on other threads, for all VTTS's faults, their PR from the off was handled much more professionally. An irregularly updated Facebook page doesn't cut it for a project with ambitions like this one.

[farnboroughrob]

As much as I would love to see this significant aircraft saved this group does seem to be 'pie in the sky', like the peoples Mosquito. Sadly it seems that no museum seem to be interested in it, assuming the IWM, and the likes have turned it down for whatever reason? Wish them all the luck but they will need very big backers with deep pockets.

[CJS]

Are you actually likening this project to TPM? Have a quick flick (I mean ten seconds) at TPM's website and then edit your post above would be my tip of the day, before anyone else notices! TPM may not have done everything perfectly but they're a lot more organised than this group seem to be.

As it currently stands, does anyone seriously think any publicly (partly or wholly) rtf projects are likely to succeed other than the 3 I mentioned above? I don't mean privately funded ones.

[TKK 140]

It's unlikely there will be much sympathy to this appeal from many on this forum, It's probably justified in this case. But never say never, if a high profile backer can be found you never know.

[DonaldGrump]

Are you actually likening this project to TPM? Have a quick flick (I mean ten seconds) at TPM's website and then edit your post above would be my tip of the day, before anyone else notices! TPM may not have done everything perfectly but they're a lot more organised than this group seem to be.

As it currently stands, does anyone seriously think any publicly (partly or wholly) rtf projects are likely to succeed other than the 3 I mentioned above? I don't mean privately funded ones.

This group may be in its early days? TPM have been going some time now.

[The Baron]

I for one applaud them for at least making an attempt to save this aircraft. It's stablemate was chopped up for tin cans and the future for this one is unsure. It really would be something to have another large, multi engine aircraft displaying. There are so few.

[st24]

Personally for the 70th anniversary I'd rather see this beauty...
[tweet]https://twitter.com/WarbirdNews/status/852454839053373441[/tweet]

[CJS]

I for one applaud them for at least making an attempt to save this aircraft. It's stablemate was chopped up for tin cans and the future for this one is unsure. It really would be something to have another large, multi engine aircraft displaying. There are so few.

Of course it would be: if you're in to that kind of thing we have a Lancaster, B-17, Catalina, the A-400m, C-27j and Super Constellation (and probably more) which are regular or at least in the recent past visitors to the circuit. I really don't think the Skymaster has anything iconic about it that will see this work out before we see another Lancaster or the Mosquito. But that's just my opinion, I wish them well.

[Brevet Cable]

Scratch my question.......just noticed the reference to the Berlin Airlift, which rules out it being an O-2 Skymaster

[Dan O'Hagan]

Another half-baked and highly questionable restoration appeal, along the lines of the ludicrous UKHAT.

Anyone who has been up close to the remaining C-54 at North Weald will confirm it is a rotten, corroded ruin that has been festering unloved outside since circa 2004. I doubt £300K would get it safely ground-running again, let alone even close to airworthy.

Chucking money at this project would be insanity. It makes even UKHAT's cretiny look respectable.

[DonaldGrump]

Personally for the 70th anniversary I'd rather see this beauty...
[tweet]https://twitter.com/WarbirdNews/status/852454839053373441[/tweet]

My word what a stunner she is!

[The Baron]

I for one applaud them for at least making an attempt to save this aircraft. It's stablemate was chopped up for tin cans and the future for this one is unsure. It really would be something to have another large, multi engine aircraft displaying. There are so few.

Of course it would be: if you're in to that kind of thing we have a Lancaster, B-17, Catalina, the A-400m, C-27j and Super Constellation (and probably more) which are regular or at least in the recent past visitors to the circuit. I really don't think the Skymaster has anything iconic about it that will see this work out before we see another Lancaster or the Mosquito. But that's just my opinion, I wish them well.

I have a love of large piston engine transports. You're right though, it's not iconic but still deserves its place in history. I personally won't donate to the project unless I see some real structure to it and that the project is viable. In the meantime I wish them well in their endeavours and dream to myself.

[G-ANPK]

Here is a link to the FB page , it`s open so you don`t have to be signed in to see it, I hope it works

https://en-gb.facebook.com/savetheskymaster/

G-ANPK

[CJS]

Another half-baked and highly questionable restoration appeal, along the lines of the ludicrous UKHAT.

Anyone who has been up close to the remaining C-54 at North Weald will confirm it is a rotten, corroded ruin that has been festering unloved outside since circa 2004. I doubt £300K would get it safely ground-running again, let alone even close to airworthy.

Chucking money at this project would be insanity. It makes even UKHAT's cretiny look respectable.

Dan you really must stop sitting on the fence. How are we meant to know what you think otherwise?

[ArabJazzie]

Another half-baked and highly questionable restoration appeal, along the lines of the ludicrous UKHAT.

Anyone who has been up close to the remaining C-54 at North Weald will confirm it is a rotten, corroded ruin that has been festering unloved outside since circa 2004. I doubt £300K would get it safely ground-running again, let alone even close to airworthy.

Chucking money at this project would be insanity. It makes even UKHAT's cretiny look respectable.

Although i agree with the sentiments of what you write, i have to ask what qualifications you have to ground this if you think its as bad as you say?

[tuska2]

What a Daydream! that C-97 in a topside formation flyby with "Fifi " the B-29, full sunshine at Fairford! probably just as likely as that once Grand old C-54 in the air at all again... but, best of luck to them!

[Beech18Boy]

It can happen having been in close contact with the team behind it and seeing something as lovely as that scrapped would be a crime. It may not be as we'll know as some aircraft surely it deserves a second chance.

[UKHAT_OFFICIAL]

Another half-baked and highly questionable restoration appeal, along the lines of the ludicrous UKHAT.

. It makes even UKHAT's cretiny look respectable.

Well Dan I would like to know how you can define UKHAT as "ludicrous" and describe our aims as "cretiny". You don't know what work is going on behind the scenes to establish our group, build our infrastructure etc. We are in the midst of negotiations at the moment as I have previously stated in the UKHAT thread and while those negotiations are ongoing I won't be going into the specific details as these are deemed commercial in confidence. However I am happy to report that I have completed our governance documentation for submission to the Charity Commission and as such we will soon be able to formally call ourselves a trust. I am not prepared to enter into a "keyboard war" over this but suffice to say UKHAT are moving steadily forward and as information can be released to the public domain I will of course be doing so.

Nigel Powton UKHAT

[XP282]

Another half-baked and highly questionable restoration appeal, along the lines of the ludicrous UKHAT.

. It makes even UKHAT's cretiny look respectable.

Well Dan I would like to know how you can define UKHAT as "ludicrous" and describe our aims as "cretiny". You don't know what work is going on behind the scenes to establish our group, build our infrastructure etc. We are in the midst of negotiations at the moment as I have previously stated in the UKHAT thread and while those negotiations are ongoing I won't be going into the specific details as these are deemed commercial in confidence. However I am happy to report that I have completed our governance documentation for submission to the Charity Commission and as such we will soon be able to formally call ourselves a trust. I am not prepared to enter into a "keyboard war" over this but suffice to say UKHAT are moving steadily forward and as information can be released to the public domain I will of course be doing so.

Nigel Powton UKHAT

Nigel, what I think is ludicrous is that you run a campaign asking for £80,000 in donations but genuine questions are answered with the reply 'commercial in confidence'.... I also think it's ludicrous that you still refer to yourself as a trust when you know full well that you aren't a trust (unless you can now confirm that you have been granted trust status?)...

Are you able to give us the names and backgrounds of the people behind this project? People aren't going to donate until they know this sort of information!