Lex Cralley keeps his Corsair. Good guys win one!

[Skip Miller]

From the AOPA Website:

Navy loses warbird case, may still pursue others:

The Navy's claim that it owned a Brewster-built F3A-1 Corsair (not a Buffalo) recovered by a Minnesota aircraft restorer has been dismissed by a Minneapolis federal district court judge. Lex Cralley of Princeton, Minnesota, who works as a mechanic for ground equipment used by an airline, was told that he does indeed own the aircraft he recovered in 1991 from the mud of North Carolina where it sat after it crashed in 1944. Cralley thanked the AOPA ePilot newsletter and EAA along with several members of Congress for support during his fight with the Naval Historical Center. An attorney with the Navy Inventory Control Point in Philadelphia warned Cralley during earlier proceedings that she is pursuing similar cases. Cralley will exhibit the as-yet unrestored aircraft at Oshkosh this summer.

 

[poadeleted3]

Good for him.

 

[AdamZ]

BRAVO! GOOD DECISION

 

[Tom-D]

From the AOPA Website:

Navy loses warbird case, may still pursue others:

The Navy's claim that it owned a Brewster-built F3A-1 Corsair (not a Buffalo) recovered by a Minnesota aircraft restorer has been dismissed by a Minneapolis federal district court judge.

Great,

NAV-ICP, the total nerds of the DOD. I have issues with them over who gets what engine every week.

We have shelf spares to support over 400 P-3s, the fleet is now 140 aircraft. we want to down size the supply system to match requirements of the real world. WE have been trying to get a responce from them for over a year, no luck yet.

Oh but I vent.. I guess too much job is better than no job.

 

[gismo]

The Navy's claim that it owned a Brewster-built F3A-1 Corsair (not a Buffalo) recovered by a Minnesota aircraft restorer has been dismissed by a Minneapolis federal district court judge. Lex Cralley of Princeton, Minnesota, who works as a mechanic for ground equipment used by an airline, was told that he does indeed own the aircraft he recovered in 1991 from the mud of North Carolina where it sat after it crashed in 1944.

Yay, hooray!

 

[dwh]

My son was at Widby(sp?) for the first three weeks in Apri. Did you have a chance to meet a crew working on a P-3 for L3 communications? He said they were working 12 hr shifts to get the plane ready for re-deployment. I told him I knew someone there that worked on the P-3s.
Dale H.

 

[Tom-D]

My son was at Widby(sp?) for the first three weeks in Apri. Did you have a chance to meet a crew working on a P-3 for L3 communications? He said they were working 12 hr shifts to get the plane ready for re-deployment. I told him I knew someone there that worked on the P-3s.
Dale H.

We have a mess of L3 folks on the floor. where was he? Hangar 5?

 

[fgcason]

Excellent. Another excellent historical airplane starting it's way to the runway...

I couldn't figure out what the Navy wanted with it anyway? What were they going to do? Toss it in a junk heap? Most likely. Restore it and return it to combat? I don't think so... They really have no use for it.
They probably forgot it was there until he drug it out of the muck. After half a century it should be finders keepers anyway.

 

[PoAdeleted5]

I think they are afraid of liability. Boy finds old warbird in muck, boy flies old warbird into school full of kids, Navy gets sued.

Or some other such nonsense.

 

[gismo]

I think they are afraid of liability. Boy finds old warbird in muck, boy flies old warbird into school full of kids, Navy gets sued.

Or some other such nonsense.

I thought government agencies couldn't be sued under such circumstances, or at least had strictly limited liability.

 

[dwh]

He says he was in the VQ1 hanger by the theater.