Ramp mummies.
 

Here are some ramp mummies I've come across over the years on my US travels. Seems like every airport has a few. Please add any photos you might have.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/7.jpg
Here's a rotting Aerostar at Corona (KAJO). Probably beyond saving at this point. She'd been dragged to this spot on flat tires when they relocated her for an event...

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/2.jpg
Extra sad to see as an Aerostar owner myself.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/3.jpg
If I didn't know it was made out of aluminium, I'd say that looked like rust...

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/4.jpg
A tell tale sign of lost hydraulic pressure on the Aerostars is when the gear doors start sagging.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/5.jpg
Mold and rot on the glare shield.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/1.jpg
Birds have no regard for their own.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/bonanza.jpg
Here's a Bonanza at Twentynine Palms.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/520-3.jpg
Here is an Aero Commander 520 that despite still being shiny after the previous owner polished her...

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/520-4.jpg
...hasn't flown in years. The whole interior is torn out.

More mummies….

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/heron2.jpg
A De Havilland…..

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/heron1.jpg
…Dove outside of….

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/heron3.jpg
….Lubbock, TX.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/heron4.jpg
Interior of Dove.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/morava1.jpg
Here's yours truly with a very rare bird. A beautiful Czech Let L-200 Morava light twin from the 50's stored outside of London on a farm. I wanted to restore this one, but it was just too much work and the price was way too high.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/morava2.jpg
The Morava was well ahead of its time and a great performer. This one was on the UK register and I think a few made it there. You still see a few around Europe at fly-ins. They were powered by Walther M337 engines and had Avia props. Please Google them - they are very pretty birds.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/aerostar1.jpg
Here's another Aerostar, a 601P rotting away at Hawthorne (KHHR). The usual story - father dies and the kids fight over who should get the money from the sale….

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/aerostar2.jpg
….whilst the years pass and it rots away all value. This one has so much corrosion now it will never fly again. What a waste. People are stupid.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/alticruiser.jpg
Now this is a rare bird. An Aero Commander 720 Alticruiser. One of only 12 built, I think. It was the first pressurised GA twin to ever come to the market in the late 50's. Ahead of it's time. This has been rotting away at Torrance airport for decades. Last I heard someone was trying to save it.

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/520-1.jpg
This old 520 Commander was sitting at Sedona, AZ for about ten years. Owner took off and one engine failed, he managed to get it back down, but never did repair it….

http://adamfrisch.com/images/abandoned/520-2.jpg
…finally the airport sold it for scrap to cover the unpaid tie down fees. I managed to buy the flaps and some ailerons off of this bird for my 520.

I have always thought that there should be a "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Airplanes". It would have the power to take neglected airplanes away from their unworthy owners and give them to owners who would love and cherish them.

There's a dead DC3 at just about every airport in the third world. And lots of ex Soviet bloc heavy metal in countries whose politics once leant in that direction!

This thread has reminded me of the Miles that was living (or should that be quietly rotting away?) in a corner of the black hangar at White Waltham ten or so years ago. The rumour was the owner refused point blank to sell it to anyone. It was a sad, sorry sight.
Does anyone know what became of it?

There are two Eclipse 500's at Schiphol airport. They've been sitting there for years, apparently because their CofA was revoked when the certificate holder went bankrupt. The owners left them as best they could, with engine covers on and so forth, but after years of sitting there, they're a sorry sight to see.

Plenty of pictures of them on the internet, as they can easily be seen from the parking lot near the K-apron. This is one of them:

Photos: Eclipse 500 Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

According to a friend of mine who works the ramp, their state is such that they're not even allowed to move them anymore, not even by hand. And it's going to cost serious money to bring them back to airworthy condition, assuming a new type certificate holder eventually pops up in the first place.

I hate to think what the accumulated parking charges are by now. It's not like they've been tucked away in a far off corner of the airport. Rather, they're occupying some real money-generating parking spots at the GA apron.

Got these 2 at North Weald...

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/...rt/final12.jpg


and


http://www.airport-data.com/images/a...027/027366.jpg


Don't know the status of them, but they've been there ever since I can remember....

I have never heard the words Ramp Mummies ?
I have head Big Mammas referring to thunderstorms but not Ramp Mummies referring to abandoned aircraft ?
The two Eclipses look in good nick in the pictures ! It would be extremely sad if those fairly new Eclipses were not bought up and turned into super Eclipses to again grace the skies! They are not worn out 50 yr old aircraft

Pace

Well there is that 747 that's been turned into a hotel at Stockholm.

And Coventry airport is full of them.

Some ailerons?! Exactly how many ailerons did it have?:)

Most small airports now seem to have a "Corrosion Corner" full of light aircraft slowly mouldering away. The North side of my home airport is like that. My informal estimate is that 40% of the aircraft tied down there have not flown in the last 5 years. :ugh:

They are N-registered, no? If so, and FWIW, I don't believe a linkage between manufacturer status and the FAA Airworthiness Certificate can legally exist. Anyway, here the Type Certificate Data Sheet, updated in December 2013.

TCDS A00002AC Rev 12 Eclipse Aerospace, Inc.

I've heard of Hangar Queens which could mean two very different things!

Is the Beagle Pup still at Barton?

SGC

Quote:
I have always thought that there should be a "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Airplanes". It would have the power to take neglected airplanes away from their unworthy owners and give them to owners who would love and cherish them.

I second that!
Cheers, Dan

Dan,
Did you see Adam's Dove pics?

You could also call most of these MILF'S.....Mummies I'd Like to Fly!!!! :E

is there many MILF's in Perth UA?

Are you talking of the flying variety or another type there MJ?!?! ;)

There is bits missing off the front one in the pic, makes you wonder what else has been snaffled off them whilst they've sat there

EASA revoked the type certificate for the Eclipse 500, if I recall correctly. But it's still valid in FAA land. And these being N-regs, they should be able to fly again. Here's an explanation from an owner from a US forum about the problems with these older 500's:

Yeah I Did, shame that they she is on the opposite side of the world, looks like it would make a good project.
Dan

Always think it is so sad to see someone's [once] pride an joy like this and in my line of work I see many boats in a similar state and think about how many people would give almost anything to have the care to own and care for the aircraft (or boat).

HTC

I fly from a strip near Farnham, in the Hangar there is a Jodel that sits in the corner rotting away, again, I believe the owner has been approached and will not sell:rolleyes:
There was also a Beagle Pup outside that looked as though it was falling to bits - arrived at the field one day to find the door had come open and was swinging in the wind - this one the owner apparently turned up once in a blue moon, climbed in and flew it! God knows what maintenance/checks were being done on it!! Not there now - been flown elsewhere!

Dan,
You must have a lot of time, money and enthusiam. That Dove is only slightly down the difficulty scale from rebuilding a Mosquito! ;)

My idea of a project, next time I am in Tauranga, is to walk up to the owners of NZ1808 and say "Can I have a go, mate?" :ok:

Enthusiasm YES, time and money NO;) Doves arn't that bad! once you get past all the British imperial fittings and the list of Airworthiness Directives that are longer than the deadsea scrolls there is really not much wrong with them:}
running costs now that is an issue, 140 ltrs per hour fuel burn and probably similar for oil! I still love them though:ok:
Cheers, Dan

Dan,

140 litres an hour? Peanuts! Another DH product I've flown a couple of times (briefly) is like seven Doves in formation - the Vampire T11 :ok:

British Imperial fittings. That takes me back to my motorcycle days - three sets of spanners (BSW, BSF and BA) and oil stained shoes!

I love all DH types. I have flown in more DH types than any other manufacturer and have stick time in quite a few of them. My first-ever flight was a joyride in a Dragon Rapide. I flew in a Devon from Shawbury to Aldergrove and back in 1968 and coincidentally in a Queen's Flight Heron on the same route the previous week. That caused some consternation at Aldergrove when a bright red Heron appeared out of the clouds and the Station Commander scrambled to meet us. He was not impressed when a bunch of scruffy (by RAF standards) UAS students in flying suits came down the steps! :E

IndThere is an Ex WQueens flight heron for sale ATM wonder if its the same one
1958 DeHavilland DH114 14130 N82D For Sale on ASO.com
Any way back on Topic Ramp mummies, a couple of Dove/Devon ramp mummie from my collection, taken in the 90's
Devon/Dove EX RNZAF NZ1818 then to VH-CJY. taken at Jandikot 1995 moved to victoria in the 2000's but its trail has gone cold, if anyone has info it would be great.


Another Devon Ex RNZAF NZ1817 taken at Mildura 1992, now in the ands of a private collector

The Sherburn Collection

British Standard Whitworth, British Standard Fine and what was the BA? Can't remember.

British Association.
Still got my Whit/BSF/BA tools somewhere, quietly gathering dust in their third or fourth retirement. :}

That reminds me of when I used to work in a tooling warehouse. Customers would come in with a bolt and ask for 10 more of the same. Well it looks like 3/8" but what the hell thread is that? Commence my running around comparing it to every bolt of that size in the building.

Metric was much easier. Except for that time when I was asked for a M10 tap and supplied a M10x1.25, only to have the customer come back later and ask me why his bolts didn't fit the holes he'd tapped! :ouch:

Mine are long gone, although I've still got a set of Sears Craftsman wrenches in Metric and Imperial - quaintly known as AF (Across Flats) in the UK, I seem to remember, in order to distinguish them from the other three. What a novelty - the size stamped on them matched the size of the bolt head!

For the benefit of the youngsters out there, the BA spanners were needed to exclusively deal with the products of Lucas - the Prince of Darkness. :E

Dan,

Thanks, I had a look at the aso.com ad.

I think Aunty Betty would be horrified at the paint scheme that has been applied to her old aerial carriage. ;)

There seems to be a bit of confusion, here.....Whitworth was a coarse thread, the first standardised one in the world, afaik.
BSF (british standard fine) was the engineering alternative to the "agricultural " BSW the spanners were all dual-marked. IE 1/4W-5/16bsf the other end being 3/16-1/4 or 5/16-3/8 Thus, a set would always have 2 ends the same size to tighten /loosen a nut and bolt

Then, after the war, around the mid-1950's we adopted the American Unified system....UNC and UNF They were different, in that a1/4 bolt had the same head-size (measured A/F - across the flats0 IIrc,a1/2 AF fits a 1/4 bolt or nut....the smaller sizes are almost identical to the Whit/BSF range and can, at a pinch, interchange....above 1/4" the pitches diverge and , IIrc, a 5/16 unified will foul a BS counterpart after about 1 1/2 turns...Unified can be identified by a ring stamped in one end of the nut,or a chain of small rings down one flat. the bolt has a circular depression un the head, ir 3 equally-spaced radial lines.

British Association was a standard electrical thread....not only beloved of the prince of darkness ( parody on the Joseph Lucas slogan "King of the road":} ) All domestic electrical fittings were standardised as to spacing and thread, thus a single switch had 2 x 2BA screws at, IIRC 2 3/8"centres.......then we went Metric the imperial centres were retained , but we now used 3.5 MM screws, whichlooked identical but, of course, jammed solid after ~2 turns......re-tapping the sunken box was one option, re-using the old BA screws was another. Istill come across BA screws in boxes!

When the tool business went a bit quiet (coinciding with the influx of foreign cars, ) we went metric in the engineering-trades. Again, a few thou difference on some spanner-sixes....1/2 AF = a very tight fit on a rusted/worn 13MM head...14 MM is tight on a 9/16
Metric coarse and UNF are fairly similar to look at, but not at all compatible...Metric Fine is a bit unusual....again as referred to byA500 man there are some anomalous sizes where 2 different pitches are used for a standard diameter....also, the head-size does not necessarily always bear the same relationship to the actual bolt diameter..

Metric spanners are quoted AF...so that's the head-size across flats, not the shank diameter.

A real oddball....British Cycle thread!....that's why those pressed-tin multi-hole bike spanners never fitted anything else! Threads were very fine pitch and shallow, for the diameter.

Ireally must get out more!:8

I have read your post twice and being from the metric age
( though I do have a 1958 MF 65 tractor and dont seem to have any spanners that fit it!)
i am lost :}
Your post does go part way to explaining why my father would always be telling me off for using his old spanners on my push bike claiming they were the wrong size:confused:, they seemed to fit in my eyes :).
also when i was a kid hanging around the Rudge Air hanger there was a tool box marked "Dove Only"
Cheers, Dan
P.S seems like this subject could have a thread of its own!

Yes, but would it be coarse or fine? :E

OK, Dan, i'll try to simplificate :p Can't be bothered to giggle it all, so you'll have to accept my fragile memory, or giggle it yourself.
Up until Mr. Whitworth, every user made their own thread, to their own profile,with their own head-size.

Whitworth laid out a table ofdiameters thread form, threads per inch and ratio of head-size to shank diameter.
Along came the finer-pitch BSF which had a smaller head in relation to the shank, but these were the same sizes as Whit. heads,except the shank was thicker....hence a1/4 W spanner fitted a 5/16 BSF fastener.
THE SIZE DESIGNATED, WAS THE SHANK DIAMETER

The American AF system (Across Flats ) designated the head size...an open-ended 1/2 AF spanner is 1/2 inch nominal between the jaws. there is, again, a direct correlation between head and shank size, unlike the old British standards, it is a constant, irrespective of thread pitch....a 1/2 AF spanner will fit (iirc) a 5/16 unified fastener, wether it be coarse (unc) or fine (unf)

metric system ...broadly similar to the unified system in that a mechanic will often refer to "a 13-mil bolt" but means one with a 13mm AF head

All threads, with the exception of Metric, have a consistent pitch/diameter ratio....for a given type (say, UNC,) the threads per inch-length (pitch) will lessen as the diameter increases.

broadly, that applies with Metric, but there are a couple of "oddballs" where the pitch is as expected, but also, the same diameter can have a pitch associated with the next size-step.

As I said....the continual evolution is good business for the tool manufacturers.


"philips" screws???...are you sure it's not a Reed and Prince (very common on Jap consumer-goods) or a Pozidrive? they're allcross-point but there the similarity ends A philips driver will bodge a poz. screw in, but a poz. driver won't seat in a Philips head....neither will properly do a R&P head!

All, of course, claim their advantages. Fasteners are an engineering subject in their own right, i've only scratched the surface here!

I have a wonderful book called "One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw" by Witold Rybczynski. My daughter gave it to me for my birthday. She has a very good eye for books that would appeal to me. A previous gift was "Mallard" by Don Hale. :ok:

In One Good Turn there is a detailed description of how the Philips screw was invented and came to the forefront, when it was adopted by the auto industry. In the same chapter, is the story of the Robertson screw and how it failed to be widely adopted, due to the reluctance of Mr. Robertson to give up control of his invention. It is still widely used in Canada and in my opinion is without doubt the best kind of screw head. It has a slightly tapered square socket and consequently, a screw can be firmly attached to the Robertson screw driver and then eased at any angle into spaces, where you cannot insert your fingers or pliers to hold the screw.

@ India four two......You have a lovely daughter.......I'm jealous of your book:8

but, I have a set of Robertson plug-in screwdriver tips, so there!
IIRC, the Philips was developed in Canada ,for assembling washing machines, as flat, slotted screws would allow the driver to slip out and skate across the paint, scratching it......overtightning and shearing the head off was another problem......the Philips was designed to "cam -out"if overtightening was attempted........Pozidrive was developed to work the opposite way. IE to not slip at all.


ADAM ..... Sorry to sidetrack your thread.......so sad to see those lovely, polished aircraft,but with perished tyres and knowing they would be unviable to bring up to standard again.......What about shipping one here and gettingit on a Permit?:}

Here is another Dove, this pic is Via my website courtesy of Dick Winterburn
Does anyone know if there is any way to resize the pictures in the post?
I had to resize this one on the website before linking
Cheers, Dan
Riley Turbo 400 Dove, Wallan Airfield 2004
http://memberfiles.freewebs.com/27/2...01smallest.jpg

Hey Adam, I landed at El Monte today and noticed a twin parked up that looked like your old one, it's call sign is N20VL is that it.? I took a pic while taxiing by, not sure how to post it though