Hi David, This year the Smithsonian gave its lifetime achievement trophy to Joe Kittinger. Joe is a close friend and while we were there, we went out to the Hazy wing of the museum with Tom Crouch the senior curator. Tom brought us to see the Ercoupe. Tom is a great historian who wrote the Bishop's Boys and the Eagle Aloft. He is good friend of Jim Hansen who wrote From the Gound Up with Fred Weick (Jim and Tom went to graduate school together. Tom is a fan of the Ercoupe and what it represents). As Tom explains it, the NASM prefers aircraft that are near display quality when donated and even better, that the plane itself has an important history... For instance, a donation of one of the original government owned Ercoupe's would be very interesting to the museum.
The model they have at the Smithsonian needs work to get it to display quality. If an individual or a group were to fund the restoration, it might find its way to display much more quickly. They do not have plans to display the Ercoupe in the near future. The CAF also has an Ercoupe, but has not been able to find a group of members to sponsor its restoration and maintenance... so it sits. The good thing about the Smithsonian collection is that its airplanes no longer sit in piles exposed to the weather. The Hazy donation solved that dilema which Walter Boynes documented so well in at least one of his books. Most are now kept in facilities that protect them until they can be put on display. As Tom put it..."if only we had enough money and time". My article about the Joe Kittinger event will be in Sport Aviation in July or August... Best, John On 7/1/08, David Winters <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Just as a matter of common interest, I was out in DC and made a little > diversion to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and to the display hangar > annex out by Dulles. > > No Ercoupe on display. > > Surprised. Many less important general aviation aeroplanes, but no Coupe. > > So, I get my hands on the inventory book. Pleased to learn that they do > have a 'Coupe in an archive/restoration hangar. But, I have no idea as to > it's state of repair or expected completion, or projected time of display. > > General interest info only. > > Dave Winters > N2797H > > > > >
