W.A.S.P. Museum News

Today, the primary focus of the W.A.S.P. is on the preservation of the Panther as it's centerpiece.

To bring our readers up to date on the issue, the simplest way to present the current status is to say that the issue was passed on to Navy representative Deborah Sciascia, Assistant Counsel.

She wrote a scathing letter, indicating that the ownership of the Panther was never firmly established in the eyes of the Navy... stating that the plane was never relegated to the status of 'stricken.'

This flies in the face of the documentation presented to the W.A.S.P. Museum's Curator at the time of purchase, taken from the Navy's own files -- in which the aircraft was specifically designated as 'stricken.'

Watching the other cases pending in the matter of Naval aircraft to which the Navy lays claim after there is reason to consider the value or preserved status of the planes.

In most cases, the Navy will ultimately charge that the aircraft was not properly acquired -- and demand it's return.

Such was the case with Lex Cralley's Corsair, which crashed into a swamp during a December 19, 1944, training run, killing the pilot.

The Navy stripped the plane and abandoned the remaining parts, leaving it to dissolve in the swamp.

Cralley, an airline ground services mechanic, salvaged the remains of the fighter in 1991, transporting it to his home in Princeton, Minnesota.

Cralley was shocked in March of 2004 to learn of the Justice Department's intent to sue him in U.S. District court in Minneapolis, citing the Navy's demand for the return of the plane and and accusing him of having stolen it, the father of four mortgaged his home and prepared to defend himself against what appeared to be insurmountable odds.

But North Carolina Republican Representative Walter B. Jones stepped in to assist Cralley, asking the Navy to to drop the claim and relinquish the Corsair to the collector.

Following the appraisal of the plane and through a series of actions between the two entities, government lawyers drafted a congressional amendment that ultimately ceded title of the Corsair to Cralley, bringing the lawsuit to a close.

Cralley hopes that media attention focused on the case will bring with it a tide of public pressure for the Navy to stop laying claim to abandoned aircraft and allow anything older than 1961 to stay where it is -- a measure which would ultimately protect those Navy aircraft presently in the possession of museums and private collectors.

TEAMWORK

Clubs and More

"57 Rescue" (Halifax Restoration), UK
558 Supporters Club (Avro Vulcan), UK
1941 Historical Aircraft Group, New York, USA
Air Display Association Europe
Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation, USA
Air Group One, CAF, El Cajon, California, USA
Aircraft Engine Historical Society
Aircraft Restoration Company, UK
Airline History Museum at Kansas City
American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS)
American Fighter Aces Association
American Society of Aviation Enthusiasts, USA
Anglo-American Lightning Organization, USA
Antique Airplane Association - Air Power Museum, Iowa, USA
Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia (AAAA)
Arizona Wing of the CAF, Mesa, Arizona, USA
Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (AAHF)
Australian Warbirds Association
Aviation Historical Society of New Zealand
B-17 Charitable Trust ("Sally-B"), UK
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), UK
Belgian Aviation History Association
Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation, New Jersey, USA
Berlin Airlift Veteran's Association
Canadian Aviation Historical Society
Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, Ontario, Canada
Canberra Association, UK
Capt. M.K. Smith Educational Institute, Oregon, USA
Cascade Warbirds (EAA Warbirds Squadron 2), Seattle, Washington, USA
Centex Wing CAF, San Marcos, Texas, USA
Classic Jet Aircraft Association (CJAA)
Collings Foundation, USA
Commemorative Air Force (CAF)
[Commemorative Air Force: Directory of Units]
Cornish Aviation Society
The Constellation Group
The Dakota Trust, UK
Danish Dakota Friends, Denmark
DC-3 Historical Society
deHavilland Aviation, Ltd., UK
deHavilland Moth Club, UK
Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Ass'n, USA
Dixie Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Georgia, USA
Dutch Dakota Association, UK
Dutch Historic Jet Association (DHJA), Netherlands
EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association)
EAA Antique/Classic Division
EAA Warbirds of America (WOA)
European Airshow Council
European Aviation Preservation Council
European Yak Club
The Flying Circus, Bealton, Virginia, USA
Flying Leathernecks Historical Foundation, California, USA
Flying Legends Association Germany
Fly Navy Heritage Trust (UK)
Friends of the Fighter Collection, UK
Gisborne Aviation Preservation Society, New Zealand
Great Lakes Wing of the CAF, Gary, Indiana, USA
Gulf Coast Wing of the CAF, Houston, Texas, USA
Halifax Restoration Team, Canada
Highland Lakes Squadron of the CAF, Burnet, Texas, USA
Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), Australia
Historical Aircraft Squadron, Ohio, USA
Int'l Association of Aviation Historians (Air-Britain)
International Bird Dog Association (IBDA)
International Cockpit Club
International Council of Airshows (ICAS)
International F-104 Society
International Liaison Pilots and Aircraft Ass'n (ILPA)
The Int'l Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR)
IPMS Aerobatic Display Teams Special Interest Group
Jet Provost Club, Doncaster, UK
L-19 Bird Dog Association
L-39 Owner's Association (LOA)
Lancashire Aircraft Investigation Group
Latin American Aviation Historical Society (LAAHS)
Lightning Flying Club
Lima Lima Team (T-34s)
Marine Helicopter Squadron 361 Veterans Ass'n, Inc.
Nanton Lancaster Society and Museum, Canada
National Biplane Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
National Warbird Operator Conference (NWOC), USA
New Zealand Warbirds Association
North American Trainer Association (NATA)
North Georgia Warbird Squadron #17, USA
Ohio Valley Wing of the CAF, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Oklahoma Wreckchasing, Oklahoma, USA
Old Flying Machine Company (OFMC), Duxford, UK
OV-1 Mohawk Association, USA
OV-10 Bronco Association, USA
OV-10 Bronco Association, German Wing
P-38 National Association, USA
P-47 Thunderbolt Pilot's Association
P-47 Advocates
The Real Aeroplane Company, Breighton, UK
The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Ass'n ("River Rats")
Reno Air Racing Association, USA
Sabre Pilots Ass'n of the Air Division Squadrons
The Skyhawk Association
TIGHAR: The Int'l Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery
Society of Air Racing Historians
South African Airways Museum Society
South Berkshire Aviation Society, UK
Stearman Restorer's Association
Stirling Aircraft Association, Netherlands
Swordfish Heritage Trust, UK
T-34 Association
T-6 Racing Association
Ulster Aviation Society, UK
Valiant Air Command (VAC), Florida, USA
Vintage Aircraft Association, USA
Vulcan Operating Company (VOC), UK
Waco Historical Society
Warbirds of America (WoA)
Warbirds of Norway
West Houston Squadron of the CAF, Houston, Texas, USA
White 1 Foundation
Wings of the North, Minnesota, USA
World War II Warbird Group, Stockton, California, USA

From Our Files

Come and join the fun! You will want to return again and again. It's an RV Paradise during the winter months and travelers the world over come to join into the wonderful happenings in Quartzsite.

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