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ISSUE
80 - August 2009
Over 8,000 Total Ads Listed
1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week
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That
They May Rise Again: Part 1 |
By Kevin Moore, Contributing
Editor & Photographer
Roslin, Ontario, Canada |
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One of the first things you’ll see
as you enter the scrap yard area are these Bolingbrook nose
sections, fuselage section and a wing. There are also other
nose sections, wings, fuselage sections, and a wing and fuselage
complete section. |
I suppose some might say that every
airplane will meet its end some day. True, many old airplanes
wind up as pop cans, frying pans, and possibly hubcaps. However,
there are some folks who have made efforts to save airplanes
from the scrap dealer’s crusher so that other airplanes
may continue to fly. |
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The top-turret section
for
a Bolingbrook bomber |
One individual who has saved many
an airplane and assisted others in continuing to fly is Vince
O’Connor of Uxbridge, Ontario. Vince is the owner/operator
of O’Con-Aircraft Supplies, The Movie Hangar Inc. and
has been dealing in scrap airplanes and airplane parts for
40 plus years. Vince has seen a variety of airplanes pass
through his yard since he first established his business.
Though his ‘collection’ of airplanes and parts
has declined in recent times, he still has quite an assortment
of items that are invaluable to the aviation community. However,
there is concern that much of it could be hauled off to the
scrap yard in the not-too-distant future. That would be most
unfortunate. |
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Vince’s museum
looks like a bomb hit it and needs organizing so that his memorabilia
is properly displayed. However, many of the items he has in
the collection are ‘one-of-a-kind’ and are likely
very rare, left. There are several T-33 cockpit and fuselage
sections around the property, right. |
Vince doesn’t just deal in airplane
parts for airplane owners, he does consulting and supplies
props for the film industry as well. His 10 acres of land
includes his home (which he is still in the process of finishing),
a large hangar, an assortment of out-buildings, a short grass
airstrip, and airplanes in various states of disrepair scattered
about the place. There are T-33 fuselages, a now partly rotted
crate of T-33, brand new flaps, Voodoo fuselage section and
parts, CF-100 Canuck parts, the fuselage/frames of a Cessna
Crane, Fleet Cornell, and an Anson Mk 1. There are Harvard
wings, part fuselages, and assortment of many other parts.
Cockpit windscreens, canopy covers, hundreds, if not thousands
of instruments, a Lancaster top turret frame, a Goblin engine
and the nose section from a DH Vampire, propeller blades,
tip-tanks, airplane fuselages, seats, fuel pumps…… and
so much more. Ever thought about restoring and flying a Bolingbrook?
If you have, or you’d like to, there are several nose
sections, at least two fuselages, and wings for a complete
rebuild project. The list goes on.
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Hanging from the
rafters inside the hangar are two rare finds. On the left a
Cessna Crane fuselage frame and on the right is that of a Fleet
Cornell, left. Also hanging from the rafters is a rare Avro
Anson Mk I fuselage frame, right. |
At 71 and dealing with some health
concerns, Vince doesn’t want to see his life’s
work & collection melted down, especially when so much
of it could go to airplanes that need restoring, or are in
the process of being restored. He has amassed a collection
of personal aviation items that most museums would give their
first born for. In his ‘museum’ he has a complete
control column for a DH Mosquito fighter (stick) and the
yoke for a Mosquito bomber. There is also the bombardier’s ‘control
stick’ from a B-17 bomber, rare built and boxed model
airplanes, hand carved models, a large assortment of vintage
RCAF and aviation photos, vintage aviation ads, and so much
more. He is very proud of the collection he has amassed and
hopes he still has time to display it all properly. |
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Vince’s pride
and joy, a long time restoration project, still in the works,
is his Lysander. The completed fuselage sits among thousands
of parts from many different airplanes, including the wings
and tail-feathers for the Lysander. |
Apart from all this, Vince’s
pride and joy is the fuselage of an airplane he’s been
quietly restoring for years, crammed inside his hangar, surrounded
by tens of thousands of assorted airplane parts from, probably,
every airplane the RCAF has ever flown. Sitting shiny, clean
and restored is the almost fully completed fuselage of a
Canadian Car and Foundry (Westland) Lysander, with an additional
section and parts of a Lysander half fuselage sitting next
to it. The restored fuselage and cockpit is ready for the
next step in the restoration process. Vince is one day hoping
to see it take to the air as the third flying Lysander in
Canada (Canadian Warplane Heritage flies a newly restored
Lysander and Vintage Wings of Canada hopes to have their
Lizzie in the air by the fall). There is much work to do
on the airplane to get it to that stage, including the full
restoration of the wings, tail, and engine. A long process
yet and one that Vince hopes he’ll be around to complete.
To contact O’Con-Aircraft Supplies call Vince O’Connor
at 905-852-5474.
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