Mundane and pointless, but there’s a Douglass A-26C on eBay.
I’d like a bomber for Christmas.
Just popped in Always. I think this is one of the planes at the training base (not the one in which Richard Drefuss blows up in).
And please disregard the extra ‘in’. :smack:
Johnny, you seem like a nice guy.
Come one fellow Dopers, who’s with me? Let’s say we all chip in $5 and see if we can get **Mr. L.A. **here a bomber for Christmas!
I’ll pool my money but I want the plane every other Tuesday.
I figure a load of mud will get those kids to stay out of my yard.
Actually, I’d get much more use out of this.
And I’d really like to have one of these.
But I wouldn’t mind…
One of these.
Or one of these.
Or one of these.
But I’d take the A-26. 
I would buy it now, but the feedback isn’t that impressive.
How about the (only airworthy) Sopwith Camel?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Sopwith-Camel-Original-1917-WWI-No-Reserve_W0QQitemZ4594758276QQcategoryZ63677QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Brian
I saw that. Only after the suggestion that people chip in to get me a flying machine I thought $1.5 million would be greedy.
(And I’d rather have the L-39 to a Camel anyway.)
Well, I don’t know whether it was a “C”, but the plane Dreyfuss flew to save Goodman (and die trying) and the plane that Holly Hunter flew at the end and the plane that Dreyfuss flew in the opening sequence (where he brought it in for a deadstick landing from about five miles out at an elevation of about 300 feet without ever feathering the props :eek: :rolleyes: ) were all A-26s. (Heck, they were probably all the same plane.)
They had at least two. Dreyfuss’s A-26 was tail number 57. I didn’t catch the N-number. This one is tail number 59. I think I saw #59 in the film when Brad Johnson flies it at John Goodman’s training base; but I’m not 100% sure because of the angles and the quickness of the shots. I think I saw tail number 58 in the beginning, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to watch the entire film again to see if I can get a better look at the tails, or even the N-numbers.
Did you notice that there in the mountains of Idaho, the altimeter was approaching zero? :rolleyes:
I used to love this movie. Holly Hunter was a real cutie. I’d melt when she’d say, ‘Girl clothes!’ and at the look of relief on her face when Drefuss deadsticks it. Man, it killed me when Hunter danced with Johnson to ‘her and Drefuss’s song’. The anguish on Drefuss’s face was real to me. And the planes! Gotta love a movie about planes! Not to mention the funny bits with John Goodman.
But even when I loved it, I saw the flaws. After many years of repeated viewings, the flaws finally got to me. Poor job of directing. Johnson’s ‘Drefuss laugh’ was forced. The bit with Marg Helgenberger and the aircraft tug was ludicrous. When Hunter breaks off the dance, it doesn’t work. There are just too many parts where the direction sucked.
But it’s still a sweet film that I’ll watch many more times.
(I also have A Guy Named Joe with Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne, of which Always is a remake.)
They take PayPal! 
Hey, everybody chip in, I dunno, five thou or so, and I’ll buy the sucker and appoint you all members of the Straight Dope Attack Squadron. We’ll travel the country correcting popular misconceptions and pay our expenses by hawking copies of Cecil’s various books.
What the hell, I’m in for $5. All in a good cause.
Although I’d rather have a mint-condition Bf-109F, if anyone sees one sitting on the tarmac somewhere…
I like the cut of your jib!
Coincidentally, I want a Spitfire. (Mk.I, but I think they were all upgraded. Mk.V then. But I’d take a Mk.IX.)
I just saw a story on CNN about this Canadian guy who traded a red paperclip for something. He traded the something for something else, and so on. So far he’s traded up to a snowmobile. He goal is to trade up to a house. I wonder if I can do that, only trade up to an airplane? That 1967 Cessna 172 costs much less than a house. And really, I just want any non-ultralight aircraft that will let me leave the planet for an hour.
Bombing the hell out of ignorance since 2005!
Anyone else think that Sopwith Camel, assuming it’s genuine, is a good investment at a million five? As the saying is, they’re not making any more of them.
Johnny, I’m willing to chip in five bucks toward the A-26, but tell me you’re not going to keep it in your driveway.
I agree that the Sopwith is a good investment, although I’d prefer a late-model S.P.A.D.
Why not keep the A-26 in his driveway? Unless, of course, they leak oil.
For Douglas aircraft, I would prefer to have an SBD, mark 3 or later, please.
For twin-engine military aircraft, I’d prefer the B-26 to the A-26. I don’t know if any airworthy B-26s are still out there, though.
For all piston-engine aircraft, what I want for Christmas is a Connie (Lockheed Constellation). Drool…
What, a Mossie isn’t on your list?
Ya know, I left the Spitfire and the Plywood Air Force off my list because of the RR Merlin. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Merlin, but I’m not sure I want the maintenance headache.
Still, your point is valid. P-51s use the Merlin, and since the Mustang is still actively raced, I have a better chance of finding experienced mechanics and spare parts.