Friday, June 01, 2012

City auctions off airplanes abandoned at Meriden Markham Municipal Airport (KMMK), Connecticut

 

Officials at the Meriden-Markham Airport auctioned off two airplanes Friday afternoon. The planes, which sold for a combined $6,050, were left abandoned at the airport. 

 

MERIDEN — One airplane enthusiast traveled all the way from Madison, Wis., to take part in an airplane auction at Meriden-Markham Airport Friday afternoon.

At home in Wisconsin, Dave Godec plans to build a 1949 Piper Clipper from an empty frame. The plane went through a tornado in Illinois years ago and he has been working to restore the aircraft. Last month, he was shocked to read a story online about the exact same plane, in good condition except for lacking a motor, up for auction.

“When I saw the airplane I just about died,” Godec said. “This is the airplane I’d like to build.”

Airport officials found two airplanes that were left abandoned at the airport and the city decided to auction them off. Neither plane had an engine. The Clipper was otherwise in very good shape. The 1978 Piper Tomahawk, on the other hand, was mostly just a shell that could be sold off for scrap metal.

“It’s kind of a strange thing to have abandoned airplanes,” Interim Airport Manager Ron Price said.

More than a dozen people milled around the hangar before the auction, peering through the cockpit and checking the controls of the Clipper. Godec placed the initial bid at $500 and stayed with it as four other pilots went back and forth with bids.

Godec ended up with the winning bid of $5,700 for the Clipper. Now he has five days to pay and transport the aircraft, Price said, though he told Godec he was welcome to lease space at Meriden-Markham Airport.

“That would be a bit of a commute,” Godec joked.

Since he was in the process of building his own plane, Godec already has a working engine and prop that will work with the one he purchased Friday. He plans to continue working on the other plane, but will fly this one in the mean time.

“I’ve liked this plane for years,” Godec said of making the trip out for the auction.

What makes the Clipper attractive, Godec said, is its responsive controls and it being relatively inexpensive to fly, yet still capable of flying at 110 miles per hour.

Without an engine in the plane, Godec was planning to have the aircraft shipped back to Wisconsin on a trailer. He said he should be able to get all the certifications to be ready to fly within two to three months.

Unlike the Clipper, the Tomahawk was in a state of disarray. The engine and all sorts of other internal parts were scavenged from the aircraft already and birds had taken up residence in one of the wings.

New Britain resident Kevin Ross had the winning bid on the Tomahawk at $350.

“We’ll use what parts we can and the rest is just scrap metal,” Ross said. “That’s about it.”

Wayne Barneschi from the Trail of Terror placed a few bids on the Tomahawk but was outbid. Since the plane is destined for scrap, he and Ross talked about possibly incorporating pieces of the old plane into the seasonal Halloween attraction.

“I’ll have to check it out,” Ross said to Barneschi.

As with Godec, Ross was making plans to haul the plane away after going over the paperwork with Price Friday afternoon.

Source:   http://www.myrecordjournal.com

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