WWII-era plane sold for restoration previously was on loan to Combat Air Museum • Minnesota purchaser bought aircraft from man who loaned it for display

The World War II-era aircraft recently sold to a Minnesota man had served as a longtime display on loan to the Combat Air Museum, according to a board member.

Museum board chairman Gene Howerter said Friday the North American O-47B aircraft, an observation aircraft built in 1939, had been displayed in the museum’s hangar for more than 20 years. It was loaned for display by Bill Dempsay, of Rantoul, who Howerter said is a lifetime member of the museum, but it was never donated.

“We tried to get him to donate it, but he said it was part of his retirement,” Howerter said.

After The Topeka Capital-Journal reported in October about the O-47B aircraft’s brief stay at the American Flight Museum for disassembly before being hauled to its new owner to be restored, the Combat Air Museum contacted a reporter to correct misinformation provided by the flight museum for the story.

Although the original information provided to the newspaper identified the Combat Air Museum as the entity that sold the plane, Howerter said it was never the museum’s to sell.

Museum staff had been aware for some time that Dempsay was prepared to sell the aircraft, Howerter said. When interested buyers came to look at the plane, he said, its pristine condition surprised them.

“They were just really shocked because it didn’t have any corrosion, because we maintained it in our hangar and kept it in such good shape,” Howerter said.

The plane, which is one of just four remaining O-47B aircraft, ultimately was purchased by James Patrick “Pat” Harker, a Minnesota resident. Howerter said he met with Harker to work out details of the plane’s transfer to Harker’s possession.

The museum required an official record of Dempsay’s sale of the aircraft to Harker, Howerter said, so two letters were provided. The first, dated Sept. 4, was written by Dempsay to inform the museum the plane had been sold to Harker. A second letter, dated Sept. 19, was written by Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd., of Minneapolis, Minn., to advise the museum of the sale and request its staff’s cooperation with Harker. Howerter provided copies of those documents to The Capital-Journal.

Harker owns a small collection of World War II aircraft hangared at the Anoka County-Blaine Airport in metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul, Howerter said, and he plans to restore the O-47B, which has a seized-up engine, so it can fly in air shows.

“I’m really happy for this guy to buy and restore this airplane,” Howerter said.

After the plane’s restoration, it will be the only known remaining O-47B that will fly. Howerter said the three others are housed at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio; the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.; and somewhere in California.

“A lot of people don’t appreciate that airplane, but it’s a very rare airplane,” he said. “It’s a classic.”

-Source:   http://cjonline.com