< What do we do with that example? Leave it packed away? Fire it
<up for the edification of the locals (worldwide)? This is a knotty
<question, and one that harks somewhat to the same question asked by
<those who restore, and fly, antique aircraft. If we fly it, there's
<always the possibility that we might have a failure and the example
<(artifact) may be destroyed - if we don't, we're ignoring the essential
<beauty and function of the design.
The classic example of this and a conter arguement is the BeeGee Racing
aircraft. It was considered a widowmaker, as it nearly or did kill most
of the pilots that flew it!. A replica was made and the plane has been
flying for several years at airshows and doing remarkable acrobatics...
guess what it hasn't killed the pilot. What was lost was that it took a
healty respect and some knowledge of design and flight to figure out that
it wasn't so much the plane as the pilots that were the problem and they
have learned about the flight characteristics of a plane that was deemed
unflyable. Not to mention seeing a piece of flying history debunked.
< I, offhand, am tempted to say "park the craft" and find another one
<that's a bit more beat up. Restore that one, and drive it to your
<heart's content. But save the "factory original" one - like an old
<Tucker.
With some exception cars and place can be preserved where some parts of
computers must be exercised or potentially fail. The other issue is
this may not even be a working example at this time.
It's one thing when it's the last one, another when there are more to see.
Allison
Received on Sun Nov 16 1997 - 18:19:47 GMT