private plane collection

I thought you guys might find this interesting. I grew up near here and last visited probably 20 years ago. But I believe it is alive and well. I am told it's stuff of legends.

Soplata Airplane Sanctuary (Bing Maps) - Virtual Globetrotting

Walter Soplata Collection - Wreckchasing Message Board

This guy used to work at a scrap yard in Cleveland and bought these planes from his place of employee instead of scraping them.

Wow, there was a really cool Pinto wagon in there, by the P49. lol....I know some people at Planes of Fame in Chino Ca. that would like to brouse through the graveyard. Boy imagine all the scrap alluminum........

I should show this to my HOA.

They think my deuce hobby is bad.... frickin planes! muhahahaha

holy cow

Wreckchasing board - there's a "DUG" over there too. It's one of my other hobbies...............................................

If you zoom out and then back in you will see what I think is a 5 ton military wrecker just north of the barn with the green roof, right along the tree line.

My question is, what psychology do you guys use to buy stuff from guys like this who won't sell? I have tried: "be his buddy", night out with strippers, case of booze, bring over everyone I know with a restored MV to guilt him into "saving" his stuff, 2X cash value offers, etc etc. Nothing works. I guess I will wait for his widow to auction the stuff.

NDT said:

My question is, what psychology do you guys use to buy stuff from guys like this who won't sell? I have tried: "be his buddy", night out with strippers, case of booze, bring over everyone I know with a restored MV to guilt him into "saving" his stuff, 2X cash value offers, etc etc. Nothing works. I guess I will wait for his widow to auction the stuff.

Click to expand...

Dont get on him too bad, he has sold some stuff in the last few years. The B-25 "wild cargo" is now flying in VA.

The F2G Corsair " blue and white checker nose, is also under restoration along with some other projects.

Because of him, we have these to still admire today!!

He had to sell those because the IRS accused him of having a museum and he had to pay extra taxes (from what I hear) so he sold those 2 to pay the IRS.

I am just thankful he saved them from the crusher where he worked.


HOA? What HOA? He's lived there for at least 50 years. I think the road and his driveway are still dirt. Our high school graduating class in 1989 was 76 kids and it's been getting smaller ever since, from what my friends who still live there say.

Group,

He also sold a twin mustang which is currently being restored to flying.

Also he gathered the planes form all over, where ever he could find them.
There is quite a bit of talk about him on the Warbird forms, and an article several months ago i Air & Space.

Laterrrr
Avn-Tech

Sweeeeeeet!!

I could not imagine looking out my window, and see a B36 body sitting there.

It is very cool and sad in a way to see a "collection" like that. Glad to hear some of it has been preserved.

Since he's been collecting that stuff for so long, he can't be a young man. Someone might need to remind him that he can't take them with him. He may want to sell it and get a nice comfy retirement home in Aruba or something with hotties visiting him everynight, a good doctor, a good nurse who both could also be hotties. He could act like a retired James Bond.

People like that have a disease. Its called Hoarding! ever watch those Hoarding shows. The people are nutcases. Yeah this guy may have saved these planes from the wrecker, but what good are they if he won't sell and lets them rot? I get disgusted watching that show American Pickers for the same reasons. They go visit these old dinosaurs, then when they attempt to buy some old item, the decrepit old fart refuses, and insults them with some lame crap like "oh I'm gonna restore that!" "Sure you are gramps! When in your next life?" I can't stand hoarders and people who won't let go of things. Its one thing to hold onto something if you really intend to restore it. But some of these people just don't want anyone else to have something so they'd rather keep it and let it rot than sell it, make some cash and let the new owner restore and enjoy the object.

What will most likely happen now is, the guy will croak, his wife will call in the scrap aluminum guy after she's duped by him into thinking she'll make more money that way, and then those planes will become tomorrow's Coke cans. Shame.

It would certainly save a lot of speculation if folks would read the original posting linked article all about this collection.

Good eye on the wrecker.That's my 816.We had it over there when Walt parted with the FG-1D Corsair. (SAD SAD day.Thought that I had a chance at owning it) I have been Walters volunteer for about ten years.Yeah he's different but like vtdeucedriver said,without people like him,these planes wouldn't be around.His wife knows what they are worth as well.He has told me many stories of how they didn't have enough money for food but his great wife would let him pick up another bird...and help him in the dead of winter to take them apart and move them.And he didn't get them from his work.They came from all across the country.There is hardly a collector out there that doesn't know about him.World wide.

BTW That FG-1D may be the most original Corsair in existence.When we opened it up,it was like a time machine.Everything still intact from the 40's right down to the radios.

The fuselage and parts in the bottom left of the picture of the Soplata sanctuary may be a B-36 which is extremely rare.

Should have looked at the second link before commenting on the possible B-36. What a treasure. Even has a plane in there that I flew, a P-2V Neptune. Dutch were still flying those in the late 70's.

Yep.That Neptune was in the Antarctic.He has a picture of it with the jato's lit.

Now there's a collection I would give both my left one and my right one to have!