Can Anyone Buy An Old Used Fighter Jet?

varigb707 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:14 pm

So it's saturday morning and i am watching paint dry, when i thought about that?
Can anyone buy an old used fighter jet? Provided it has all its guns and whatnot disabled.
FYI : i am not planning on buying one. Just curious...

Fly2HMO · Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:25 pm

Quoting varigb707 (Thread starter):
Can anyone buy an old used fighter jet? Provided it has all its guns and whatnot disabled.
FYI : i am not planning on buying one. Just curious...

For the most part yes. I've never seen a private currently active fighters like F-15s or F-16s for example but I've seen private F-4s, MiGs, F-86, L29s and others. There were a few old fighters at the airport I learned to fly in. Obviously all weapon systems are disabled and they are prohibited from breaking the sound barrier, at least over populated areas without permission.

[Edited 2010-11-06 09:48:13]

dxing · Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:33 pm

When we were out a Palmdale earlier this year there were 3 F-100's up for sale. Two for parts and one was flyable.

Maverick623 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:46 pm

Someone a few years ago sold an F-18 on Ebay. It wasn't airworthy, but all the parts to make it so were there. The seller did get a visit from the FBI, who determined that it was legit.

474218 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 5:49 pm

Quoting dxing (Reply 2):
When we were out a Palmdale earlier this year there were 3 F-100's up for sale. Two for parts and one was flyable.

Where in Palmdale?

photopilot · Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:14 pm

There used to be a F-104 Starfighter (2 seater version) privately owned out at Williams Gateway east of Phoenix. You could buy rides in the rear seat for a price. Beyond my budget though. The guy who owned it took people up to help defray the costs of flying and maintaining it.

MD11Engineer · Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:26 pm

A friend of mine owns a 1953 Lockheed T-33A, on which I´m sometimes working. He also flies L-39 jet trainers, which he charters from time to time.

Jan

rfields5421 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:36 pm

There is a military surplus store on the I-30 service road west of Texarkana. Out front sits an Aardvark (F-111). For many years there was an F-105.

I stopped by there once in the 90s, and the owner told me he buys an aircraft for salvage from DMA and has it trucked to Texas. Then he lets it sit out front until the USAF complains and he scraps the bird. And buys another. Takes about 10-15 years per aircraft, and they make great advertising.

And by waiting so long, usually the increase in scrap metal prices pays for the transportation costs.

474218 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:44 pm

Quoting varigb707 (Thread starter):
Can anyone buy an old used fighter jet?

Anyone can buy a used fighter jet. However, to operate it you better have lots of money.

varigb707 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:39 pm

Quoting 474218 (Reply 4):
Where in Palmdale?

California. I think. I could be wrong.

varigb707 · Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:59 pm

thanks all for your replies!

HaveBlue · Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:27 am

Adding to the list of ex fighters already mentioned, there is also a few civilian F-104 Starfighters, which I have had the pleasure to have seen many times. They are based out of Clearwater, FL. Collins Foundation also has an F-105 that either is or will be airworthy soon. Collins also has the F-4 Phantom. I've also seen privately owned and flown Panthers, Cougars, MiG-15's, MiG-17's, L-29's, L-39's, there are civilian Saab Drakens and T-38 Talons.

Spacepope · Sun Nov 07, 2010 4:10 am

Don't forget the two private SU-27s based out of Rockford, IL.

Also there are private companies that fly fighters to train the military (DACM, targets for EW, naval surface ship targets), I've seen Kfirs, A-4s, Hunters and Alphaets flown by these companies recently.

Kiwirob · Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:26 am

There are also some private Blackburn Buccaneers flying in South Africa.

MD11Engineer · Sun Nov 07, 2010 10:29 am

A guy I know is currently in the process of restoring a former Luftwaffe Fiat G.91 to airworthy condition.

Jan

TGIF · Sun Nov 07, 2010 11:17 am

Quoting varigb707 (Thread starter):
So it's saturday morning and i am watching paint dry, when i thought about that?
Can anyone buy an old used fighter jet? Provided it has all its guns and whatnot disabled.
FYI : i am not planning on buying one. Just curious...

Too bad you're not shopping for one. Otherwise I'd recommend you this fine piece of Swedish aviation history:

http://www.wolfeaviation.com/aircraft_for_sale/1964SAABJ35.html

Only 789 flight hours and for just $175,000, some fuel and appropriate certificates, it will get you to Mach 2 and 60k feet.

Devilfish · Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:27 pm

The one I like was used as a demonstrator - alas, it is the last.....

.http://www.californiasciencecenter.o...Aircraft/F20/images/F20gallery.jpg

.....and even if I had the money (which I don't), it's unlikely that it'd be sold!

kc135topboom · Sun Nov 07, 2010 12:33 pm

Quoting rfields5421 (Reply 7):
There is a military surplus store on the I-30 service road west of Texarkana. Out front sits an Aardvark (F-111). For many years there was an F-105.

IIRC, that is actually a FB-111A (also called the F-111G).

The flyable Collins F-4 is an F-4D. I believe they also fly a F-100F, too.

There are a few A-4s that are in private hands and flyable, too.

Doesn't Red Bull also have a Mig-15?

I know they are not jet fighters, but don't forget the many P-51s, P-40s, P-38s, P-47s, and F4Us flying around.

Also not fighters, but there are a few T-38s, T-37s, and T-2s in private hands.

[Edited 2010-11-07 04:35:16]

planenut767 · Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:56 pm

Hello everyone. I figure this might be a good place to ask since everyone is talking about surplus military jets. Last year when I went out to the RDG for their airshow I saw about four SU-25's, in various states of assembly, parked outside of a hangar. I wanted to see if anyone had any info on them.

[Edited 2010-11-07 06:06:33]

sovietjet · Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:32 pm

Quoting Spacepope (Reply 12):
Don't forget the two private SU-27s based out of Rockford, IL.

They are not in Rockford anymore. I saw them do their test flights for certification earlier this year but they haven't flown since and were sold sometime in July. The company wouldn't say who they were sold to so it's a mystery for now. There's rumors that they went to the desert to fly as aggressors for the USAF.

Quoting KC135TopBoom (Reply 17):
The flyable Collins F-4 is an F-4D. I believe they also fly a F-100F, too

They fly an F-4D but not the F-100 yet. There's only one airworthy F-100 and it is this one.

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Dan Vincent - New England Airports

Quoting planenut767 (Reply 18):
Hello everyone. I figure this might be a good place to ask since everyone is talking about surplus military jets. Last year when I went out to the RDG for their airshow I saw about four SU-25's, in various states of assembly, parked outside of a hangar. I wanted to see if anyone had any info on them.

One of them is registered N347DE. Registered in Delaware and owned by Dave Cannavo AFAIK. The other three might be either for spares or for future flying.

Cold War Air Museum is getting a Mig-23 airworthy as well. And there is also one in Delaware flying. I believe the Delaware one was brought in by the same guy with the Su-25s.

CWAM Mig-23:

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Ivan Voukadinov - BGspotters

planenut767 · Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:49 pm

Quoting sovietjet (Reply 19):
There's only one airworthy F-100 and it is this one.

There's actually another one that's flying around painted up in Vietnam era camouflage and was on display at the Reno Air Races this year. I don't remember who it belonged to, but I think was based at Stead Field or Carson City NV if I remember correctly. I also have a picture, but it doesn't have the A/C registration or meet Anet's photo posting criteria.

kc135topboom · Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:48 pm

Quoting planenut767 (Reply 20):
I don't remember who it belonged to, but I think was based at Stead Field or Carson City NV if I remember correctly.

Would it be a single seater, like maybe a F-100C or F-100D?

planenut767 · Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:33 pm

Yes it is a single seater, not sure of the model type.

dlednicer · Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:28 am

N29UB, a MiG-29UB should fly for the first time any day now:

The fellow restoring it and his brother each own a MiG-23 (N223ML and N23UB):

PPVRA · Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:37 am

Too bad the ATG Javelin went belly up. Would probably been far cheaper to operate than military aircraft:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATG_Javelin

sovietjet · Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:11 am

Quoting dlednicer (Reply 23):
N29UB, a MiG-29UB should fly for the first time any day now:

Wow! This is the one in Seattle right? Are they also planning on flying the Mig-23s?

jwenting · Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:46 am

the correct answer is in fact a resounding NO.
In many countries the ownership of military equipment (even with any weapons systems removed) is illegal.

A jet trainer might be legal in some of them (though there are countries where ownership of any aircraft is illegal).

In other countries one may own the aircraft in theory, but can't own part of the avionics required to make it airworthy (that restriction is often overcome by registering the aircraft in another country).

DiamondFlyer · Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:59 pm

Quoting jwenting (Reply 26):
the correct answer is in fact a resounding NO.

Perhaps in your neck of the woods. Heck, right now, I could go out and buy 2 L-39's cheaper than 1 brand new Cessna 172. A quick look at any of the various websites with aircraft would show it is entirely possible to do it. Granted, it's much easier to get Soviet bloc equipment than American equipment, but with enough money, I suppose anything is possible.

For instance, I see an AH-1G for sale, with combat history, for under 1 million USD. There is an OV-1 for sale, as well as a TA4J Skyhawk, and various Soviet equipment. There is an L-29 listed for $29,000, which I'd bet you could get for less. Of course, the operating costs are going to kill you.

-DiamondFlyer

hka098 · Mon Nov 08, 2010 4:16 pm

I would love to see that Mig-29 at an air show on the East Coast of the USA. Something like that has to cost around $1500.00 an hour to operate. Wow!

sovietjet · Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:16 pm

Quoting HKA098 (Reply 28):
Something like that has to cost around $1500.00 an hour to operate. Wow!

Much more. The Mig-29s operated as a fleet by various air forces cost around $20,000 an hour. A private one might cost even more. Just the fuel for an hour flight would be much more than $1500

hka098 · Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:07 pm

$20,000.00 per hour? Wow! No wonder many Eastern European nations retired them for older aircraft. I have read that the time between overhaul for the RD-33 is 450 hours, much lower than western engines. True?

dlednicer · Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:50 pm

Quoting sovietjet (Reply 25):
Wow! This is the one in Seattle right? Are they also planning on flying the Mig-23s?

Yes, the MiG-29UB is in the Seattle area. The MiG-23s are kept in Florida and are flown.

HaveBlue · Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:34 pm

Quoting varigb707 (Thread starter):
Can anyone buy an old used fighter jet?

Quoting jwenting (Reply 26):
the correct answer is in fact a resounding NO.

That is patently incorrect. F-4 Phantom, F-5, F-86, F-100, F-105, A-4, MiG-15, 17, 19, 23, 29, Su-27, Draken, Panthers, Cougars, etc.

All are 'old used fighter jets' and have or are being flown by civilians.

HaveBlue · Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:49 am

Damn and forgot one of the more impressive ones, the F-104s flown by StarFighterWorldwide that I've seen fly in person, based out of Clearwater, FL.

n92r03 · Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:55 am

Is this the same "Starfighters" that is referred to in the above posts? Pretty cool, but based out of Cape Canaveral-

http://www.starfighters.net/

HaveBlue · Tue Nov 09, 2010 2:59 am

Quoting n92r03 (Reply 34):
Is this the same "Starfighters" that is referred to in the above posts? Pretty cool, but based out of Cape Canaveral-

Yes it is. During the late 90's they were based at Clearwater and I had been to their hangar, they had one single seat and one two seater flyable and a 2nd single seat not flying. A few years ago at the TICO airshow (Titusville, FL) the Airshow Announcer stated that the F-104's had made it from their base at Clearwater to our airshow in about 10 minutes! It must have been some time after that, and probably more recently, that they transitioned to the Cape as part of the ever expanding civilian space programs gearing up.

[Edited 2010-11-08 19:49:09]

cpd · Tue Nov 09, 2010 3:18 am

Quoting jwenting (Reply 26):
the correct answer is in fact a resounding NO.

Tell that to those here who own things like Gloster Meteor. That's a fighter jet. And a lot of people do own / fly old fighter jets. Maybe in your country it might be banned, but in other countries, if you have the passion, knowledge and the money to make it work, then good luck to you and have fun!

n92r03 · Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:33 am

Quoting HaveBlue (Reply 35):
During the late 90's they were based at Clearwater

At PIE I'm guessing? I never knew that and always check on PIE when I'm in the area. Have noticed all kinds of gems at PIE over the years. Most recently an F/A-18 a few Friday afternoons ago...and to think of the good ole days with L1011's and the UPS DC-8's...

HaveBlue · Wed Nov 10, 2010 2:15 am

Quoting n92r03 (Reply 37):
At PIE I'm guessing? I

Yep, exactly. I knew they were based there and went to talk to the guys who owned them, hangar was open but nobody home. They had the 2 painted up nice that they used in airshows and the 3rd was just in regular all grey.

Looking on Wiki it still states the team is based there at PIE, which is no longer the case. But interestingly and news to me is that right below the entry on this link for the Starfighter Demo Team is this gem:

"Another civilian Starfighter, called the F-104RB (for "Red Baron"), was used to set the low-level speed record in October 1977 by world-famous air racer Daryl Greenamyer. Greenamyer built his F-104 over a period of 12 years from parts scrounged from various places, including a "borrowed" J79-17/1 turbojet from a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, which developed over 2,000 pounds more thrust than the standard J79-19 engine. Greenamyer attacked the record at Mud Lake, near Tonapah, Nevada, and beat the previous low-level speed record by recording a top speed of 988.26 mph (1,590.41 km/h) after five passes over the dry lake. He remained supersonic for most of the 20-minute flight, and rarely rose much higher than 100 feet above the lake bed. Several months later, while practicing for an attempt on the world absolute altitude record, he was forced to eject when his landing gear failed to extend; a belly landing in the F-104 was considered too dangerous to attempt."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_F-104_Starfighter_operators

GPHOTO · Wed Nov 10, 2010 7:17 am

Quoting jwenting (Reply 26):
the correct answer is in fact a resounding NO.

Are you sure?

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

You can even buy and operate nuclear bombers if you want:

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Ok, that last one does not really count

Best regards,

Jim

dlednicer · Wed Nov 10, 2010 4:58 pm

Quoting HaveBlue (Reply 38):
"Another civilian Starfighter, called the F-104RB (for "Red Baron"), was used to set the low-level speed record in October 1977 by world-famous air racer Daryl Greenamyer. Greenamyer built his F-104 over a period of 12 years from parts scrounged from various places, including a "borrowed" J79-17/1 turbojet from a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, which developed over 2,000 pounds more thrust than the standard J79-19 engine. Greenamyer attacked the record at Mud Lake, near Tonapah, Nevada, and beat the previous low-level speed record by recording a top speed of 988.26 mph (1,590.41 km/h) after five passes over the dry lake. He remained supersonic for most of the 20-minute flight, and rarely rose much higher than 100 feet above the lake bed. Several months later, while practicing for an attempt on the world absolute altitude record, he was forced to eject when his landing gear failed to extend; a belly landing in the F-104 was considered too dangerous to attempt."

The result:

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

PRFlyer · Wed Nov 10, 2010 5:55 pm

Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, owns and flies a SIAI-Marchetti SA211.

http://www.bonniepowell.com/ellison.html

L410Turbolet · Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:00 pm

Quoting gphoto (Reply 39):
Are you sure?

Isn't there a private Hawker Hunter in the UK as well?

n92r03 · Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:45 pm

Quoting dlednicer (Reply 40):
He remained supersonic for most of the 20-minute flight, and rarely rose much higher than 100 feet above the lake bed.

After that, he was quoted as saying "I don't always drink beer, but when I do I drink Dos Equis".

MD11Engineer · Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:11 pm

Quoting jwenting (Reply 26):
the correct answer is in fact a resounding NO.
In many countries the ownership of military equipment (even with any weapons systems removed) is illegal.

Even in your own country I know of a private company, which operates several L-39 jet trainers and uses them in a target towing role for the Dutch Navy. This is why they still have live ejection seats (if some sailor misses the big target you are towing and hits you instead, you´ll want to be able to bail out quick).
These aircraft are civilian registered in Estonia (which is an EASA country, which has a civilian type certificate for a L-39) and operate out of the Netherlands. When they are not needed for military exercises, my friend charters one of them from time to time and takes people with him in the back for a bit of aerobatics. I´ve done a joyride as a passenger myself in one of them once.

Jan

larshjort · Wed Nov 10, 2010 9:32 pm

On danish register, no. We have a Leet 29 OY-LSD and a Fouga Magister OY-FGA. In 2005 the Fouga was badly damaged by a fire shorly after takeoff. The owner bought another Fouga in France but due to new regulations he couldn't get it on danish register, so he had to repair the damaged one using parts from the new Fouga.
/Lars

cpd · Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:49 am

Quoting gphoto (Reply 39):

And another example:

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Chris P Denton

Not the F-111C, but the one in front of it and closest to the image. In fact, you probably could grab an F-111C if you wanted (as long as your museum/preservation credentials check out, and you have huge amounts of money) and keep operating it for airshows and the like.

It'd be a huge undertaking, but it wouldn't be surprising. Though currently none of the usual suspects would seem to have enough resources to support one.

If we are talking about offensive weapons being in private hands, I can think of HARS in Australia which has two Cobra helicopter gunships, one at least is being restored so it can be flown. It's not a fighter jet, but a helicopter gunship is a pretty menacing machine. Currently, it still has its gun on it - complete with the warning about not rotating the barrel manually (for obvious reasons).

HaveBlue · Thu Nov 11, 2010 6:06 am

Quoting cpd (Reply 46):
If we are talking about offensive weapons being in private hands, I can think of HARS in Australia which has two Cobra helicopter gunships, one at least is being restored so it can be flown

The US has an airshow demo team that has among its aircraft a flying, demonstrator AH-1.

The US Forestry Service has many.

GPHOTO · Thu Nov 11, 2010 8:29 am

Quoting L410Turbolet (Reply 42):
Isn't there a private Hawker Hunter in the UK as well?

There are several.

Best regards,

Jim

GPHOTO · Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:27 pm

Speaking of flying F-104 Starfighters, I read in the latest issue of Flypast of two that are being shipped from Europe to the USA recently. They are reported as being for restoration to flying condition.

Best regards,

Jim

Who is online

Popular Searches On Airliners.net