IAR80 flying again?, project or fantasy?

I was reading a month ago... unfortunately I cant remember where, about a project (or was it only an intention?!) to rebuild from scratch a working/flying replica of the IAR80 at full scale (1:1), by a group of enthusiasts from RO.

Has anyone heard about such an initiative or... what I read was pure fantasy? I recall reading this on an aviation related site or forum, but I had to stupidity of not using a Bookmark for that page.

Also there were rumors that one IAR80/81 survived in Turkey. Is that true or is it only wishful thinking?

This post has been edited by RedBaron on December 02, 2010 09:40 pm

Yes, there is a lot of talk, but nothing concrete yet.
Remember, talk is cheap.

No, there never was any IAR80 in Turkey. In the entire history of the IAR80, there is no single mention of any IAR80 ever flying to Turkey for any reason.
There is an itemised list of every lost IAR80 and the cause of the "loss" in the book "Vanatorul IAR-80, Istoria unui erou necunoscut" by Dan Antoniu and George Cicos and there is no mention anywhere of a IAR80 ever going to Turkey.

Radu

This post has been edited by Radub on December 03, 2010 11:20 am

depends on what one talks about... I might add. In some cases, talking or discussing is forbidden due to... well, mentality, in one word.

back on topic - as I said, I cant remember where I read about this initiative, could you point me out?

Well, there is nowhere to "direct" you because there is nothing concrete. As I said, there is a lot of talk and talk is cheap. A flying I.A.R.80 requires a lot of "ducks to line in a row":
- a workshop
- a source of aviation-grade materials, instruments, an engine, landing gear, etc.
- a specialised team of workers and engineers
- specialised equipment and machinery
- a steady source of finances to cover all of the above
- a whole load of contingency plans, funds and preparation to counteract any "unforeseen challenges"
Once these are sorted out, there will be a flying I.A.R.80 Until then, we can dream.
Radu

Is there a complete or almost complete blueprint of the entire plane? I thought not:(

Yes, there is. There is actually a lot of data available. The people "talking" already have access to this data.
But as I said, there are bigger and more pressing issues to deal with.
Radu

... such as MONEY!
Who's going to be willing to pay in these times for (arguably) the best Romanian fighter plane?!

Yes indeed, but "best" is a relative word. It is the "only" fighter designed and built in Romania to ever fire its guns in anger, so, by default, one can slap on it any superlative one wishes, yet one won't be wrong

But irrespective of that, it was still a superb piece of engineering and was a great fighter that was used with a great deal of success. I would love to see even a proper and accurate full-size replica, never mind a flying one.

Radu

I dont think money are something we lack in this case. Neither are the skills to build it.

What we lack for sure is the mentality. As you know, we are basically convicting ourselves for things others say we did and admitting things we did not do. We have no pride and usually we are easy to manipulate and indoctrinate by anyone who has this interest. Our arguments are never presented nor heard and rejected by our own.

Same with the IAR80, a fascist relic the general public will say. What use would be for a war machine that was an instrument of the evil Axis in ww2? That is a period we want to forget, we are a shame of and we do not want to promote... and its logical there is no trace of it. Basically this is the soviet approach still in function today

If this country would have learned its history as it should have, then there would be more of our people respecting our ww2 contribution and hence giving some credit to this plane, which few know it existed.

I have some friends that have airplanes and those are not cheap ones. I think a budget for such a project would have been easy to build, if only people would actually know about what the IAR80 was Instead our goal as a nation is to promote real estate transactions with... history...
I recall seeing the 100 years Hungarian Air Force Celebrations in August this year... what a show they've put, what an attendance of machinery and people!
RO Air Force also celebrated this year the anniversary... what a disappointment it was... and what history we have as background in this field!!!

enough said.

You are right in some aspects, but... "fascist relic"?!?!?! I really hope we're not that dumb to call it that way! "We" as a people, yes?

This post has been edited by MMM on December 06, 2010 08:03 am

Right!
Phew that was some rant!

Let me make a wild guess here... you build scale models. You probably built a couple of "shake and bake" plastic models (let me guess... Tamyia, Revell?) and now you think that it would be just as easy to "shake and bake" a flying IAR.

Well, why don't you ask your wealthy aeroplane-owning friends to sponsor a flying IAR80. They must have a hangar, a workshop and the ground crew to handle this task. This is the easiest means to bring your wish to fruition.

Then you can get your lonely IAR80 in the air and show those dastardly Hungarians what's what! How dare they have a healthier goat than yours?

Radu

I found an interesting article written by Sorin Turturica in 2008 in
Revista "Document " nr.4/2008 - "Amurgul avioanelor IAR 80/81".
It worth to be read.

http://www.defense.ro/SIA%2025.03.2010/Document_nr4_2008.pdf

This post has been edited by Mihai Popteanu on December 06, 2010 09:18 pm

Yes, very interesting.
Radu

My personal opinion: that factory from Bacau who made FW-190's few years ago, for that retailer / distributor based in Germany, would be the best for this job. As others mentined here, the problem is money.

I hope another problem would be minor: possible lack of blueprints / design notes.
This website alone proved in the past that there is a lot of technical information available for IAR-80, including the engine.

Getting enough money to publish a book without business case (aviation history doesn't generate profit) is very difficult. Imagine getting enough money to build a 1:1 flying replica. We are talking about several hundreds of thousands of Euros.

The rest of your post is just your regular agenda, this time without saying directly what you are referring to, although it is clear as daylight. It is also offtopic.