Posted on 10/16/2007 9:02:37 AM PDT by Dysart
BRECKENRIDGE - Nelson Ezell doesn't simply repair old airplanes; he brings them back from the dead.
And not just any planes.
Some of the world's rarest aircraft enter his business as little more than a pile of rubble only to leave his nondescript hangar at the Stephens County Airport, about 115 miles west of Fort Worth, to become part of aviation buffs' prized collections.
A look around the cramped hangar provides a sense of Ezell's craft.
A Lockheed P-38L, one of the world's rarest planes, sits in a corner. When the multimillion-dollar restoration is complete, the P-38 Lightning will be one of only five flying in the world; it's destined for Austria and the Red Bull sports drink Flying Bulls team.
Other rare planes in the hangar, in various stages of repair, include a Vought F4U-4 Corsair fighter, a Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat and a Temco EJ-1, one of only 14 such jets ever built.
It's just another day at the mom-and-pop business that works on such planes, usually for millionaire collectors who are willing to spare no expense to get these World War II relics flying again.
"It just sort of evolved over the years," said Nelson Ezell, 64. "I never had a plan. One thing led to another, and pretty soon I was restoring warbirds full time. It's just kept growing, and we're not through yet."
But that's just Ezell being characteristically modest, his friends say.
"That humble little hangar in Breckenridge, Texas, has turned out a lot of warbirds. It's amazing how many planes have come out of that place," said Stewart Dawson, a retired Southwest Airlines pilot who owns a Hawker Sea Fury that Ezell restored.
Restoring wrecks
Ezell, who runs the business with his wife, Dude, and grown sons Ashley and Chad, does more than simply repair or paint the planes; he resurrects planes that many would believe are beyond hope.
Take the Corsair that the Ezells restored for the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston. The World War II fighter was a wreck, said Larry Gregory, the museum's president.
"Our Corsair was used as a gate guard in Argentina," Gregory said. "But Nelson and his family were able to make a beautiful airframe out of a pile of junk. They make something beautiful out of nothing. I think, without a doubt, that he's the best out there."
The Ezells not only shape metal and paint the airframes but also do mechanical and hydraulic work and fabricate parts for planes that no longer exist.
One of their most significant rebuilding jobs was a Supermarine Seafire FR 47. The restored Seafire, the aircraft carrier-based version of the famed Spitfire, is the only airworthy example of its type in the world, said Jim Smith, the plane's owner.
"Ezell had the parts in a storage bin," said Smith, who lives in Fortine, Mont. "I made him a deal to build it. Before he started working on it, it really looked like a pile of junk. But it's just a classic example of the kind of work Ezell does. It's one of the rarest, most expensive planes out there."
Twenty-five years ago, Ezell couldn't have envisioned making a career of working on relics.
Always mechanically inclined - he had built his own airboats in Florida - he was intrigued when asked to fix a World War II-era plane.
He eventually relocated to Breckenridge from Florida after two local men who owned warbirds asked him to work on them.
"When I came here, there were four Corsairs, three owned by Howard Pardue, on this airfield and another local individual had just bought a B-25," Ezell said.
"There was enough work to keep three or four people busy full time working on those planes."
He formed Ezell Aviation in 1986, but his other payoff was flying the planes.
Ezell would accompany Pardue to the world-famous Reno Air Races. This year, Ezell finished fifth in the highest category, Unlimited Gold, flying a Sea Fury.
"I never would have had the opportunity to fly these planes on my own," Ezell said. "Normally, the only way you get to fly these planes is to own them, but I've had the chance to fly all kinds of warbirds and to race at Reno, which is always fun."
Dawson, who finished third in the same race in a Sea Fury rebuilt by Ezell, calls him a natural in the cockpit and a "master fabricator."
Prices skyrocketing
Dawson, who lives in Celina, helps pilots of World War II-era planes meet FAA requirements. He said Ezell can visualize a solution to just about any problem.
"There was a person up in Oklahoma who couldn't get a piece of sheet metal to fit on the wing of his plane," Dawson said.
"This particular person worked at it for weeks and weeks, and he just couldn't make that piece of sheet metal work.
"Nelson and I flew up there, and Nelson went over to his pile of scraps. He rummages through the pile, looks at it, gets on the English wheel and in 15 minutes he had a piece that went slap right on the airplane. The guy who had been trying for two weeks to get it on there had a few choice words."
Prices have skyrocketed in the years since Ezell began restoring warbirds as more wealthy collectors have entered the market.
"I would say if a plane is just barely a warbird or a trainer, you can get it for $100,000, but if it's something more exotic, you can spend anywhere in the range of $3 million or $4 million," Smith said.
Smith said the P-38 restoration the Ezells are undertaking is "about as exotic as you can get."
But the Ezells say many of their neighbors in Breckenridge have no idea what they do. Dude - her father nicknamed her Dude of the town - joked that many people in Breckenridge don't even realize that there's an airport in town.
That story doesn't surprise Gregory, of the Lone Star Flight Museum.
Ezell is "probably more well-known in Europe than in Breckenridge for what he does," Gregory said. "But that's his style. He's Mr. Cool. He's Mr. Laid-back. He's a true gentleman and a fantastic craftsman. And a lot of your best secrets are at small, out-of-the-way places. I think Breckenridge fits him pretty well.
Aviation buff Bob Newton of Granbury walks around some of the planes that are being repaired and restored at Ezell Aviation. Nelson Ezell has created a niche in the aviation market by restoring World War II aircraft at his business at a rural airport in Breckenridge, Texas. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Ralph Lauer)
That F8F Bearcat he’s standing in front of will outfly all of ‘em.
Thanks for posting this.
Here’s the link to Ezell Aviation: http://www.ezellaviation.com/Past%20Pages/Miss%20Marilyn/MM.htm
Some great pics there.
Thanks - great photos. The one under the T-6 rebuilt (I think) shows a T-6 facing off with a B-2 - amazing contrast!
After seeing the inside of that hangar, you owe me a new pair of pants.
Isn’t the Bearcat the first aircraft the Blue Angels flew?
Fantastic Article!!
***zell, who runs the business with his wife, Dude, and grown sons Ashley and Chad***
Ouch
Great read; thanks for posting!
I have always been partial to the Corsair.
FWIW, there is the Carolina’s Aviation Museum on the south side of Charlotte that has a collection of vintage planes. Most are displays but there are supposed to be others in storage off-site that are worked on from time to time.
I am a member but have had too many other things going on lately to participate in things. One thing that made me want to join is that they do a lot of hands on stuff. I have located some small pieces and parts on Ebay that I will donate to the museum when I get around to unboxing them.
It isn’t much but I like to contribute what I can to worthwhile projects. Maybe during my Christmas break, I can hang out there some on maintenance and repair days.
http://www.carolinasaviation.org/
They have a DC3 painted up in Piedmont Airlines colors that the museum flies to airshows. I have a few photos of it when I happened to be there when they were bringing it out of the hangar for a test flight.
http://tysonneil.smugmug.com/gallery/2706182#143391947
There is even some ground pounder stuff on display there too. One is a 551 Sheridan. In spite of the problems the Sheridan had, I still kind of like it. Here are a couple of photos of it. The tank is not in the best location for pictures of it alone.
http://tysonneil.smugmug.com/gallery/2712379#143745907
LOL!
According to wiki:
Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat - June-August 1946
Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat - August 1946-1949
Grumman F9F-2 Panther - 1949-June 1950 (first jet);
Grumman F9F-5 Panther - 1951-Winter 1954/55
Grumman F9F-8 Cougar - Winter 1954/55-mid-season 1957 (swept-wing)
Grumman F11F-1 Tiger - mid-season 1957-1969 (first supersonic jet)
McDonnell F-4J Phantom II - 1969-December 1974
Douglas A-4F Skyhawk - December 1974-November 1986
McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18A & F/A-18B Hornet - November 1986-Present
Planespoken Ping.
This is a story that should have never been published in to day’s society. Vandals and other fringe haters will stoop to any level to destroy the work of a person of skill and knowledge and thieves will be far to willing to clean him out.
Classic aviation ping.
And according to the Blue Angels site:
"At the end of World War II, Chester W. Nimitz, then the Chief of Naval Operations, ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team to keep the public interested in naval aviation. The Blue Angels performed their first flight demonstration less than a year later in June 1946 at their home base, Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Florida. Flying the Grumman F6F Hellcat, they were led by Lt. Cmdr. Roy “Butch” Voris.
Only two months later on August 25, 1946, the Blue Angels transitioned to the Grumman F8F Bearcat. One year later, the 1947 team, led by Lt. Cmdr. Robert Clarke, introduced the now famous “Diamond Formation.”
By the end of the 1940’s the Blue Angels were flying their first jet aircraft, the Grumman F9F-2 Panther. In response to the demands placed on naval aviation in the Korean Conflict, the team reported to the aircraft carrier USS Princeton as the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191), Satan’s Kittens, in 1950.
The team reorganized the next year and reported to NAS Corpus Christi, Texas, where they began flying the newer and faster version of the Panther, the F9F-5. The Blue Angels remained in Corpus Christi until the winter of 1954 when they relocated to their present home base at NAS Pensacola, Florida. It was here that they progressed to the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 Cougar.
The ensuing 20 years saw the Blue Angels transition to two more aircraft, the Grumman F11F-1 Tiger (1957) and the McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II (1969).
In December 1974, the Navy Flight Demonstration Team began flying the McDonnell Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II and was reorganized as the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. This reorganization permitted the establishment of a commanding officer vice a flight leader (Cmdr. Tony Less was the squadron’s first official commanding officer), added support officers and further redefined the squadron’s mission, emphasizing the support of recruiting efforts.
On November 8, 1986, the Blue Angels completed their 40th anniversary year during ceremonies unveiling their present aircraft, the new sleek F/A-18 Hornet, the first dual-role fighter/attack aircraft now serving on the nation’s front lines of defense.
In 1992 more than one million people viewed Blue Angel’s performances during a 30-day European deployment to Sweden, Finland, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain. This was the first European deployment in 19 years.
The 2006 show season brought out more than 15 million spectators. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for more than 427 million fans."
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