Snohomish County Business Journal


YOUR COUNTY.	YOUR BUSINESS JOURNAL.

Published July 2004

Allen’s aircraft collection brings history to county

Photo courtesy of the Flying Heritage Collection
This fully-restored P-51 World War II fighter plane performed over Arlington Airport in April for the private showing of Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection of rare military “warbirds.”

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

One of the newest aviation attractions in Snohomish County is billionaire Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection of 30 rare combat aircraft — including the Jenny, P-51, British Spitfire, B-17 and German and Russian fighters — on display at the Arlington Airport.

Housed in a modest, green, metal hangar, the displays feature the first 10 aircraft to be completed. Another 20 planes are in various stages of restoration or tagged for future rebuilding.

Each of the planes is an original actually flown in combat, except for the bi-winged Curtis Jenny, a rare aircraft used to train combat pilots in World War I. Allen’s staff has compiled detailed histories of each plane.

Allen has announced limited public visits, at $20 for each visitor, in groups limited to 15 people each, two days each week, a schedule that is expected to be expanded depending on public interest. Reservations for the tours must be made in advance.

The uniqueness of the collection lies not simply in its dollar value as a private investment or in the rarity of the planes, but also in Allen’s commitment to restoring each plane to flying condition. Eventually, all 30 aircraft on display will be flown four times each year to keep their engines and other moving parts in prime shape.

Allen bought at least one plane, the German Me-262, the world’s first jet fighter plane, from a museum, the Planes of Fame collection. The others were found in various parts of the world, some buried in the dirt of long-forgotten battlefields, others resting and rusting at old airfields.

Among the famous planes in Allen’s collection are:

North America P-51D “Mustang” — Built in 1945, and flown over the Arlington airfield as part of the celebration of the Flying Heritage Collection’s unveiling in April.
British Supermarine Mk.Vc “Spitfire” — In the Battle of Britain, the “Spitfire“ provided air defenses during Germany’s bombing of London, leading to Hitler’s first air combat defeat of the war.
Curtiss P-40C “Warhawk” — The P-40 was immortalized by its outstanding service in China with pilots of the American Volunteer Group, known to the world as The Flying Tigers.
Grumman F6F-5 “Hellcat” — The backbone of the American aircraft carrier groups during World War II, the “Hellcat” was the best general purpose fighter plane in the Pacific Theater.
Nakajima Ki-43-1c “Hayabusa” — Early in World War II, this aircraft was the Japanese Army Air Force’s primary fighter. It’s the only known complete, privately owned, original “Hayabusa” in the world in flying condition.
Mitsubishi A6M5 “Zero-Sen” — The “Zero-Sen” was Japan’s light carrier-fighter that ruled the skies over Asia and the South Pacific from 1940 to early 1942.

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