A Michigan man has bought a World War II plane that has been housed at a Topeka museum for the past 20 years.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the buyer plans to make the O-46 aircraft fit to fly again. The plane recently was moved from the Combat Air Museum to the nearby American Flight Museum hangar at the Topeka Regional complex.
Dan Stephens of the American Flight Museum says the new owner is sending a team to Topeka to disassemble the plane so it can be hauled to Michigan for restoration.
Stephens says the plane’s frame is in “terrific shape.” But he says its 1,000-horsepower radial engine has seized up and will have to be rebuilt, a process that likely will take two to three years.
