The Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-04-01, Page 14Page A1<- Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, April 1, 2009
WWII fighter plane being renovated at Sky Harbour Aircraft
Danny Snot*
signal -star staff
Lt. Col. William J. Halton's Mustang Spit-
fire saw action all over the theatre in World
War II, but now its unique -sounding, 152
horsepower Rolls-Royce Merlin engine is
idling in a hangar at Sky Harbour Aircraft.
Halton's Slender, Tender and Tall was part
of the United States' 352nd Fighter Group,
and is now owned by Tom Blair, who has
decided to have the plane repainted. This
will be its second visit to Sky Harbour.
While these kinds
of jobs aren't exactly
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the standard fare, according to spokesper-
son Martina Wellman, of Sky Harbour,
planes like the Slender are far from extraor-
dinary, and that they have painted many
similar models.
"In the grand scheme of things, we have
painted a lot of mustangs, but we only paint
maybe one or two a year, and that's because
there are only 158 flying,” she explained.
"[We attended] the Gathering of Mustangs
and Legends in Columbus, Ohio. There
were just over 80 Mustangs on the field,
and we had painted 16 of them. Some of
the Mustangs we had painted couldn't make
it... that was really cool."
Wellman also explained that the Mus-
tangs are unique not only ,in their presence,
but in their work as well, stating that they
require more time.
"Newer planes take three weeks, four if
they are big, but the Mustangs require a lot
of clear coat, which takes time to take off
and re -apply," she said.
Sky Harbour, owned and operated by
Sandy Wellman for the past 20 years, has
a turn -around time of about eight weeks on
the unique planes.
The plane's pilot, Halton, had a long mili-
tary career, flying during World War II, and
the Vietnam war, where he was killed ��
Vietnam in
action. During his time in the Slender, he
was credited with 10 kills and one downed
plane, 'as demonstrated by the 10 and one
half German Flags painted on the fuselage
of the plane.
Maintaining those kinds of details is a
fairly common practice for Skyharbour, ac-
cording to Wellman. Visitors can see depic-
tions of all sorts of warplanes that they have
painted, many of which have won awards,
decorating the halls of their office.
While economic hardships are facing
most businesses and people locally, Well-
man said that things are about on par with
previous years, stating that they are main-
taining their average of 140-150 planes per
year.
"Right now we're busy," she explained.
"But who knows what the future holds."
Employing approximately 80 people, Sky
Harbour handles all plane maintenance,
from the exterior paint job to upholstering
the interior of a plane.
For more information about their servic-
es, visit www.skyharbour.com, visit them
just north of Goderich on Airport Road, or
call 519-524-2165
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Photos contributed, Denny
Scott
The Slender, Tender
& Tall, a World War 1I
plane is being refin-
ished at Sky Harbour
Aircraft. Shown (top)
is the plane during
the War, the plane
as it is, and (inset)
its pilot, Lt. Col.
William J. Halton.