MT. COMFORT — The blue plastic tarp tossed atop the vintage Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon flapped in the blustery winter wind, doing little to protect the rare aircraft from the elements.
Officials with the American Military Heritage Foundation said they believe the historic plane deserves a more fitting enclosure and are working to bring attention to the plane’s plight to raise funds to build a permanent shelter for the aircraft at the Indianapolis Regional Airport in Mt. Comfort.
The World War II Navy bomber, built in 1945, sits next to a building at the airport where the foundation meets, stores plane parts and houses other items.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe airport has asked the group to move from the structure, which the organization rents, because there are plans to raze the building to make room for an additional taxi runway.
The foundation now has a goal to build a new location, not only as a site to hold meetings, but also to properly store the foundation’s one and only plane.
“She’s a beauty, and we want to keep her,” said Gaylon Piercy, a foundation member, co-pilot and chief mechanic.
The plane, christened “Hot Stuff,” is one of only a few surviving Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon planes. There were fewer than 600 produced back in the 1940s, and the locally stored aircraft is one of three still able to fly, according to the foundation’s website, amhf.org.
The foundation, currently boasting some 35 aviation enthusiasts, bought the plane years ago to preserve it and show it at airshows. It estimates “Hot Stuff” to be worth $500,000 to $750,000.
The group is trying to raise about $1 million to build a new hangar and create a living museum at the airport, said foundation president Richard Suiter.
Suiter, a McCordsville resident, and the rest of the group take the plane to air shows in Indiana and surrounding states, but they would love to have a dedicated site at the airport, where people could see and learn about the machine.
The foundation has invested a lot of money already to restore the PV-2, replacing fuel tanks and buying new engines, which cost an estimated $100,000 each.
The PV2-Harpoon was a bomber used mostly in the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific during World War II, Suiter said.
The foundation’s plane didn’t see combat action during the war; it was used in coastal training in the state of Washington and was a vital part of the Navy, representing an important part of American aviation history, officials said.
While the PV-2 isn’t as well-known as the B1 bomber, the plane is special, group members said, and should be preserved.
The plane has been sitting outside in the elements the entire time the foundation has owned it, and members fear if they don’t build a hangar for it soon, it won’t last much longer.
“I can see the deterioration on her, and it’s hard to watch,” Piercy said.
Having a hangar will not only preserve the relic but will also allow some of the senior members in the group to work on the plane year-round, making sure it is in top shape.
The foundation is temporarily moving its headquarters to a hangar at the same airport at the end of the month, but the facility is too small to hold the bomber, officials said.
They’re hoping to raise enough money to build a bare-bones hangar big enough to store the plane within the next year.
The group is offering foundation yearly and lifetime memberships for anyone wishing to be a part of the group and support the cause.
For those who would like to know more about the foundation, become a member or make a donation, visit amhf.org or call Suiter at 240-409-3662 for more information.
