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Mooney Mustang in a Ukraine Museum?


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The Wikipedia "Mooney M22 Mustang" page shows a photo of Mustang N7706M on display at a Ukraine aviation museum.

Is that airplane actually on display there currently, or was this a photo taken during a temporary visit by the airplane?  (It's the one that flew from New York to the Paris Air show in 1967.)

Is there a story behind this photo?

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30 minutes ago, Stephan Wilkinson said:

The Wikipedia "Mooney M22 Mustang" page shows a photo of Mustang N7706M on display at a Ukraine aviation museum.

Is that airplane actually on display there currently, or was this a photo taken during a temporary visit by the airplane?  (It's the one that flew from New York to the Paris Air show in 1967.)

Is there a story behind this photo?

I found the State Air Museum website, and could find no reference to an M22 on display.  There is a page with all the outdoor aircraft listed.  I don't read/speak Russian, but I do not think they had any indoor planes.  

http://aviamuseum.com.ua/ua/exposition

This is latest image I could find of it, an article in 2014, where it was flown to Russia.  Maybe it never left?

https://aerovokzal.net/otkryitie-hasidskih-sezonov-v-vinnitse/

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31 minutes ago, Stephan Wilkinson said:

Yeah, I had visited that website and tried to find the M22.  Looks like a huge outdoor junkyard.

I wonder why it was flown to Russia in the first place.

Technically, Ukraine.  Political important aside, Kiev is much closer to Central Europe than Moscow.  From other plane spotter's posts, it seems it was in Europe for some time, at least since the proliferation of internet picture posting.  Did it ever return to the USA after the Paris airshow?  That may be the bigger question.  Being European based, hopping to France, Poland, and Ukraine is not a big deal.  2-3 hour flights.  

Do the European plane spotters have some forums where you can put out an APB to find where it is?

If I was you, I would invoke the travel budget, get to Europe, rent a motorcycle, and go track down N7706M :-) 

-dan

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Yes, of course Russia and Ukraine are two different countries, but I believe the airplane was initially flown to Russia, perhaps on some kind of sales-demo trip.  My fault for not making that clear.

There was a time when I'd have fired up my Ducati Desmo and done what you suggest, but now I'm in my dotage (83).

There is one Brit forum that I post on occasionally, so maybe I'll try them for possible further info.  It's run by the Key Publishing company and is unfortunately populated by sniffy anoraks who get annoyed when you don't follow their customs.

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45 minutes ago, Stephan Wilkinson said:

Yes, of course Russia and Ukraine are two different countries, but I believe the airplane was initially flown to Russia, perhaps on some kind of sales-demo trip.  My fault for not making that clear.

There was a time when I'd have fired up my Ducati Desmo and done what you suggest, but now I'm in my dotage (83).

There is one Brit forum that I post on occasionally, so maybe I'll try them for possible further info.  It's run by the Key Publishing company and is unfortunately populated by sniffy anoraks who get annoyed when you don't follow their customs.

That made my day :D

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I believe airplane is now based in Europe but still registered in US.

FAA record shows owner is PLANE FUN INC TR TRUSTEE in GA that seems to own a number (like 222) of N-registered planes. I remember seeing N7706M for sale couple of years ago on TAP, I believe price was $80k.

BTW, this plane was Swiss registered HB-DEW for a while and there's a video online of the owner showing a plane and explaining details. it had same paint scheme as now, except for the tail number.

Edited by Igor_U
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3 hours ago, Dan at S43 said:

.....I don't read/speak Russian, but I do not think they had any indoor planes.  

http://aviamuseum.com.ua/ua/exposition

This is latest image I could find of it, an article in 2014, where it was flown....

The linked page is in Ukrainian but at the upper left corner you may chose “eng” to get a somewhat translated version. 

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3 hours ago, Dan at S43 said:

.....I don't read/speak Russian, but I do not think they had any indoor planes.  

http://aviamuseum.com.ua/ua/exposition

This is latest image I could find of it, an article in 2014, where it was flown....

The linked page is in Ukrainian but at the upper left corner you may chose “eng” to get a somewhat translated version. 

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Way to go, Stephan!

We have a couple of MSers in your age group...

Bennet, just retired from flying his Mooney recently... he timed it to the day... (like an engineer)

Some guys never retire... they don’t even slow down... :)

Every now and then, there is a mention of somebody wanting to be an FO... flying octogenarian...

Keep up the good work!

Best regards,

-a-

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