RIP Mr. Edwards! What a treasure trove of engines, parts and airframes. Hopefully whoever purchased the collection will have everything flyable once again, for all to enjoy.
I realy enjoyed this program and seeing the old warbirds was very uplifting. One thing I wanted to correct was that the Messerschmitt BF 109 here and in the Battle of Britain film are not BF109,s but Spanish built 109 airframes powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines and not the inverted Daimler Benz units fitted to the German BF109. The Spanish aircraft are called Buchon. Of note that the Heinkel He111 in the BoB film are also Spanish Built Casa airframes, powered by Rolls Royce Merlins as well. In the BoB film, every combat airframe on screen is powered by Merlins.
That is correct all the 109’s & He III ‘a were powered by the Rolls Merlin’s in the 1969 film, but still are a great plane for somebody to collect. Does anyone know what happened to the planes in this collection ? RIP Mr Edwards, a great pilot & a genuine guy !
I am Brazilian a d my father was brailians airforce. In 1956 here they used T6 aircrafts and P47. So since long time when I see those beauties flying at TV I just cry because It seems like respect follow by profound respect. So thank u to allowed me to see this gentleman carry so much respect , honor, well duty man whom did his job as a giant and hide himself with so tremendous humble heart. Thank you. God keeping blessing you Mr. And your love ones.
I am so grateful that he saved these aircraft and kept them in a condition that they can be restored. His views on the Me 109 versus the Spitfire and Mustang are valuable.
It is a common thing throughout history, enthusiasts come run the show - they pass away and the show sleeps in dust for years - some young folks discovers those barns - the show starts again. But there is one big trouble: Too many barns get scrapped by idiots inbetween, because they see quick money prior to history.
Man, I wish I had just one of those airplanes. I used to build model airplanes when I was a kid and I’ve had all of those planes at one time or another. It is amazing to see these airplanes, I never tire of it. I hope that they are always preserved. Thanks for the video
I really enjoyed watching this video and hearing the stories surrounding these famous Warbirds and their pilots who were involved in the making of The Battle Of Britain movie. I also felt sad when the father was telling the story of how his 41 year old pilot son was killed in an automobile accident. Life can be very cruel at times and i have nothing but admiration for all of these people who have done their utmost to preserve these historic planes.
Amazing the comments criticizing these men. Everyone is an expert yet knows absolutely nothing. It takes time and serious money to rebuild these. I salute all involved in this endeavor.
I'm not a pilot, but I would love to own one of these grand ladies. They need to be restored, they need to be flying so our children and our children's children can see them.
The 109 that is based at Duxford UK is an ex BoB film aircraft and is painted in its film paint scheme, Yellow 7 I think,looks fantastic,seen it several times,they had Black 6 there for a few years too,a genuine DB 605 powered 109G,awesome. Rick
+michelle marshall The UK just got the Bf-109E from the Russell Group in Canada. The engine and prop are serviced and it probably will start flying for 2017. Another flying Emil for the UK is under rebuild in Germany.
I’m sorry to hear Wilson Connel”Connie”Edwards passed away.. Such a great story to hear from him and his inspiration and dedication May you Rest In Peace “Connie” God bless
Connie it’s good to see these are still possible airworthy frames. And I’m glad your attitude is as it is - don’t need bargain hunters. Keep the wheels down and the eyes up chap. Roo
I would love to have that Grumman Albatross sitting on the ramp when he taxied in in that T6. Fond memories of the the U.S. Coast Guard operating them for search and rescue out of Kodiak AK. back in the 60s.
Wilson Connell “Connie” Edwards passed away on May 3, 2019. Battle of Britain movie, Connie logged extensive flight time piloting Me109’s, Spitfires, Hurricanes, Heinkel HE III’s, Junkers Ju 52’s and B-25 Camera planes. Awards and Commendations - Honorary USCG wings, presented by the Secretary of Transportation in 1992 - Meritorious Service Award, the highest civilian award given by the Navy, presented by Admiral F. B. Selso, II, Chief of Naval Operations, in 1992 - FAA Special Recognition Award, presented by Donald Engen, Administrator, in 1986 - President’s Pilot Award in 1988 - John Henry Towers Award from the Naval Aviation Commandery, one of the most prestigious flying awards given in the U.S.A.- Navy League life membership- "Sea Plane Pilot of the Year” by the Sea Plane Pilots Association. I think this gentleman is worth listening to.
It was an honor to have meet him and his late son. The personal tour of the collection will always be a story to tell. Their typical warm Texan warm welcome to strangers and tails of San Batista's and Bay of pigs was my favorite. Now both gone. RIP Connie. RIP Tex.
Messerschmidt is now in Sywell in England. Saw it last year at a motor show. Along with only P47 flying in Europe, a 2seat Spitfire and a P51. Got a brilliant pic.
I am almost as old as this gentleman and remember the 1940 -44 war in Malta with Spitfires flying overhead. I only remember it as a child but my father put in all the details. I can appreciate what this gentleman feels when he looks at those plane and there is an inner feeling that no one outside his shoes can feel. To be near what you had when one is young is meaningful and I can appreciate why he does not want to sell, and there is so much work to be done which depends on others that he can see that it would be better to keep looking at them as they are, they are part of him, and no one can take that away from him. One has no right to criticise him for his decision, he knows what he has been through and he deserves and earnt the satisfaction of being near the planes that saved his life and contributed to the style of life of those younger people who never knew what others faced to give them the good life they enjoy. He knows what he feels, and let no one try to take it way from him. Sir, I salute you for what you have done so that they younger generations can enjoy life as we know it now. He sits amongst the few who did so much for the many others.
I remember being in Malta, it was a grand place to visit. As a matter of fact it was my first country that I had the pleasure to visit in the Mediterranean sea cruise onboard the USS Saratoga cva-60 the year was 1969. It wasn't my first country that I had been stationed in..that was Southeast asia Vietnam and that country had boogie men.. Viet cong gorillas nightmares comes over me and I wake up covered in sweat tears and NIGHTMARES flashbacks from a place in my old mind that I hope I never ever set foot on
Carmel Pule' These Buchons (Spanish ”ME 109’s”) only fought for Franco, the Spanish dictator. Connie Edwards met them, when participating in making the movie ”Battle of Britain”.
Ummmmmmmmmmmm James Cagney had the starring role in said movie. But yes he does look like 'Connie' Edwards twin brother --- separated at birth. Hahahahahahahah !!!!!!!
A very well spoken Southern gentleman as well as very well educated on World War II fighter aircraft this gentleman has Fortune of rare aircraft if he plays his cards right his grandchildren will reap the rewards
Very lucky man, in many ways, at least to a person who has watched these machines for 50 yrs. Watched them and always told myself it was way above my position in life, I'm still alive and through the years many have not survived their passion flying them.
My husband is not a pilot but rather a skilled mechanical engineer, that loves race cars and warbirds and says if you are looking for volunteers to help you restore, he is ready to sign up. Let's get them flying again!!!!
+Denise Hunt They are already sold and three are back in the air after minor work. He still has a Mustang for sale. Four are in California waiting their turn for work before heading to Australia. Edwards is a long-time collector and pilot going way back to when these planes were worth very little.
Well he also did a fair amount of talking nonsense in this video... don't know how much you have done in your life, one would hope it was less. but hard to beat the amount of shit talk when a pilot says that a 109 would out turn a spitfire when the entire german Luftwaffe during WWII were acutely aware that if you turn with a spitfire you will lose and be shot down.. but okay... he flew some fake 109s built in spain with british engines that were in fact not REAL 109s and so he's the expert.
well he was 80 four years ago...I am sure his memory is pretty full...so inaccuracies are a liability of age....BoB made in 1960s?? most of that stuff considered SFS=Sale For Scrap! still a most impressive collection and be a shame to carve it up...it should all go to a trust or foundation that could put them flyable together..... the Confederate airforce he disses in video and others like it do a fantastic job of it and their Pearl Harbour "Act" is great theatre at airshow. ..something similar could be done in the same way of the Battle of Britan with authentic Vintage aircraft from that hanger.....the Allisons in Red are worth 250 grand and the merlins can run a cool million....I don't know why he is worried about money or bargin sale...he can't take it with him......and although not completely accurate info and models...still be great to have a whole wing of them...and pilots learning how to operate those old crates/Kites.... cut Connie some slack he outlived his son and sounds like he is a bit hard on equipment!! with Balls that big your allowed to exaggerate. ..makes storey more interesting
Richard Loveday of course richard, no doubt buckets of respect for the man, tho' it doesn't change the fact he's talking out of his backside about certain things here. taking the piss out of museums who keep their exhibits in beautiful condition while his are rotting in a barn is not cool. giving inaccurate account's of the historical capabilities of these aircraft is not cool either. sorry, of course you can't not have respect for him, but i call it as i see it too.
One of the things I love about getting older, you don’t have time to worry about hurting someone’s feelings. You tell them what it was and what it is, period.
If it is really past restoration as in damaged beyond repair, then a plate glass top makes it into a fantastic conversation piece table, seen a couple of these and what an impressive piece of furniture....
4 years on, - didya get one yet ? There's still loads from back then, in the ground, still to be found (or the water). Good luck. HEY, if only the post war scrappers hadn't been so handy but, back then... Different times for sure.
I wish that we could still find the barn finds, and deals that were found years ago. I'm a 35 year old military veteran, I work hard, I play hard, and would love to go into my hanger daily and work on restoring a bf109, a fokke wolfe, or a p40. The guys with all of the knowledge are dying off, and the knowledge has to be passed down or it will be lost. As it is, I see a p51 fly over work every so often and I wish I were up there with him.
If the Messerschmitt was a better aircraft the fact the spitfires prevailed must be down to the young men that flew them .. Churchills words “ Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed ,by so many , to so few “ was earned by the lost lives of insanely brave and patriotic young men …
"Planes should be flown not sittin in museum gathering dust" aaaand the guy sits in front of a plane thats literally covered in dust, with hangar full of parts and planes that are even not shown to anyone. Trully sad.
+Tomasina Covell Restorers are making parts, but the demand for new engines would be low for the costs to create the tooling for them. It will be slow as 3D technology eventually makes it easier. Roll Royce will not license new Merlins to anyone. BMW and Mercedes are ashamed of their wartime involvement and are not really helping anyone restoring a DB engine or a BMW-801 engine.
if he didn't take those planes home I bet they would be scrapped by now, I thk he's a gd man and it's very sad tht his son died. hope those planes went to gd homes
rotting away in his barnyard is a better end for them? and while he takes the piss out of museums which look after their aircraft... perhaps they would be scrap if he didn't take them... perhaps they would have ended up restored in a museum... who is to know, but rotting in his barn is not a good end for them either. and that's a fact
+Mycel The weren't worth anything in 1969 when he got them in lieu of payment for his movie work. The movie used about 50 CASA 2.111s for He-111 aircraft and when the movie finished the Spanish AF put them up for sale. The majority were scrapped with no buyers. It would be nice to have a few of those 2.111s to convert to He-111 today. Fortunately many of the Buchon fighters found collectors and are still around.
The comments made by Connie Edwards sound realistic until an investigation is carried out. Most of them are incorrect, especially those made concerning the Spitfire. As noted elsewhere, the Spitfire was superior in many ways to the ME bf109. He even mentions the Confederate Airforce but was not sure if it is still in operation at the time of his remarks, which it was. For example, his comment regarding the rate of climb of the Spitfire was nearly correct but he never mentioned that it depended on the type of engine and the supercharger, loaded, i.e bombs, buns, etc., and from the height, at which the climb started. Sorry, I forgot he had flown all finds of WWII aircraft and he is from the USA so he MUST be correct and know what he is talking about.
Unlike the Brits who masturbate to pictures of Spitfires 😂 🤣 In fairness, the Spitfire is perhaps the most GORGEOUS aircraft ever created. Much more attractive than British gals 😉
I believe the armament of the Bf-109 E (2 x 7.62mm machine guns firing through the prop and 2 x 20mm cannons mounted in the wings) was much more effective than the 8 x .303 Browning machine guns of the Spitfire and the Hurricane, and they could climb and dive better thanks to fuel injection (in the early marques of the Spitfire and Hurricane, the engines had a carburettor fuel system which meant the engine often was starved of fuel momentarily when they entered a dive). The simple fact is the Bf-109 was inferior at turn fighting than both the Spitfire and the Hurricane. They were also disadvantaged during the Battle of Britain by their short range.
This guys is no different than the old car owner that has it sitting under a tree up on cinder blocks, languishing away. You approach him about selling it, and the answer is always the same, "I got big planes for this one"......Ten years later you're riding by the same house and there sits his big plans, in the same spot, only now rotted beyond hope and sunk that much deeper into the ground. Maybe when this guy croaks, somebody who can really put these aircraft to good use will be able to buy them. And BTW - Those are Spanish built Messerschmitts, not used by the Germans. Easily ID'd by the Merlin Exhaust pipes. A True Messy has an inverted V-12 Daimler engine.
All of those planes and equipment were very protected in that dry barn. He made a bet with someone over how many prop blades would turn before starting and they rolled one out and he won the bet. The planes have been sold to a European collector and will find good homes. Connie is an aviation legend.
Nickathome Smith I guess where you're from they didn't teach you what the word different means cuz it's to me it's a lot different those airplanes are being preserved in a building they are not rotting under a tree .maybe try finishing the third grade !!!!!!🖓🖓🖓🖓🖓🖓🖓
Nickathome Smith I had that happen. These damn old fools,they really think they can do stuff only young men can,yet in their own minds,they will live forever,and fix them back up. eventually thgey die and this stuff gets sold for peanuts.
RC Hobbyist Extreme A tangent: There is a side to every old person that still pictures themselves as when they were young, in part this is because the perception of time is so warped. 0 to 18 yr.s old is as long as 18 to 80 with respect to how an individual perceives the passage of time. Childhood is as long as a long adulthood. That explains a lot of the disconnect from reality you mentioned. Old age sneaks up on everyone.
Ditto, producers will run out on payroll(60 +/- % of them you need to take their cash to bank and let it clear before you sign on because they are so notorious for paying with worthless checks especially near the end of the production as it shutting down, add small, local, and/or independent and the number goes up......) and they disband their film LLC/Incorporated company every few pictures/shows/circuits. Then there is nothing you can do. Despite the the same people in a newly formed and named LLC making money.... Yet when a film, a concert, tv show, circus, carnival, theatrical play, etc makes the nut and returns keeps going up, they don't give you any more pay but expect you take a loss if they do. A loss being defined as they didn't make as much profit as they wanted. Look at the film "Titanic" and how much it grossed but due to "creative" payout percentages for the producer, and others on the film, the accounting shows they didn't make any profit.....That is the business and how producers work/think. hence the long contracts(riders tell more about how someone has been screwed in the past) that spell out how a sandwich has to be a regular sized sandwich that the meat must fit the bread, etc, if it they are being fed instead of being allowed to leave and go eat elsewhere. If you can't get the money your best bet is anything of value because otherwise you're screwed. Labor laws? Not for people in the entertainment industry..... How much are you going to spend to get a court order against a bankrupt no longer in business, incorporated production company? Every ticket sold to a film shot in foreign country should be taxed as imported product but guess what else they duck. That is before you get into the all the money cities, states and countries pay to recruit the production to their area. The upper end can loose big but can also win big. A lot of hard working folks give up having a life to make productions happen and thrown to the side if injured or as soon as they are done. Work a hundred hour week? If you want to keep your job and you'll going to be unemployed within a week or two. Which your an independent contractor when it works to their advantage and not yours and the same thing as employee. IATSE and the Teamsters are needed to help make sure people get paid for the work they put in. A lot of people who work in the industry are expert craftsman and when you need experts to make sure details are right you need the collectors of items that are used to create any period or historical piece. Even Sci-Fi has to make sense. Production people are the ones that save the odd things most others don't. With the changing of the guard items that would be scrapped suddenly turn up for sale by family that only sees a quick buck and none of the love of preservation and enjoyment of items. With the internet the offspring are pricing out everything for when their loved ones die. It was worthless junk being hoarded until they found out how much one sold for then they have to get that much or more... Now if someone would just rescue that Cessna in the back of the shot at the beginning in the hanger.......
Same with the 'Blue Max' film,aircraft hidden away in Ireland at a stately home eventually one Fokker Dr.1 was stolen overnight surfacing years later,you can read into how he got those aircraft and a good job he did.
smacdiesel: When he mentioned at the end getting his RAF "wings", and crashing during The Battle Of Britain, I momentarily took a double take, until I realised...…….
Really interesting to see this again. With the exception of his son Tex and that is his words, this is filled with embelishments, and his intent to "fark" everyone he could who tried to buy those birds. His death harkened it all, but he was a bastard to the end, handing you a budweiser at 8am just "to talk".
+@blacquejacqueshellaque9180 The Buchons were sold before his death. The buyer purchased them in one lot and later resold to them individually. and some of them are back in the air. The P-51 and Spitfire remain in the US with new owners. The remainder of his estate was being sold off. I'm sure over the decades he had to put up with a lot of "tire kickers" as some say and he didn't have patience for them.
If it was not built before 1945 please quit calling them ME-109s, they are not. This guy has the Spanish HA-1112s that was built until 1958 with a front end that looks nothing like a 109's. They do the same with the Czechoslovakian Avia S-199 . One Google image search can show you that.
Theese aircraft are an insult to the proper/original 109's and in my opinion should never have been allowed to be called a 109. The later "Buchon" versions of this monstrosity built by the Spanish used the rolls Royce Merlin engine. In fact, if you look closely, the front end of the buchon is almost identical to the spitfire (apart from the intake unde the motor, which looks like a sick smile). The original Daimler DB605 engine used in the real Messerschmitt is an inverted V, which gave the 109 it's lines and amazing looks. The Hispano engines and the Merlin are all normal V 12's, so they had to modify the entire front end of the aircraft to fit the totally different engines. They should be called FrankenMesserSchpit.
Thank you both for the info.......I knew they weren't 109's but didnt know what they were??. Was thinking they were modified Spitfires at first just for the movie.....
Dont call them ME-109's either.Official Luftwaffe Designation remained BF-109 through out the entire conflict,Messerschmitt's global reputation had grown to the point where the Air Ministry suggested changing his company's name from Bayerische Flugzeugwerke to Messerschmitt A.G.. but nothing official changed. Allied pilots began giving them the incorrect ME prefix in after action reports
What a life lesson, don't accept I owe youse of anyone, material goods have value. He's laughing all the way to the bank with that collection. Top man.
So he says "if the Commemorative Air Force has any planes left flying" yes we have a hell of a lot "flying ". Not trashed up piled in a barn. Get off your bucket and put yours in the air then. They all flew once.... but not now.
His only son Tex, who was an great flyer passed away. He's doesn't have anyone else to hand it down to. Tex is the one that took me through the collection 10+ years ago, the Spitfire was flying as well as the 2 Catalina and several other sea planes. The collection was huge and it was really a small operation as far as staff was concern and they take a lot of maintenance each to keep flying.
The Messerschmitt 109's here are Spainish build "Buchon" variants with Rolls Royce Merlin Engines, as supplied under contract to the Spainish Airforce. Original Daimer Benz Engined 109's are rare....
I don't agree in flying those venerable airplanes, because they are OLD, and as much I would like to see them flying, I don't like to see them to crash, and destroyed forever.!!! Let's keep those jewels intact, for future generations be able to appreciate them, before destroying them all.!!! PS : I am a pilot, and I've been professional for 40 years.
His only son was killed in a car accident, and no one left to take over the collection. I would bet your ass he would trade the entire lot to have his son back.
planes dont belong in a museum gathering dust - the old guy sitting in a shed planes covered in dust no one ever sees 😳 he checks his 3 to 6 alot still ww2 pilot
@@raymondyee2008 No CGI was used in the filming of Dunkirk air scenes. And original Spitfire I was used that was incredible since it was what was used during the BofB in 1940. IMAX cameras were used in ways never tried before. I think the air battle scenes were THE BEST ever recorded as a result. www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/how-dunkirk-took-imax-cameras-theyd-never-gone-before-1023705
+Bert Wragg Mr. Edwards passed away this year. The Buchons were sold several years ago and the rest of his collection is being sold one plane at a time. Some bastard stole some P-38 props from this property but serial numbers are traceable so they won't be able to sell them.
Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a 109 with a Curtis or Rolls Royce engine. Wouldn't it be great if Daimler and Benz released a run of DB 600 series inverted Vee 12s. It would be a fairly simple task to count up the remaining 109s and produce a motor for each.
By finally, you mean you stumbled upon someone who contradicts just about everything ever written about these types, including German pilots - and finally lines up with what YOU want to hear? I actually came here to specifically call out that point. If that was true I don’t think (certain parts) of the conflict would have played out the way they did.
All these aircraft had good & bad, but the 109 wasn't overall better than the Mustang, slightly better than the Spitfire. I'm afraid the P-51's were the overall best. Ultimately, availability of aviation fuel (and all that goes with it) and better livings pilots ruled the day
My grandfather was a fireman in the RAF, after the war they were told to burn all of the old planes and dispose of them on a mass scale. He always said how much he regretted doing it looking back.
he annoys me by continually referring them as Me 109's THEY ARE NOT, yes they may be valuable as Me109 air frame based aircraft but they were made after the war in Spain as Casa buchons (for the Spanish air force who flew them up to the time they were retired just before filming the battle of Britain began...the He111's in the film too, were not heinkals at all but again were Casa built versions which had Merlin engines installed. Spain acquired a lot of the tooling and Jigs to allow limited production runs with these war time air frames after the war but not with the original engines and so the 109 and 111 based air frames were altered to allow the introduction of alternative power plants together with updated radios etc. Once again were built for the Spanish air force. In fact it was Spanish air force pilots who flew the majority (NOT ALL) of the German marked planes in the film.
+Ian Ferguson Mr Connie Edwards was one of the lead pilots for the epic "Battle of Britain" film. He is old-school and is very respected in the aviation world. www.warbirdsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Connie-and-Spits.jpg
FiveCentsPlease I meant zero disrespect to you or mr. Edwards. But this is a black and white issue. There is no middle. The bottom line is, if this guy can can throw millions of dollars around on aircraft that he doesn’t even know what it is, there is something working.
+ Ian Ferguson Edwards began buying old warplanes decades ago when they were worth very little. He has owned and flown many. He didn't buy those Buchons at all. The produces of the Battle of Britain film stiffed him on payment for his flying work in the film, so he took the Buchons and a Spitfire for payment instead. The Spanish AF was retiring them, and most of the Buchons were snagged by buyers. All but three or so of the CASA 2.111s were scrapped. Those Buchons are still in the movie paint. His Texas ranch is a mecca for warbird buyers.
They arent even ME-109s, They are SPANISH Hispano Aviación HA-1112's. A massively altered Spanish Knock off of the ME-109. Its like Fools gold or "An Idiots ME-109"
Fools gold ???, "An idiots ME-109" ??? No way. The Hispano HA-1112-M1L Buchon is NOT a massively altered Spanish knock off of the ME-109. It IS a basically an ME-109 with a Rolls Royce Merlin 500-45 (identical to a Merlin 24) engine. The engine, the engine bearers, the engine covers, the propellor and the armament are the only things that are different from a standard ME-109G-2. The Buchon's you see in this video are very valuable (and expensive !). With a Daimler-Benz 605A-1 engine the Buchon's can be modified to an almost original ME-109G.
That fellow even though he brags he has flown almost everything, certainly does not know the differance between a Bf 109 and a spanish licence built Buchon Ha1112 which are based on a Bf 109G but have no DB engine.
most were Merlin powered from the start,no conversions. Merlin version was superior to the first few Suiza powered ones. CASA 2111 Heinkel 111 was also Merlin powered. Rick
WolfKenneth - I think Uncle Bullfrog is refering to the ones in the video which were all merlin powered 'scrap' engines leftover from WWII and the late 40's/early 50's. Most were Packard versions from XVIE's.
B Perry is that what the collection went for 50 years after he got it.....he is no Warren buffet...but hope they went to appreciated homes and restorers of history.. do you have any other details..Connie dead now or still crashing shit etc etc?? I remember seeing Bob Hoover as a kid in his signature straw Bahama hat and thinking...Jesus is he old to be doing dead stick stuff like that....and that was 45 years ago!! 15 million was a gift. hope he got to spend it on his grand kids!
+Richard Loveday Connie is still kicking around. The planes went to a single collector and then were split between two collectors and are being refurbished for flight.
Love his enthusiasm and I'm not a pilot,or any kind of expert,love hearing how as a craftsman he prefers the German plane...but when it mattered,when it really mattered the Hurricane and Spitfire shone...A 4lb hammer is just a hammer....the difference is the user and how it's used.All things equal we'd have lost...but we didn't!
RIP Mr. Edwards! What a treasure trove of engines, parts and airframes. Hopefully whoever purchased the collection will have everything flyable once again, for all to enjoy.
I realy enjoyed this program and seeing the old warbirds was very uplifting. One thing I wanted to correct was that the Messerschmitt BF 109 here and in the Battle of Britain film are not BF109,s but Spanish built 109 airframes powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines and not the inverted Daimler Benz units fitted to the German BF109. The Spanish aircraft are called Buchon. Of note that the Heinkel He111 in the BoB film are also Spanish Built Casa airframes, powered by Rolls Royce Merlins as well. In the BoB film, every combat airframe on screen is powered by Merlins.
That is correct all the 109’s & He III ‘a were powered by the Rolls Merlin’s in the 1969 film, but still are a great plane for somebody to collect. Does anyone know what happened to the planes in this collection ? RIP Mr Edwards, a great pilot & a genuine guy !
Buchons
I believe they had 1 ME109 or at least he a 1 in his collection.
I am Brazilian a d my father was brailians airforce. In 1956 here they used T6 aircrafts and P47. So since long time when I see those beauties flying at TV I just cry because It seems like respect follow by profound respect. So thank u to allowed me to see this gentleman carry so much respect , honor, well duty man whom did his job as a giant and hide himself with so tremendous humble heart. Thank you. God keeping blessing you Mr. And your love ones.
I am so grateful that he saved these aircraft and kept them in a condition that they can be restored. His views on the Me 109 versus the Spitfire and Mustang are valuable.
It is a common thing throughout history, enthusiasts come run the show - they pass away and the show sleeps in dust for years - some young folks discovers those barns - the show starts again. But there is one big trouble: Too many barns get scrapped by idiots inbetween, because they see quick money prior to history.
Man, I wish I had just one of those airplanes. I used to build model airplanes when I was a kid and I’ve had all of those planes at one time or another. It is amazing to see these airplanes, I never tire of it. I hope that they are always preserved.
Thanks for the video
Now that is a barn worth finding. What a trove of treasures.
But non of them as great as the man himself , what an interesting guy.
The planes, and so many of those wonderful engines in one place is amazing. 😋
I really enjoyed watching this video and hearing the stories surrounding these famous Warbirds and their pilots who were involved in the making of The Battle Of Britain movie. I also felt sad when the father was telling the story of how his 41 year old pilot son was killed in an automobile accident. Life can be very cruel at times and i have nothing but admiration for all of these people who have done their utmost to preserve these historic planes.
just the video took my breath away..if I ever went there, I'd have to sit down a few minutes...
I watch this just to hear his voice. An amazing man. He is truly missed.
Thanks for your service first off and thank you four sharing your stash. 🇦🇺👍
Amazing the comments criticizing these men. Everyone is an expert yet knows absolutely nothing.
It takes time and serious money to rebuild these. I salute all involved in this endeavor.
De plus si on veut voler avec, il faut les équiper avec du marériel de navigation moderne !!
I'm not a pilot, but I would love to own one of these grand ladies. They need to be restored, they need to be flying so our children and our children's children can see them.
restoring the aircrafts would be like repainting a painting, it should be kept for and be for ppl to see
It's just paint from the movie, not service paint. Perhaps one should kept in the original movie paint for posterity.
The 109 that is based at Duxford UK is an ex BoB film aircraft and is painted in its film paint scheme, Yellow 7 I think,looks fantastic,seen it several times,they had Black 6 there for a few years too,a genuine DB 605 powered 109G,awesome. Rick
+michelle marshall The UK just got the Bf-109E from the Russell Group in Canada. The engine and prop are serviced and it probably will start flying for 2017. Another flying Emil for the UK is under rebuild in Germany.
Kenneth Cohagen plus the guys and girls from that era! few and far between now a days.
I have watched a lot of things on TH-cam but this story is one of the best I have never heard and seen thank you
I’m sorry to hear Wilson Connel”Connie”Edwards passed away..
Such a great story to hear from him and his inspiration and dedication
May you Rest In Peace “Connie”
God bless
Connie it’s good to see these are still possible airworthy frames. And I’m glad your attitude is as it is - don’t need bargain hunters.
Keep the wheels down and the eyes up chap.
Roo
Pip, pip and tally ho.
It's painful to see these Spanish Buchones there. They should be in the spanish Museums in fly state. We had dozens. Thanks for rescue them
Connie! I cant believe it. So great to see you again. I sure miss you guys, Marty Caidin, Joe Engle, Tom Reilly. Blue Skies my friends.
I would love to have that Grumman Albatross sitting on the ramp when he taxied in in that T6.
Fond memories of the the U.S. Coast Guard operating them for search and rescue out of Kodiak AK. back in the 60s.
Oh the smell in there with all that vintage airwar gear. I can imagine it.
Thanks for your dedication Mr. Edwards!
Oh! Thank God they have new owners so they get all the love and restoration they need!!!God bless you pilots for these beautiful flying machine's
I just want to hang out with him, talk warbirds, and soak up every bit of information he knows.
Wilson Connell “Connie” Edwards passed away on May 3, 2019. Battle of Britain movie, Connie logged extensive flight time piloting Me109’s, Spitfires, Hurricanes, Heinkel HE III’s, Junkers Ju 52’s and B-25 Camera planes. Awards and Commendations - Honorary USCG wings, presented by the Secretary of Transportation in 1992 - Meritorious Service Award, the highest civilian award given by the Navy, presented by Admiral F. B. Selso, II, Chief of Naval Operations, in 1992 - FAA Special Recognition Award, presented by Donald Engen, Administrator, in 1986 - President’s Pilot Award in 1988 - John Henry Towers Award from the Naval Aviation Commandery, one of the most prestigious flying awards given in the U.S.A.- Navy League life membership- "Sea Plane Pilot of the Year” by the Sea Plane Pilots Association. I think this gentleman is worth listening to.
50sk that is amazing man. RIP. Mr CONNIE.
It was an honor to have meet him and his late son. The personal tour of the collection will always be a story to tell. Their typical warm Texan warm welcome to strangers and tails of San Batista's and Bay of pigs was my favorite. Now both gone. RIP Connie. RIP Tex.
The planes look rusty and in need of maintenance. I hope the collection is in safe hands and is getting the care it deserves.
Ondoeoed, respect... from the 🇬🇧
50sk
: The Battle of Britain movie....when they used real planes and pilots before CGI .
Seeing the picture of Galland and Bob Tuck hunting together was wonderful !
Could listen to this man and his stories etc for days. Would love to see his aircraft in person.
Messerschmidt is now in Sywell in England. Saw it last year at a motor show. Along with only P47 flying in Europe, a 2seat Spitfire and a P51. Got a brilliant pic.
I am almost as old as this gentleman and remember the 1940 -44 war in Malta with Spitfires flying overhead. I only remember it as a child but my father put in all the details. I can appreciate what this gentleman feels when he looks at those plane and there is an inner feeling that no one outside his shoes can feel. To be near what you had when one is young is meaningful and I can appreciate why he does not want to sell, and there is so much work to be done which depends on others that he can see that it would be better to keep looking at them as they are, they are part of him, and no one can take that away from him. One has no right to criticise him for his decision, he knows what he has been through and he deserves and earnt the satisfaction of being near the planes that saved his life and contributed to the style of life of those younger people who never knew what others faced to give them the good life they enjoy. He knows what he feels, and let no one try to take it way from him. Sir, I salute you for what you have done so that they younger generations can enjoy life as we know it now. He sits amongst the few who did so much for the many others.
Carmel Pule' Well said. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill- "never before, has so much been owed, by so many to so few".
Time
I remember being in Malta, it was a grand place to visit. As a matter of fact it was my first country that I had the pleasure to visit in the Mediterranean sea cruise onboard the USS Saratoga cva-60 the year was 1969.
It wasn't my first country that I had been stationed in..that was Southeast asia Vietnam and that country had boogie men.. Viet cong gorillas nightmares comes over me and I wake up covered in sweat tears and NIGHTMARES flashbacks from a place in my old mind that I hope I never ever set foot on
Carmel Pule' These Buchons (Spanish ”ME 109’s”) only fought for Franco, the Spanish dictator. Connie Edwards met them, when participating in making the movie ”Battle of Britain”.
Ok Boomer!
Incredible, absolutely, incredible, god bless
Thank you for allowing us to see them.
Seems like a really nice old fella & I must say I thought he was brilliant in the staring roll of the 1949 movie "White Heat!"
Ummmmmmmmmmmm James Cagney had the starring role in said movie.
But yes he does look like 'Connie' Edwards twin brother --- separated at birth. Hahahahahahahah !!!!!!!
Wow!
What a great video.
Thank you for the upload. The photo of Adolf Galland and Robert Tuck was great. What stories those two they would had to say!
A very well spoken Southern gentleman as well as very well educated on World War II fighter aircraft this gentleman has Fortune of rare aircraft if he plays his cards right his grandchildren will reap the rewards
What an amazing story...!
Definitely, some people have all the accesses to great things in life than others...
Truly sad to see these magnificent machines rotting away, they should be returned to the skies!
They have been at Sywell aerodrome UK,now flying again very quickly as well.
They are in dry storage. Collecting dust isn't "rotting".
3:30 "I traded two Messerschmitts for this Spitfire...". That's not a sentence you hear every day!! This was a helluva guy. How cool.
These are spanish made copies with a rolls Royce merlin engines, spitfire later ones had a more powerful rolls Royce Griffon
Very lucky man, in many ways, at least to a person who has watched these machines for 50 yrs. Watched them and always told myself it was way above my position in life, I'm still alive and through the years many have not survived their passion flying them.
My husband is not a pilot but rather a skilled mechanical engineer, that loves race cars and warbirds and says if you are looking for volunteers to help you restore, he is ready to sign up. Let's get them flying again!!!!
+Denise Hunt They are already sold and three are back in the air after minor work. He still has a Mustang for sale. Four are in California waiting their turn for work before heading to Australia. Edwards is a long-time collector and pilot going way back to when these planes were worth very little.
Give that MAN a HUG, done more than i ever will do. from the UK.
Well he also did a fair amount of talking nonsense in this video... don't know how much you have done in your life, one would hope it was less. but hard to beat the amount of shit talk when a pilot says that a 109 would out turn a spitfire when the entire german Luftwaffe during WWII were acutely aware that if you turn with a spitfire you will lose and be shot down.. but okay... he flew some fake 109s built in spain with british engines that were in fact not REAL 109s and so he's the expert.
well he was 80 four years ago...I am sure his memory is pretty full...so inaccuracies are a liability of age....BoB made in 1960s?? most of that stuff considered SFS=Sale For Scrap!
still a most impressive collection and be a shame to carve it up...it should all go to a trust or foundation that could put them flyable together.....
the Confederate airforce he disses in video and others like it do a fantastic job of it and their Pearl Harbour "Act" is great theatre at airshow. ..something similar could be done in the same way of the Battle of Britan with authentic Vintage aircraft from that hanger.....the Allisons in Red are worth 250 grand and the merlins can run a cool million....I don't know why he is worried about money or bargin sale...he can't take it with him......and although not completely accurate info and models...still be great to have a whole wing of them...and pilots learning how to operate those old crates/Kites....
cut Connie some slack he outlived his son and sounds like he is a bit hard on equipment!! with Balls that big your allowed to exaggerate. ..makes storey more interesting
Richard Loveday
of course richard, no doubt buckets of respect for the man, tho' it doesn't change the fact he's talking out of his backside about certain things here. taking the piss out of museums who keep their exhibits in beautiful condition while his are rotting in a barn is not cool. giving inaccurate account's of the historical capabilities of these aircraft is not cool either. sorry, of course you can't not have respect for him, but i call it as i see it too.
this man needs a medal keep it up my friend all warbirds need to be put back to the air
All I can say is wow 🤩. Amazing 👍👍👍👍🏴🏴🏴
Respectable and remarkable old Guy..It's too bad about the many Storys and great Experiences that past away with him... Farewell Oldtimer....
One of the things I love about getting older, you don’t have time to worry about hurting someone’s feelings. You tell them what it was and what it is, period.
I do that now and I don't care and it's a full stop.
I would love to just to be able to buy one of the Merlin engines there's so many of them!!!
And do what with it?
If it is really past restoration as in damaged beyond repair, then a plate glass top makes it into a fantastic conversation piece table, seen a couple of these and what an impressive piece of furniture....
@@derekstocker6661 you could melt them down and make cooking utensils.
4 years on, - didya get one yet ? There's still loads from back then, in the ground, still to be found (or the water). Good luck.
HEY, if only the post war scrappers hadn't been so handy but, back then... Different times for sure.
Brilliant story, thanks for sharing !
Wow, the aerial scenes are bad ASS!!!! incredible flying..and NO bloody CGI!
The old timer was making me dizzy with all the head turning..Must be checking his six..
Bubba D
Bubba D The "Spitfire pilot's twitch"
Bubba D I know man I think he was wondering were he left all the keys there’s that many of em
I have PTSD and training was told awhile ago I'm always scanning I'll even look over my shoulders
I wish that we could still find the barn finds, and deals that were found years ago. I'm a 35 year old military veteran, I work hard, I play hard, and would love to go into my hanger daily and work on restoring a bf109, a fokke wolfe, or a p40. The guys with all of the knowledge are dying off, and the knowledge has to be passed down or it will be lost. As it is, I see a p51 fly over work every so often and I wish I were up there with him.
robbietuned The worst guys are the ones that don't want to share their knowledge with you and it dies with them.
robbietuned how to set up magic pro platinum
there are skills but these old aircraft are no where near as complicated as later
jet aircraft,,, pretty basic engineering i would say
Amazing man amazing collection RIP sir.
If the Messerschmitt was a better aircraft the fact the spitfires prevailed must be down to the young men that flew them ..
Churchills words “ Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed ,by so many , to so few “ was earned by the lost lives of insanely brave and patriotic young men …
Seeing that spitfire made my heart start racing. Could you imagine what that would be like to have a shot at buying that? I'd pass out lol
prix d'achat environ 1 million + 1 million pour le restaurer pour le faire voler !!
and so would the 'Bank Manager' !
"Planes should be flown not sittin in museum gathering dust" aaaand the guy sits in front of a plane thats literally covered in dust, with hangar full of parts and planes that are even not shown to anyone. Trully sad.
Yep he just using it so people talk to him .... He die so and it get turned over by his kids don't worry fucker looks old
Connie is still alive. He is very well-known and has been a legend in the historic aircraft community for decades.
WolfKenneth sounds great but how many pilots have been killed "demonstrating" and destroying these old warbirds at air shows.
Then get out a vacuum cleaner, they won't even bother to build new engines for them.
+Tomasina Covell Restorers are making parts, but the demand for new engines would be low for the costs to create the tooling for them. It will be slow as 3D technology eventually makes it easier. Roll Royce will not license new Merlins to anyone. BMW and Mercedes are ashamed of their wartime involvement and are not really helping anyone restoring a DB engine or a BMW-801 engine.
Wow what a cool guy he is love his plane
Can’t beat the sound of a spit
Greatest respect!
Cheers from Denmark 🇩🇰
if he didn't take those planes home I bet they would be scrapped by now, I thk he's a gd man and it's very sad tht his son died. hope those planes went to gd homes
Ian Gibbons They're no better than scrap now.
no chance, not for ww2 warbirds
rotting away in his barnyard is a better end for them? and while he takes the piss out of museums which look after their aircraft... perhaps they would be scrap if he didn't take them... perhaps they would have ended up restored in a museum... who is to know, but rotting in his barn is not a good end for them either. and that's a fact
Ian Gibbons o
+Mycel The weren't worth anything in 1969 when he got them in lieu of payment for his movie work. The movie used about 50 CASA 2.111s for He-111 aircraft and when the movie finished the Spanish AF put them up for sale. The majority were scrapped with no buyers. It would be nice to have a few of those 2.111s to convert to He-111 today. Fortunately many of the Buchon fighters found collectors and are still around.
The comments made by Connie Edwards sound realistic until an investigation is carried out. Most of them are incorrect, especially those made concerning the Spitfire. As noted elsewhere, the Spitfire was superior in many ways to the ME bf109. He even mentions the Confederate Airforce but was not sure if it is still in operation at the time of his remarks, which it was. For example, his comment regarding the rate of climb of the Spitfire was nearly correct but he never mentioned that it depended on the type of engine and the supercharger, loaded, i.e bombs, buns, etc., and from the height, at which the climb started.
Sorry, I forgot he had flown all finds of WWII aircraft and he is from the USA so he MUST be correct and know what he is talking about.
Unlike the Brits who masturbate to pictures of Spitfires 😂 🤣 In fairness, the Spitfire is perhaps the most GORGEOUS aircraft ever created. Much more attractive than British gals 😉
A lot of ww2 pilots would not agree with Connie concerning the Spitfire .Adolf Garland for one.
@ Wotdematter LMFAO !
I believe the armament of the Bf-109 E (2 x 7.62mm machine guns firing through the prop and 2 x 20mm cannons mounted in the wings) was much more effective than the 8 x .303 Browning machine guns of the Spitfire and the Hurricane, and they could climb and dive better thanks to fuel injection (in the early marques of the Spitfire and Hurricane, the engines had a carburettor fuel system which meant the engine often was starved of fuel momentarily when they entered a dive). The simple fact is the Bf-109 was inferior at turn fighting than both the Spitfire and the Hurricane. They were also disadvantaged during the Battle of Britain by their short range.
Beautiful Old Warbirds. I love it.
Those Spanish want to be 109s were built after the war and called HA-1112s. They do not even look like a 109 with those motors and front ends.
Amazing story, amazing collection!
This guys is no different than the old car owner that has it sitting under a tree up on cinder blocks, languishing away. You approach him about selling it, and the answer is always the same, "I got big planes for this one"......Ten years later you're riding by the same house and there sits his big plans, in the same spot, only now rotted beyond hope and sunk that much deeper into the ground. Maybe when this guy croaks, somebody who can really put these aircraft to good use will be able to buy them.
And BTW - Those are Spanish built Messerschmitts, not used by the Germans. Easily ID'd by the Merlin Exhaust pipes. A True Messy has an inverted V-12 Daimler engine.
All of those planes and equipment were very protected in that dry barn. He made a bet with someone over how many prop blades would turn before starting and they rolled one out and he won the bet. The planes have been sold to a European collector and will find good homes. Connie is an aviation legend.
Nickathome Smith I guess where you're from they didn't teach you what the word different means cuz it's to me it's a lot different those airplanes are being preserved in a building they are not rotting under a tree .maybe try finishing the third grade !!!!!!🖓🖓🖓🖓🖓🖓🖓
Nickathome Smith I had that happen. These damn old fools,they really think they can do stuff only young men can,yet in their own minds,they will live forever,and fix them back up. eventually thgey die and this stuff gets sold for peanuts.
TEEHT When you accuse someone of being stupid try not to look like an idiot yourself.Didn't they teach you proper grammer in school?
RC Hobbyist Extreme
A tangent: There is a side to every old person that still pictures themselves as when they were young, in part this is because the perception of time is so warped. 0 to 18 yr.s old is as long as 18 to 80 with respect to how an individual perceives the passage of time. Childhood is as long as a long adulthood. That explains a lot of the disconnect from reality you mentioned. Old age sneaks up on everyone.
3:30 Movies and finances..the man has it exactly right. Do not believe anything produces say. From a former IATSE person
Ditto, producers will run out on payroll(60 +/- % of them you need to take their cash to bank and let it clear before you sign on because they are so notorious for paying with worthless checks especially near the end of the production as it shutting down, add small, local, and/or independent and the number goes up......) and they disband their film LLC/Incorporated company every few pictures/shows/circuits. Then there is nothing you can do. Despite the the same people in a newly formed and named LLC making money.... Yet when a film, a concert, tv show, circus, carnival, theatrical play, etc makes the nut and returns keeps going up, they don't give you any more pay but expect you take a loss if they do. A loss being defined as they didn't make as much profit as they wanted.
Look at the film "Titanic" and how much it grossed but due to "creative" payout percentages for the producer, and others on the film, the accounting shows they didn't make any profit.....That is the business and how producers work/think. hence the long contracts(riders tell more about how someone has been screwed in the past) that spell out how a sandwich has to be a regular sized sandwich that the meat must fit the bread, etc, if it they are being fed instead of being allowed to leave and go eat elsewhere. If you can't get the money your best bet is anything of value because otherwise you're screwed. Labor laws? Not for people in the entertainment industry..... How much are you going to spend to get a court order against a bankrupt no longer in business, incorporated production company?
Every ticket sold to a film shot in foreign country should be taxed as imported product but guess what else they duck. That is before you get into the all the money cities, states and countries pay to recruit the production to their area. The upper end can loose big but can also win big. A lot of hard working folks give up having a life to make productions happen and thrown to the side if injured or as soon as they are done. Work a hundred hour week? If you want to keep your job and you'll going to be unemployed within a week or two. Which your an independent contractor when it works to their advantage and not yours and the same thing as employee. IATSE and the Teamsters are needed to help make sure people get paid for the work they put in.
A lot of people who work in the industry are expert craftsman and when you need experts to make sure details are right you need the collectors of items that are used to create any period or historical piece. Even Sci-Fi has to make sense. Production people are the ones that save the odd things most others don't. With the changing of the guard items that would be scrapped suddenly turn up for sale by family that only sees a quick buck and none of the love of preservation and enjoyment of items. With the internet the offspring are pricing out everything for when their loved ones die. It was worthless junk being hoarded until they found out how much one sold for then they have to get that much or more...
Now if someone would just rescue that Cessna in the back of the shot at the beginning in the hanger.......
so should i scrap my ideas of being a grip and joining IATSE?
Same with the 'Blue Max' film,aircraft hidden away in Ireland at a stately home eventually one Fokker Dr.1 was stolen overnight surfacing years later,you can read into how he got those aircraft and a good job he did.
Amazing person and collection.
A Monument... the guy,, the planes,, the stills.. all of it ❤️
The Messerschmidts are actually SPANISH Buchons powered by Rolls Royce Merlins not ex Luftwaffe Me-!09's
slimchancetoo Yep, Ha 1112's.
slimchancetoo s
Shame ‘cause Mark Hanna died in one of those Spanish build planes.
slimchancetoo yup you can always tell the difference as me 109s have inverted daimler Benz engines plus they didn’t have four props
@@thetourettesgamer8851
ONE prop, with four BLADES.!!
Seems like he wants the respect of a combat pilot. He flew in a movie.
smacdiesel: When he mentioned at the end getting his RAF "wings", and crashing during The Battle Of Britain, I momentarily took a double take, until I realised...…….
Was the crash landing intentional for the movie, or did the yank jerk wreck a perfectly good Spitfire ?
I don't think that's what he was saying at all.
@@mtk51 Alas. Thank you for posting this, Mark.
He's still bitter about his son getting killed.
Lucky fella, wish I could be in your shoes. Thanks for sharing
Not lucky, smart. In the Netherlands a supermarket owner has bought 2 spitfires. If you have money things are possible.
Really interesting to see this again. With the exception of his son Tex and that is his words, this is filled with embelishments, and his intent to "fark" everyone he could who tried to buy those birds. His death harkened it all, but he was a bastard to the end, handing you a budweiser at 8am just "to talk".
+@blacquejacqueshellaque9180 The Buchons were sold before his death. The buyer purchased them in one lot and later resold to them individually. and some of them are back in the air. The P-51 and Spitfire remain in the US with new owners. The remainder of his estate was being sold off. I'm sure over the decades he had to put up with a lot of "tire kickers" as some say and he didn't have patience for them.
I see one of the CASA 109s is listed for sale with Platinum Fighter Sales for $2.5 million. Time to cash-in all my beer can empties.
If it was not built before 1945 please quit calling them ME-109s, they are not. This guy has the Spanish HA-1112s that was built until 1958 with a front end that looks nothing like a 109's. They do the same with the Czechoslovakian Avia S-199 . One Google image search can show you that.
John Smith I was going to make an argument against yours about something but I feel dumb because you are totally right
Theese aircraft are an insult to the proper/original 109's and in my opinion should never have been allowed to be called a 109. The later "Buchon" versions of this monstrosity built by the Spanish used the rolls Royce Merlin engine. In fact, if you look closely, the front end of the buchon is almost identical to the spitfire (apart from the intake unde the motor, which looks like a sick smile).
The original Daimler DB605 engine used in the real Messerschmitt is an inverted V, which gave the 109 it's lines and amazing looks. The Hispano engines and the Merlin are all normal V 12's, so they had to modify the entire front end of the aircraft to fit the totally different engines.
They should be called FrankenMesserSchpit.
Thank you both for the info.......I knew they weren't 109's but didnt know what they were??.
Was thinking they were modified Spitfires at first just for the movie.....
what will really sweat you off is they were Merlin powered
Dont call them ME-109's either.Official Luftwaffe Designation remained BF-109 through out the entire conflict,Messerschmitt's global reputation had grown to the point where the Air Ministry suggested changing his company's name from Bayerische Flugzeugwerke to Messerschmitt A.G.. but nothing official changed. Allied pilots began giving them the incorrect ME prefix in after action reports
Very cool collection. Very sorry to hear about your son. Tragic loss.
What a life lesson, don't accept I owe youse of anyone, material goods have value. He's laughing all the way to the bank with that collection. Top man.
So he says "if the Commemorative Air Force has any planes left flying" yes we have a hell of a lot "flying ". Not trashed up piled in a barn. Get off your bucket and put yours in the air then. They all flew once.... but not now.
Bobbie Taco ..... I'm with the Texas Raider, a B-17G that looks as good as she flies.
His only son Tex, who was an great flyer passed away. He's doesn't have anyone else to hand it down to. Tex is the one that took me through the collection 10+ years ago, the Spitfire was flying as well as the 2 Catalina and several other sea planes. The collection was huge and it was really a small operation as far as staff was concern and they take a lot of maintenance each to keep flying.
Connie Edwards passed away in May 2019.
The Messerschmitt 109's here are Spainish build "Buchon" variants with Rolls Royce Merlin Engines, as supplied under contract to the Spainish Airforce.
Original Daimer Benz Engined 109's are rare....
wrong
that is great to here from you real planes for real people thanks
WOW, what a collection. I'll come visit right after I win the lotto.
I don't agree in flying those venerable airplanes, because they are OLD, and as much I would like to see them flying, I don't like to see them to crash, and destroyed forever.!!!
Let's keep those jewels intact, for future generations be able to appreciate them, before destroying them all.!!!
PS : I am a pilot, and I've been professional for 40 years.
He can bet his ass the children will sell them off one by one.
TheCleansingx we can only hope so they are not just rotting if you are referring to the first guy
His only son was killed in a car accident, and no one left to take over the collection. I would bet your ass he would trade the entire lot to have his son back.
Probably all at once!
“With the exception of a few times .... I have... survived.” I feel ya old timer!! Semper fi brother. Fly high !
These guys are awesome.
Spits all the way for me. Seemed to do the trick didn't they..:)
Paul Lets not forget Hawker Hurricanes. Apparently they were responsible for shooting down the most bombers in the Battle of Britain.
planes dont belong in a museum gathering dust - the old guy sitting in a shed planes covered in dust no one ever sees 😳
he checks his 3 to 6 alot still ww2 pilot
Ya but someone has the chance to buy and fly them again unlike a museum
God Bless you sir.
WHAT A AMAZING MAN ,,, GOD BLESS HIM
The question is, have any of these planes ever been restored to flying condition?
That's a good question. If it had been sooner in time for the "Dunkirk" movie it might have been more epic with the air combat scenes.
@@raymondyee2008 No CGI was used in the filming of Dunkirk air scenes. And original Spitfire I was used that was incredible since it was what was used during the BofB in 1940. IMAX cameras were used in ways never tried before. I think the air battle scenes were THE BEST ever recorded as a result. www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/how-dunkirk-took-imax-cameras-theyd-never-gone-before-1023705
1:11 the rarest piece in the collection, the last hispano trainer.
I’m totally moved by this man. A maintainer of live history!
+Bert Wragg Mr. Edwards passed away this year. The Buchons were sold several years ago and the rest of his collection is being sold one plane at a time. Some bastard stole some P-38 props from this property but serial numbers are traceable so they won't be able to sell them.
Hell! I skipped school to watch these aircraft stage through Jersey in the Channel Island's to get to the film set.
Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing a 109 with a Curtis or Rolls Royce engine. Wouldn't it be great if Daimler and Benz released a run of DB 600 series inverted Vee 12s. It would be a fairly simple task to count up the remaining 109s and produce a motor for each.
They is really no need to cry since those are postwar spanish made ha-1112's.
Curtiss? Do you mean Packard who licence built the Merlin?
@@Slaktraxmy mistake, you are correct.
@@TorquilBletchleySmythe 🙂
Wow. Finally someone who actually stated from experience in all three types that the Bf-109 was a better fighter than the Spitfire & Mustang.
Richard Maguire. my uncle disagrees with him. he flew all three plus the 190 and said all were better than the 109.
Except for the fact that those are not 109s...
TheAspietunes. True.
By finally, you mean you stumbled upon someone who contradicts just about everything ever written about these types, including German pilots - and finally lines up with what YOU want to hear?
I actually came here to specifically call out that point. If that was true I don’t think (certain parts) of the conflict would have played out the way they did.
All these aircraft had good & bad, but the 109 wasn't overall better than the Mustang, slightly better than the Spitfire. I'm afraid the P-51's were the overall best. Ultimately, availability of aviation fuel (and all that goes with it) and better livings pilots ruled the day
That engine collection is INSANE
My grandfather was a fireman in the RAF, after the war they were told to burn all of the old planes and dispose of them on a mass scale. He always said how much he regretted doing it looking back.
Bullshit he does not have 6 Me-109s. They are Spanish Buchons.
he annoys me by continually referring them as Me 109's THEY ARE NOT, yes they may be valuable as Me109 air frame based aircraft but they were made after the war in Spain as Casa buchons (for the Spanish air force who flew them up to the time they were retired just before filming the battle of Britain began...the He111's in the film too, were not heinkals at all but again were Casa built versions which had Merlin engines installed. Spain acquired a lot of the tooling and Jigs to allow limited production runs with these war time air frames after the war but not with the original engines and so the 109 and 111 based air frames were altered to allow the introduction of alternative power plants together with updated radios etc. Once again were built for the Spanish air force. In fact it was Spanish air force pilots who flew the majority (NOT ALL) of the German marked planes in the film.
Well spotted. Not too many people can see that. This guy doesn’t really know what he’s doing or talking about.
+Ian Ferguson Mr Connie Edwards was one of the lead pilots for the epic "Battle of Britain" film. He is old-school and is very respected in the aviation world. www.warbirdsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Connie-and-Spits.jpg
FiveCentsPlease I meant zero disrespect to you or mr. Edwards. But this is a black and white issue. There is no middle. The bottom line is, if this guy can can throw millions of dollars around on aircraft that he doesn’t even know what it is, there is something working.
+ Ian Ferguson Edwards began buying old warplanes decades ago when they were worth very little. He has owned and flown many. He didn't buy those Buchons at all. The produces of the Battle of Britain film stiffed him on payment for his flying work in the film, so he took the Buchons and a Spitfire for payment instead. The Spanish AF was retiring them, and most of the Buchons were snagged by buyers. All but three or so of the CASA 2.111s were scrapped. Those Buchons are still in the movie paint. His Texas ranch is a mecca for warbird buyers.
They arent even ME-109s, They are SPANISH Hispano Aviación HA-1112's. A massively altered Spanish Knock off of the ME-109. Its like Fools gold or "An Idiots ME-109"
Fools gold ???, "An idiots ME-109" ??? No way. The Hispano HA-1112-M1L Buchon is NOT a massively altered Spanish knock off of the ME-109. It IS a basically an ME-109 with a Rolls Royce Merlin 500-45 (identical to a Merlin 24) engine. The engine, the engine bearers, the engine covers, the propellor and the armament are the only things that are different from a standard ME-109G-2. The Buchon's you see in this video are very valuable (and expensive !). With a Daimler-Benz 605A-1 engine the Buchon's can be modified to an almost original ME-109G.
A proud and fascinating history. Thanks for the ride of freedom and liberty, it's truly right on the mark.
Wow!! what a super cool guy!
That fellow even though he brags he has flown almost everything, certainly does not know the differance between a Bf 109 and a spanish licence built Buchon Ha1112 which are based on a Bf 109G but have no DB engine.
They are Merlin powered
They where Hispano-Suiza powered but later some got converted for merlins.
most were Merlin powered from the start,no conversions. Merlin version was superior to the first few Suiza powered ones. CASA 2111 Heinkel 111 was also Merlin powered. Rick
WolfKenneth - I think Uncle Bullfrog is refering to the ones in the video which were all merlin powered 'scrap' engines leftover from WWII and the late 40's/early 50's. Most were Packard versions from XVIE's.
Almost as bad as an Avia
Hard to believe he allowed them to rot.
David S they are indoors....
To the tune of over $15 + million. European and U.S. restorers.
B Perry is that what the collection went for 50 years after he got it.....he is no Warren buffet...but hope they went to appreciated homes and restorers of history..
do you have any other details..Connie dead now or still crashing shit etc etc??
I remember seeing Bob Hoover as a kid in his signature straw Bahama hat and thinking...Jesus is he old to be doing dead stick stuff like that....and that was 45 years ago!!
15 million was a gift. hope he got to spend it on his grand kids!
+Richard Loveday Connie is still kicking around. The planes went to a single collector and then were split between two collectors and are being refurbished for flight.
Love his enthusiasm and I'm not a pilot,or any kind of expert,love hearing how as a craftsman he prefers the German plane...but when it mattered,when it really mattered the Hurricane and Spitfire shone...A 4lb hammer is just a hammer....the difference is the user and how it's used.All things equal we'd have lost...but we didn't!
Awesome thank you
What an amazing fellow, his son will be flighing in the skies with him always.
God bless.