Elsewhere someone wrote: "I was told that Clay Lacy bought three of the KC-97s and he doesn't plan to scrap them." ...Hope???

Rick Pisio wrote 31Aug06 on WIX-forum:
"Yesterday I spoke with the curator for the The Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting in Greybull and he told me that he was able to keep for the museum:
At least 1 of the PB4Y's, possibly 2
C-97
C-130
P2V-7 (currently on display at the airport entrance)
(2) C-119 (the two that were on display at the airport entrance)
C-45 (also currently on display at the airport entrance)
He also said that all of the buyers have until the 8th of September to remove their purchases or make special arrangements with the airport, which I assume means lease storage space back. The airport should look a lot different after the 8th."
www.rwphotos.com

The following was published online on GREYBULL STANDARD [31Aug06]
Auction Signals End Of H&P Era [by Nathan Oster]
Buyers from throughout the United States converged on Greybull last week for the auction of assets formerly held by Hawkins and Powers Aviation. Representatives of Great American Group, the asset management firm which purchased H&P last year, report that all of the planes were sold during the liquidation auction conducted Aug. 23-24 at the airport and online.
"We had 200 buyers, between those bidding online and those who were here," said Phil McArdle, supervising consultant for Great American. "Overall, things went very well, and we ended up doing better than we had projected going into the auction."
"One of the planes on the auction block, a C-82 Packet used by the U.S. Navy during World War II but later converted by H&P to carry 3,000 gallons of fire retardant, went for $127,500 to buyers representing the Hagerstown Aviation Museum. According to news accounts, the museum had solicited public donations to bring the twin-engine, propeller-driven plane back to Hagerstown where Fairchild Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation operated for 55 years until 1984. The plane, built in 1945, is the same type of craft that appeared in the original "Flight of the Phoenix" movie, and will become the centerpiece of the museum.

Carl Meyer, a longtime H&P employee and current general manager of B&G Industries, said B&G ended up buying one of the C-119s that was on the auction block. "For years, people driving past here have seen airplanes," said Meyer. "With the vast majority of them being scrapped, we made a decision to buy one so that people can continue to drive by here and see a C-119. "By putting it on display, we will retain some of the history that was once here."
Meyer said most of the interest in the PB4Y-2s came from "warbird people" who desire to restore the planes and display them for the public. One buyer, however, was more interested in the plane?s history as a retardant airplane. "He wants to keep the retardant things in it and be able to fly it and demonstrate how it was used postwar," said Meyer. "He recognized its history as a retardant airplane, and did not want to lose that."
Great American representatives would not disclose the selling price of any of the aircraft or other aviation equipment that sold last week.

Prior to the sale, there had been an effort led by Ralph Reiner, curator of the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting, to raise funds to keep the planes in the local area. He cited the need to keep the following planes, (in addition to the above C-82 Packet)-, for the museum-
1. PB4Y-2 Privateer used by the U.S. Navy against the Japanese during World War II but later converted by H&P to carry 3,000 gallons of fire retardant.
2. C-119 cargo plane built by Fairchild Company that appeared in the movie, "Flight of the Phoenix."
3. C-130 Hercules, made by the Lockheed Company, that was used as a large cargo plane during World War II but later converted to carry up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant.
4. C-97 Boeing Stratofreighter, that was the largest air tanker in the world, capable of holding up to 4,000 gallons of fire retardant.
5. L-18 Lockheed Lodestar.

Unable to raise the necessary funds, Reiner expressed sadness this week that "so many great planes will soon be gone," but vowed to fight on in his quest to preserve the aviation history of the Greybull area. "Come next year, we'll still be up there," he said. "There will be seven or eight planes that won't leave here, and we are going to do everything we can to try to find more planes and keep the museum going, and possibly even make it larger. "I am not going to give up, even though I'm getting to be an old man. Preserving this part of our history is too important for me to do that."
Reiner said he plans to apply for grant money, and to continue to work with Sens. Mike Enzi and Craig Thomas and Rep. Barbara Cubin, as well as Gov. Dave Freudenthal.
Transitions For Great American, the auction was the culminating event of the firm's stay in Greybull. "We will be done here within the next month, after we make sure everybody has received their goods and things are cleaned out," said McArdle, who personally has spent the past year living in Greybull. "It?s been a great place, and the whole town has been very friendly and willing to help," he said. "I think we?ve done a good job for the town." He cited the creation and success of B&G Industries. "We kept the business in place, created employment for former H&P employees, and through the auction, we have given B&G Industries approximately 12 months of work."
McArdle suggested and Meyer later confirmed that B&G Industries plans to expand its workforce in Greybull. "Prior to the auction, actually, we'd secured enough contracts," said Meyer. "But as a result of the auction, we secured even more contracts which will require more hiring." Those hirings, Meyer stressed, would be permanent. B&G currently employs 24. "With the workload we have on our plate now for the next six to eight months, we are eight to 10 people shy," he said, adding that the company will be looking for licensed aircraft technicians and skilled mechanics. "From a B&G perspective, we feel really positive right now," summarized Meyer. "The company is off to a great start, we've secured some good contracts, and we are hiring. "The people we have here, with the skills that they possess, have helped us tremendously in securing more work and allowing us to go forward."

The following provides a bit more info on B&G Industries,
Source: Billings Gazette 16Feb06.
By RUFFIN PREVOST -Gazette Wyoming Bureau-
GREYBULL - After months of uncertainty that saw financial straits, management changes and rounds of layoffs, the former aerial firefighting firm of Hawkins & Powers has found a buyer.
In an agreement expected to be signed Friday, B&G Industries of Thermopolis has reached a deal to acquire the Hawkins & Powers name, interests and remaining assets, said principals involved in the transfer.
The new company, to be known as B&G Industries, will continue to operate from the Big Horn County Airport near Greybull, and will retain all 21 employees, said Paul Galovich, co-owner of B&G Industries.
"We're all very excited," Galovich said. "There are some big challenges here, without question. But we believe we can make this happen."
Hawkins & Powers President Jim Taggart called the deal "a very good fit for the employees, as well as for the creditors and owners. It's really a win-win situation, and I wish them well."
The deal included an agreement between B&G and asset liquidator Great American to acquire the hangar, tools and other fixed assets necessary for continued operations, Galovich said.
Last fall, Great American bought the hangar, tools and dozens of aircraft parts and other assets from Hawkins & Powers, which made the deal to pay down $14 million in debt.
Hawkins & Powers had previously lost its core business, aerial firefighting, after the federal government ceased contracting for the services following crashes of two of its airplanes in 2002.
Hawkins & Powers employees had recently met with Galovich and his partner, Karl Bertagnole, and Taggart said he believed all of the employees had decided to stay on with the new company.
Taggart said he was hopeful that B&G Industries executives would be able to expand the aircraft refurbishing business.
Galovich said improvements to the airport infrastructure would eventually be necessary, including construction of a larger hangar and upgrades to water systems for fire suppression improvements.
"We would hope to, within the next couple of years, establish a new hangar to completely house the aircraft, and with that it gives us an extended opportunity to work on a lot of different types of aircraft," Galovich said.
"All of these things can definitely be accomplished," he said. "With the facilities and employees we have there, we could not be in a better location for this type of operation than Greybull, Wyoming."

He also wrote a novel, featuring the C-119 Flying Boxcar, called "Boxcar Down, the Albanian Incident"

Both books can be bought through BookSurge.com