Federal Government OKs Plane Repair, Move

It took six months of red tape, but the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association finally got the go-ahead to access its P-3 for repairs and relocation.

Since the space the volunteer-run, Horsham-based group's Harold F. Pitcairn Wings of Freedom Museum is situated on is federally owned, DVHAA has had to make requests to the federal government to carry out seemingly simple tasks like extending its fence line and fixing a plane. 

During the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority's meeting this month, officials shared an executed license agreement between the Navy and DVHAA, which would allow DVHAA representatives to access the 142,000-pound plane to repair it and relocate it.

HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee joked that the group has "only the hard stuff to do" now - fixing the P-3. 

DVHAA representative Mark Hurwitz told Patch previously that it was impossible to determine how long the fix would take, or what was needed until DVHAA's restoration team was granted access to the plane, which is currently situated on Horsham Road. The aviation museum fronts Route 611, but DVHAA has space beyond that for restoration purposes.

DVHAA Chairman of the Board Retired Major General Ron Nelson, who was in attendance at the January HLRA meeting, said, "we’re happy to see it."

As the 862-acre redevelopment of Willow Grove air base advances, DVHAA would nearly double its existing acreage to a total of 13 acres.