{"id":5737,"date":"2021-04-07T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T11:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/?p=5737"},"modified":"2021-03-20T18:25:24","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T17:25:24","slug":"rodney-butterfield-and-pucara-a-517-2-2-the-first-guess-has-often-been-is-that-a-microlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/rodney-butterfield-and-pucara-a-517-2-2-the-first-guess-has-often-been-is-that-a-microlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Rodney Butterfield and Pucar\u00e1 A-517 (2\/2):<\/b>
\u201cThe first guess has often been \u2018is that a microlight\u2019\u201d?<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking on where we left in the first half of our interview (see Rodney Butterfield and Pucar\u00e1 A-517 (1\/2): \u201cMy first reaction was \u2018what on earth is a Pucar\u00e1?\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/a>), we accompany Rodney Butterfield in the last part of his bicontinental journey with Pucar\u00e1 A-517.<\/p>\n

Q: Would you share with us the price you paid for it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Butterfield: No… I am keeping the price confidential, but lord alone knows how much that initial money would have accumulated to by now if it had been otherwise invested. Further, beyond the initial purchase, the invested funding cost is now much higher as I have dragged the containers all over England and then across the Atlantic to the USA, where it has already been moved three more times!<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Which were your initial plans after purchasing the aircraft? Did you plan or expect to get it fully restored to flying condition or just saw it as an exotic garden ornament? What made you postpone those plans and get the aircraft preserved in Cosmolene? What compelled you to move the aircraft to the USA when you left the United Kingdom? Have you always held it into storage in its present location in the USA? Or did it get here after other intermediate locations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Butterfield: I was always set on setting up a Warbird Restoration shop. In fact, after I closed the Oxfordshire auto restoration company I thought I would turn all the equipment to airplane restoration. I explored all the wartime remnant airfields in southern Britain in the late 1980\u2019s seeking a chance to build or restore a hangar. Unfortunately, I did not succeed and left the U.K. in 1990 seeking a kinder tax environment. I tried hard to see if we could purchase the wartime airfield remaining at Jurby in the Isle of Man in the early 1990\u2019s, but one partner refused to sell his part.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Bounty<\/a>
Pictured on 10\/07\/1983, A-517 depicts restoration of its nose wheel to the erect position but also the sad loss of roundels and titles (photo: Ian Howat).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the same time the UK restricted aircraft restoration to one of 13 licensed companies approved by the FAA. That made me think of moving the project to a more flexible and hopefully cheaper environment and contributed to my plan to relocate in the USA which I did in 1994. <\/em><\/p>\n

From 1992 to 1996 I looked at almost every sky park in the southern USA with my plan in mind, ending up with some land with rights to a small grass airstrip here in western North Carolina, so moved the plane here in 1996. Sadly, the owner of the airport was not a man of his word and the promised use of the airstrip and the land to build a hanger never transpired.<\/em><\/p>\n

Various occasional efforts since then, to find the right airfield and aviation partner somewhere in the USA have all been frustrated for one reason or another. It has been very disappointing, but one negative aspect of this experience has been that almost no one knows what a Pucar\u00e1 is!<\/em><\/p>\n

Even serious pilots have lost bets to me that I have a plane they\u2019ve never heard of. The first guess has often been \u201cis that a microlight\u201d? It has been frustrating, and I\u2019m sure if I had indeed ended up with a P-51 I\u2019d have found several partners with funding to complete the project by now!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Bounty<\/a>
Pictured in 1984, A-517 depicts restoration of its nose wheel to the erect position but also the sad loss of roundels and titles (photo: Malcom Palin).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q: Have you had any contacts with other aircraft restorers throughout all these years? Which were their reactions to your project? Did you ever approach or were approached by Argentine individuals interested in your project or the aircraft itself? Did you ever consider, or decided, to put the aircraft up for sale? Did any interested parties show up? What caused the sale to fall through? Which are your present expectations for this aircraft? Would you accept an Argentine partner to get the aircraft restored? Would you eventually choose to donate it to an aviation museum? Could it be an Argentina-based or Argentine-related institution?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Butterfield: I would certainly be pleased to negotiate with any interested partner from any nation, if together we can get this wonderful plane airworthy. However, it may have to remain domiciled in the USA or Britain as I have signed contracts with the British and American governments restricting what A-517 can be used for if eventually airworthy and where it can be displayed. Perhaps with the passage of time since the war, important changes could be negotiated if necessary, but we are not there yet.<\/em><\/p>\n

In short, I would like to stay involved in seeing this project through and perhaps even getting to fly in it before its final fate is settled. I am open to sharing A-517 with other airplane owners, maybe trading even for a reciprocal share in a more usual everyday plane that I can actually co-own and fly! I am ready to listen to all serious suggestions.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Opening image:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roderick Butterfield and Carlos Ay posing inside one of A-517\u2019s two containers (photo: Mitchell Enr\u00edquez, Forest City, North Carolina, 02\/2020).<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the second half of our electronic interview, Pucar\u00e1 A-517 owner Rodney Butterfield completes his testimony on his relationship with the \u201cfifth British and only privately-owned\u201d Pucar\u00e1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[3,59,60],"class_list":["post-5737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-relics","tag-aeromilitaria-argentina","tag-ia-58-66-pucara","tag-malvinas-air-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3031\/01\/2a-20200208_113514_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1JKRl-1ux","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5679,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/rodney-butterfield-and-pucara-a-517-1-2-my-first-reaction-was-what-on-earth-is-a-pucara\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":0},"title":"Rodney Butterfield and Pucar\u00e1 A-517 (1\/2):My first reaction was \u2018what on earth is a Pucar\u00e1?\u2019","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Monday 5 April 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Visiting A-517 in North Carolina in February 2020 gave us not only a chance to inspect a valuable piece of aviation history. We also were able to talk at large with its present owner to try and comprehend the ideas, ideals and frustrations he built around this interesting aircraft.","rel":"","context":"In "Wrecks & relics"","block_context":{"text":"Wrecks & relics","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/relics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rod Butterfield & A-517","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3031\/01\/20200208_115043_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3031\/01\/20200208_115043_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3031\/01\/20200208_115043_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3031\/01\/20200208_115043_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5547,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/the-last-of-the-malvinas-pucaraes-lives-on-in-north-carolina-usa\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":1},"title":"Sixth and last “British Pucar\u00e1” rediscovered in North Carolina (USA)","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Monday 9 March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"After 35 years tracking its whereabouts, we located and inspected A-517, the world\u2019s only privately owned IA-58A Pucar\u00e1 and the sixth of six such aircraft which survived the 1982 war in British hands...","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3030\/03\/F-20200208_114909_edited-Ay.jpg?fit=1024%2C543&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3030\/03\/F-20200208_114909_edited-Ay.jpg?fit=1024%2C543&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3030\/03\/F-20200208_114909_edited-Ay.jpg?fit=1024%2C543&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3030\/03\/F-20200208_114909_edited-Ay.jpg?fit=1024%2C543&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/valkyria-iii-gets-exercise-season-in-motion\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":2},"title":"Valkyria III gets 2010 exercise season in motion","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Friday 2 April 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Close to 25 aircraft and 250 service men and women from different Air Force and Army units were involved in the first large-scale joint exercise of year 2010. For little more than a week, combat search and rescue operations took place in and around Mendoza\/El Plumerillo airport.","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/ga_escudo.jpg?fit=571%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/ga_escudo.jpg?fit=571%2C522&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/ga_escudo.jpg?fit=571%2C522&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9828,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fida1984-when-fidae-started-feeling-like-the-latin-american-le-bourget\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":3},"title":"FIDA’84: When FIDAE first felt like “the Latin American Salon de Le Bourget“","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Thursday 4 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Forty years ago, FIDAE lacked the final \"E\" in its acronym and didn't cater for many of the market segments that are usually served in the 21st Century. One of our senior correspondents was there in March 1984 and brings back images, stories and recollections gathered on a week-long stay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air shows & aviation events"","block_context":{"text":"Air shows & aviation events","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/air-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tiger II","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3024\/03\/G-AI-26_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3024\/03\/G-AI-26_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3024\/03\/G-AI-26_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/3024\/03\/G-AI-26_edited.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1665,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/the-2005-argentine-exercises-index\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":4},"title":"The 2005 Argentine Exercises Index","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Thursday 29 November 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The second Argentine military aviation exercises index in the \u201cGaceta Aeron\u00e1utica Age\u201d is actually an updated version of our original Aeromilitaria Argentina index for 2005. This more complete variant reviews more than 35 exercises, simulations and drills totalling more than 220 days of activity on the field. An apparently \u201cinternational\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Defence & security"","block_context":{"text":"Defence & security","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/defence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/AF_photo_65711a.jpg?fit=680%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/AF_photo_65711a.jpg?fit=680%2C466&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/AF_photo_65711a.jpg?fit=680%2C466&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fadea-gets-on-line-with-customers-partners\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":5},"title":"FAdeA gets "on line" with customers, partners","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Thursday 1 April 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Freshly nationalized, Argentine aircraft and maintenance firm FAdeA (F\u00e1brica Argentina de Aviones) has started making it into the news following its international debut in FIDAE, Chile's air, space a security fair, held in Santiago in March 2010.","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Imagen-6705.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Imagen-6705.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Imagen-6705.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Imagen-6705.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Imagen-6705.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5737"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5781,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5737\/revisions\/5781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}