“Restoration” is perhaps a more technically accurate term to describe the process some antique airplane enthusiasts go through to put their old birds back in flying condition, but in a few cases the amount and extent of the work is such that a stronger word seems necessary to more fully describe the blood, sweat and tears that have been expended on a pile of near junk to make it fly again. This is the story of such a project, one that might be called “The Resurrection of a Spartan” -for it was quite literally brought back from the dead.
N-17614 was Serial Number 13 of the Spartan 7W Executives to come off the production line in Tulsa and for a good part of its existence it appeared this mystical (to some) number was, indeed, an omen of bad luck…
Click the link below to continue reading Jack Cox’s article on this amazing plane from the December 1974 issue of Vintage Airplane.
The Resurrection of a Spartan