Hungarian Focke-Wulf Fw-190 Project Emerges

For a few weeks now, we at WarbirdsNews have been in touch with a group in Hungary that is working on rebuilding a Focke-Wulf Fw-190F8. They have acquired a multitude of parts from various sources: crash sites, barns and attics being just a few places they have come up with components from the former Hungarian Air Force fighter. They are now actively starting the restoration, and wish to share the end result with the public.

WarbirdsNews had a conversation with one of the restoration team, Andor Burnáczki, and what follows are his answers to our questions…

WN: Where does this F-190 come from?

AB: This is not a complete plane. We collected the parts from several different places. Some of them were dug up after the war. We found some in attics …. Like the spinner. It is from a Hungarian pilot named Vitéz Vargha Gyula. He flew a Fw-190 F8. He had some other parts too, like an oil cooler, engine hood and landing gear.

WN: Did you purchase it?

AB: Yes, I bought the parts. I don’t do the digging, but it happened several times that I have been asked to identify the parts on excavations.

WN: Did you discover it?

AB: Yes, at first we started to collect plane parts, but we had a lot from the same type. And so now we just collect for this specific type.

WN: Were you able to identify the serial number/unit?

AB: No, not really, we have the different parts from different diggings.

WN: Do you have any history on this aircraft?

AB: Not yet. Because it is not finished yet.

WN: Was the restoration already covered by other media organizations?

AB: No, we started as a private collector, and now we want to start the restoration. We need sponsors for this.

WN: What kind of restoration experience do you have?

AB: We don’t do the restoration. There are specialists for different parts, and we work with them.

WN: I see you have restored the prop. What other parts were restored?

AB: The prop is the only fully restored part right now, but several parts are under restoration like one of the engines and the landing gear. The landing gear is almost finished, but this kind of work takes a lot of time.

WN: What is the program as far as restoring the airplane? What it is your plan for 2015?

AB: We don’t have strict deadlines. It usually depends on how much money we have. And even if we get enough money we still need a few years for the full restoration process.

WN: Do you have the Werk Nummers of the aircraft you know you have parts from?

AB: Unfortunately we don’t know the exact Werk Nummers, but all the parts are from Fw-190 F8 fighters of the Hungarian Air Force.

WN: How much structure do you have… fuselage? Wings? What type of Fw-190 are you planning to restore the aircraft as?

AB: We have many parts. Just now we are purchasing another engine, and other wing and fuselage parts. Right now we have a complete engine, and some other parts like landing gear and parts of the fuselage, parts of the wing, and parts of the propeller. The plan is to build an Fw-190 F-8.

WN: Is it to be an airworthy restoration?

AB: Yes, exactly. This is the plan. We hope we can get enough support to make it. Then we want to make public short flying trips with it.

WN: Where is the restoration going to take place?

AB: Here in Hungary.

WN: How long have they been working on the project?

AB: First we just started to collect the plane parts, as a hobby, but we became addicted with this plane. We started this collection ten years ago.

WarbirdsNews wishes to thank Andor Burnáczki very much for his information and photographs. We will do our best to follow this fascinating project as it moves forwards. If anyone wishes to help out with the project with please do visit their website HERE to find out how you may contribute. There are currently no former Hungarian Air Force Fw-190s known to survive, so this project would fill an important gap!