posted 05-31-2023 03:53 AM               

I have never come across the seller, Cole's Aircraft. Also I'd appreciate any opinions on the item itself? Many thanks.

posted 06-21-2023 11:29 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by davidcwagner:
Anyone get one of these yet? Paid for one on May 31, 2023 but not "Fulfilled" on Cole's website as of June 21, 2023.

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I'm in the same situation. However, when the order was confirmed, I did notice that the page stated that orders take 3-4 weeks to ship. So we're still within that time frame.

Also, I have a feeling that Cole's sales jumped the day this thread was started, due to people like us realizing they were available.

posted 06-22-2023 07:05 AM            

Overall it is quite nice, a minor irritation being that the letter of provenance taped to the back is rather tacky, i.e, a partially-glued, unsleeved simple paper copy. Also the series number is 58/60, the ad on Cole's website showing a display with denominator of 30.

posted 08-11-2023 08:41 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by drifting to the right:
I took a leap of faith and ordered the larger ($1K) display...

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posted 08-16-2023 12:27 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by drifting to the right:
...it's still sitting on display on my bookshelf.

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posted 08-17-2023 11:15 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Zimin8r:
Could you post a picture of your 58/60?

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posted 12-13-2023 11:22 PM               

Previously in this thread, it was noted that multiple buyers have received artwork with the same numbers. I had hoped it was an honest mistake, or a result of him numbering batches rather than overall edition sizes. But lately I've been keeping an eye on his site, because I've become more suspicious.

On November 17, he released a limited edition of six large-format artifacts from the Spirit of St. Louis. The very next day, he mentioned on his Facebook page that half of them were sold, leaving only three. On November 21, I saw the inventory go down to two, and I finally cracked and bought one.

Later that day, the final one sold and it was listed as "Sold Out" on the website. But then over a week later on the 29th, he sent a promotional email saying that there were "only two left." And then over the past two weeks, I've watched it sell out — only to reappear with one more — over and over again.

The exact same thing happened with his large-format Wright Flyer display, released a short time later. And even more troubling, he seems to have an endless supply of Wright fabric, which is normally incredibly scarce.

In the past, he posted a photo of the original fabric in his collection, from which the pieces were taken (he's since taken it down). I noticed that the unique stains in my piece could not be matched anywhere to it. I also noticed that there was barely enough fabric to produce 30 to 40 of these displays, and yet he's sold hundreds.

In the month of November alone he sold over 1300 items, and it's a good bet that the Wright fabric was easily his top seller. And that was just November - he's been selling these for many months prior to that. Unless his Wright fabric was the size of a large bedsheet, there's simply no way he should still be selling displays after this long.

It's also worth mentioning that for the past several weeks (and even yesterday), his email advertisements have urged buyers to purchase quickly to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas - despite the fact that he takes two to three months to ship anything.

And in addition to all of that general dishonesty, he's also stolen several hundred dollars from me. Back in July, I made a large order of more than $1500. More than two months later, the package was finally sent — missing over $300 worth of items. I sent an email, and he never replied. So a few days later, I decided to make another order for a few other items I'd wanted, and I added a message saying that he could just ship the missing items in the same box as the new order, to save him some time and money. Again, no reply.

Months later, I tried again, and heard nothing. Eventually, the missing items were listed as being sold out, and the six-month credit card dispute deadline was approaching. So I filed a dispute. The very next day, I got an email from Ron saying he would make things right. I wrote back and said that the missing items were now sold out, so it might just be best to let the refund stand. I told him that I would be happy to proceed however worked best for him.

Once again, no reply. Another month passed. And then today, I received an email from my credit card company, telling me that he provided tracking details for the shipment, and so I would not be getting a refund for the missing items. I specifically stated that part of the order had indeed been shipped, but apparently that doesn't matter. I thought about writing to Ron again, but I'm certain he'd never write back.

posted 12-14-2023 12:44 PM               

• 1937 - Robert (Bob) Boehme receives linen from Jarrett
  
• 2022 - the Boehme estate is acquired by Ron Cole.

I've looked online for auctions of a Boehme estate and can't find any. I did find an obituary for a Bob Boehme in 2022, but he was born in 1957.

Moreover, the flyer flew a total of five times before being wrecked at landing on its fifth and final flight - that was in December 1913.

The Flyer was shipped back to Dayton and put in crates in storage. It was submerged in mud and water during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913 for 11 days.

Wilbur having died a year before in 1912.

The Flyer was reconstructed/reassembled for exhibits at MIT 1916, New York 1917 and 1919, and Dayton in 1918 and 1924.

In a dispute with the Smithsonian over who flew the first heavier-than-air machine, Orville had the linen on the Flyer's wings recovered*, and then had it shipped to the London Science Museum in 1928 where it remained until 1948.

The Smithsonian displayed the Flyer from 1948 until 1985, at which time it was decided to restore the Flyer because "the fabric covering on the aircraft at the time, which came from the 1927 restoration, was discolored and marked with water spots. Metal fasteners holding the wing uprights together had begun to corrode, marking the nearby fabric"

At the same time as the 1985 removal/renovation of the 1927 restoration, *Mrs. Harold S. Miller (Ivonette Wright, Lorin's daughter), one of the Wright brothers' nieces, presented the Museum with the original covering of the Flyer, which she had received in her inheritance from Orville.

It is disconcerting in the Ron Cole display that:

• there was no pending tour of Europe

• Wilbur had died, so mention of the Wrights is anachronistic.

• the letter mentions a ragged sample. It would necessarily be small/tiny as the original covering is now at the Smithsonian (surely not enough to supply three hundred square inches)

• the (undated) letter also describes almost exactly the state of the 1927 material at the time of restoration in 1985, but supposedly for the original material replaced at the 1927 restoration.

posted 12-14-2023 02:02 PM               

So I don't doubt that Cole honestly came into possession of that collection. And in most cases, I feel the material he sells is genuine - especially for aircraft which are not of specific historical significance.

But Cole has a vast collection of antique aircraft material, even excluding the Boehme estate. And I'm sure that within his collection, he has stacks of random old aircraft fabric that closely match the Wright Flyer linen, along with silver-doped fabric from nameless aircraft that happens to look like the Spirit of St Louis material.

In the letter sent from Jarrett to Boehme when he sold him the Spirit of St Louis fabric, he said that it was "what I can part with", and asked $7 for it (equivalent to about $150 today). That seems to imply it wasn't particularly large. But Cole has probably sold enough fabric to cover the entire tail of the aircraft at this point, with no signs of ever selling out.

Being a collector of vintage material always takes a bit of trust. Whether it's flown material, autographs, or artifacts, there's usually a natural skepticism. And so it's very important to be able to trust a seller. Cole is a genuine expert, the owner of one of the best aviation collections in the world, and the owner of a museum and art gallery. He seemed to be as reputable as they come.

But there's no doubt that he's been intentionally lying about his edition sizes. He all but refuses to respond to inquiries. And if he fails to ship your order and you're forced to file a dispute, he will take your money instead of making it right. If he's willing to be dishonest about the way he runs his business, how can we possibly trust his items to be authentic?

posted 12-15-2023 11:50 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by hbw60:
And in most cases, I feel the material he sells is genuine...

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Here's my reasoning:

Orville, who never married, died in Dayton of a heart attack on January 30, 1948. Fact.

Ivonette Wright Miller, inherited Orville's bequest and became the Wright family historian. Fact.

So... How is it possible that Ivonette Wright Miller (who donated the original fabric to the Smithsonian in 1985. Fact.) gave a sample to G.B. Jarrett 18 years before she owned it? And then G.B. Jarrett (according to an undated letter) gifted this away (even though he called it "a rare piece of flight history) to a youth in 1937?

Why? Why would a serious collector like that give away material of that manifest importance to a mere penpal aged seventeen years old? And how did he do it 11 years prior to it being available?

posted 01-17-2024 03:31 PM            

In 2024 Cole's Aircraft will be expanding its product line into aerospace to include displays featuring Apollo and space shuttle programs.

posted 02-05-2024 01:47 PM               

When we had an opportunity to acquire this small section of insulated data cable from the Apollo I and Apollo VII Crew Access Arm (CAA) of Launch Complex [pad] 34 from a very reliable source (along with kapton foil, X-15, and other relics) — we had to have it, and in turn, make it available to our customers!

This series is extremely limited and based upon the size of the original preserved relic. Each display is numbered from one to fifty — but realistically we'll only get between 25 and 30 before the material is exhausted.

Ron Cole has designed and is providing a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) with this important piece. It will be attached to the back of each display, and includes the period photo. This photo accompanied the data cable when Cole's Aircraft acquired it in 2022.