The original FRED is for sale!

[cluttonfred]

After a rough year of injuries, Eric Clutton has reluctantly decided to put the original prototype FRED up for sale. The timing is right as on November 3rd, 2013, N4499Y (originally G-ASZY) will celebrate 50 years since its very first flight. That’s a milestone for any aircraft, especially a homebuilt one.

FRED would make a great addition to a museum or private collection and Eric would very much like to see it go back home to the UK. He’s asking $10,000, a fair price for such a well-maintained little plane with a great history and a purring Continental A-65 as you can see in this summer 2012 video clip.

If interested, please reach out to Eric in Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA at +1 (931) 455-2256 or doctordiesel@cafes.net.

Cheers,

Matthew

[pacerpilot]

Ugh!!! I wish I hadn't just bought a Stits project! This would have been great to have.

[martymayes]

How long does it take to fold and unfold the wings? Is it practical to tow it to an airport, fly for 2 hrs then tow it back home?

[cluttonfred]

How long does it take to fold and unfold the wings? Is it practical to tow it to an airport, fly for 2 hrs then tow it back home?

With practice it can be done in about 20 minutes, so it's certainly possible to treat it like a boat on a trailer. Eric did just that for many years. Here is a slide show I made with Eric and a friend. Personally, I am less interested in frequent towing (though it's nice to have that capability to bring it home for the winter or if stranded due to a mechanical problem. I more interested in the possibility of sharing a hangar or even using an ordinary 20' shipping container for daily storage. That would be even faster--no need to remove the tail surfaces at all, just fold the wings and let them rest on the stabilizer, wheel in it and then rest the wings on a couple of little padded stands.

[cluttonfred]

This would have been great to have.

You still can have it, Eric has had some nibbles but no bite, so FRED is still for sale.