Buddy Holly Propeller

[bbuttjer]

I have received a phone call from Lubbock, TX and the Buddy Holly museum. They are interested in displaying a piece of history but need authentication that it is legit. All I have is the story and the piece that has been passed down from my father.

To make a long story short, the Buddy Holly plane (Beechcraft Bonnanza) crashed in a relatives field 50 years ago. After the investigation my father (a boy at the time) was allowed access to the field to recover what they could. He could not find much until the snow thawed. Later that spring he found a 24 inch piece of the prop. The serial number 3533 and the part number FA203-219-88 AD are still on the piece.

I know there is some value to this piece of history but not sure how much. Can anyone help connect this prop to the plane from that evening? Does anyone have a thought as to how much this would be worth?

Not sure at this time if we are going to sell it or give it to the Buddy Holly Museum pending verification.

thanks, Brent

[Dave]

Is this a wooden propeller or a metal one? I believe some Bonanzas had a wooden (or maybe Micarta) variable pitch propeller.

Were the logbooks from the aircraft recovered? The only possible way to trace the serial number to the specific aircraft would be by a logbook entry, and even that might not be possible, especially if it was an original propeller, in which case you'd probably need the factory invoice and hope that included the serial number.

Value is probably almost totally unrelated to its value as a propeller. (In other words, if it was from a random aircraft it's nearly worthless.) I know absolutely nothing about Buddy Holly memorabilia.

[bbuttjer]

Thanks Dave

It is a wooden one. Where would I start to locate a logbook? Mason City airport?

Brent

[Dave]

Well, the most likely place for it to have been was in the aircraft, so it might have been recovered in the post crash investigation. Where it might have ended up after that is anyone's guess. I'd say that the airport itself is an unlikely place to expect to find it.

You might try contacting Beechcraft to get records of the type certificates for that model year Bonanza to see what models of propellers were approved.