Critique Of TIGHAR By Ex-member/Donor

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Member for

19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

For the past few decades, TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery) has called itself a group dedicated to the recovery of historic aircraft, but is best known for its focus on finding Amelia Earhart. More recently, it took up the cause of a P-38 buried on a UK beach, where it remains...despite the group's well publicized taking on the project and raising funds for it. Likewise, it involved itself with the possible recovery of TBD torpedo bombers from the Pacific (also unsuccessful) and the recovery of a B-17E from a New Guinea swamp (the aircraft was eventually recovered by another group seemingly without any TIGHAR help). More recently, the group announced an effort to try to find the plane famous USAAF bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared in.
In short, after about 30 years and raising millions of dollars as a tax free charity, they haven't recovered a airframe or found what they have looked for.

Here, Monte Fowler, a 18 year ex-member and substantial donor gives a concise overview of the group. While not a fan of the group, his comments are balanced and objective. Particularly interesting are his comments on the salary and estate paid to the group's founder (and sole employee) and the group's seeming intolerance of any criticism.

Interesting reading..
http://myplace.frontier.com/~monty.fowler/tighar_analysis.htm

If nothing else, it takes a big man to admit he gave a group a lot of money without much to show for it.

Original post

Member for

17 years 5 months

Posts: 8,980

It does read as in any other sense of gaining funds through deception, ie. Gaining them for specific tasks by donations and spending them elsewhere and reading it, it appears on themselves.... A true example of a self licking lollipop.

They appear to jump on any bandwagon to self promote themselves, gain revenue, With a load of false / fantastical promises then move on.

Member for

17 years 7 months

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So that is where that crass Maid Of Harlech name came from

Member for

17 years 5 months

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Just as I read it, my opinion from that.

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14 years

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Confirms what many already knew or suspected. It would appear from Fowler's statements that many activities would be classed as unlawful or illegal.

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14 years

Posts: 4,996

A very intereting read. You have to wonder though, how as he go away with it for so long ?

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14 years

Posts: 1,788

It's like bad restaurants in tourist locations: plenty of new customers and no repeat business. In this case I think the new customers are snared by a constant drip-feed of 'new' projects.

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17 years 10 months

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and yet a Lincolnshire farmer has been ripped to bits for doing the same thing but putting his own money up, hats off to him

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24 years 2 months

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That's quite a conceptual leap to link those two.

Moggy

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17 years 10 months

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Not really Moggs just pointing out a man went looking for missing aeroplanes without begging for handouts and actually doing it, thats the link or maybe im an idiot

(answers on a post card to)

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24 years 2 months

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Why would you be an idiot?

I think the defining difference is that one is a conman and one just very gullible

Member for

17 years 10 months

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Possibly in a way that was my point, the man with his hands in his pocket gets out there the other just pockets.

and my main point was all the flack he took doing his own thing with his own money not someone elses hard earned.

Member for

24 years 2 months

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I think we'll leave that as the last word?

Moggy

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9 years 6 months

Posts: 1,613

Tom Delonge,the drummer for the Band "Blink 182" is doing the same with UFO,s..
https://dpo.tothestarsacademy.com/

Alas Tom is the guitarist, rather than the drummer, of Blink 182. The mistake is understandable though, as his bizarre fascination with UFOs and conspiracy theories puts him safely into drummer territory. :applause:

Even in my very limited experience, being in a band is boring. You spend 3% of your time playing music, and the rest of the time is either spent plotting your business strategy or twiddling your thumbs waiting for things to happen (and drummers to turn up). Quite what unique insight into 'Engineering space-time' or 'Beamed energy launch systems' Delonge gained from sitting around waiting to soundcheck is beyond me.

As for TIGGER, they've done very well for achieving nothing.

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18 years 2 months

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Ex-guitarist of Blink ;)

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11 years 1 month

Posts: 46

So that is where that crass Maid Of Harlech name came from

Actually not. The people of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Harlech coined the name Maid of Harlech. Gillespie claimed it as if he had named it.

Profile picture for user 1batfastard

Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
scam
/skam/
noun
informal
noun: scam; plural noun: scams
1. a dishonest scheme; a fraud."an insurance scam"
synonyms: fraud, swindle, fraudulent scheme, racket, trick, diddle; More
informalcon, con trick, flimflam, gyp, kite;
informalramp, twist; nformalhustle, grift, shakedown, bunco, boondoggle; informalrort "the scam involved a series of bogus reinsurance deals"

verb
verb: scam; 3rd person present: scams; past tense: scammed; past participle: scammed; gerund or present participle: scamming
1. swindle."a guy that scams old pensioners out of their savings"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fraud/frɔːd/
noun
noun: fraud; plural noun: frauds
wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain."he was convicted of fraud"
synonyms: fraudulence, sharp practice, cheating, swindling, trickery, artifice, deceit, deception, double-dealing, duplicity, treachery, chicanery, skulduggery, imposture, embezzlement; also:- informalmonkey business, funny business, crookedness, hanky-panky, shenanigans, flimflam;
informaljiggery-pokery; informalmonkeyshines; archaicmanagement - knavery - "his business partner was arrested for fraud"
•deception, trick, cheat, hoax, subterfuge, stratagem, wile, ruse, artifice, swindle, racket;
informalscam, con, con trick, rip-off, leg-pull, sting, gyp, kite, diddle, fiddle, swizzle;
informalbunco, boondoggle, hustle, grift; informalrort - "they were accomplices in a fraud"
•a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities.
"mediums exposed as tricksters and frauds"
synonyms: impostor, fake, sham, pretender, hoodwinker, masquerader, charlatan, quack, mountebank; More

The above rings bells just like the bloke who realised to late what was ALLEGDLY really happening, Well meant misguided if flawed activities at best, at worst Fraudulent could be alleged some would say, reading that report of the activities makes for very sad reading indeed......:(

Just saying!

Geoff.

Member for

15 years

Posts: 1,712

I must admit that I joined Tigar in 1984 as they played up Le Oiseau Blanc search, but after the years membership expired I had seen the light and never renewed.

Member for

19 years 5 months

Posts: 9,821

I have been told by someone more familiar with the group than myself, that according to tax records, the group has taken in about $11 million over the years. (If someone has better information, I'm willing to be corrected.)

Aside from the pity that the group has never recovering a complete aircraft, or even project, let alone finding AE, think what aircraft that money could have saved.
There are many groups that could have really put that kind of funding to use.

Profile picture for user DH82EH

Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 580

I echo those sentiments J Boyle.
Think of what could have been funded by that money.
I think R.G. operates under the guise that there is a sucker born every minute.

Andy