RUSSELL AVIATION
Ed Russell is an architect and an archeologist but his passion is flight. As a boy he liked to make model aeroplanes. Since he was 15 Russell has been associated with 87 Squadron in Welland where he began as an Air Cadet. In June 2014 Ed turned 78. “Here’s my plaque recognizing 50 years with the squadron.” Although he doesn’t have his pilot’s licence Russell trained at Duxford airbase in England. If the hook hadn’t already been set the memorable experience of flying in a two-seater Spitfire over the White Cliffs of Dover may well have sealed the deal.
In the 1980s Russell was hoping to build a sports complex in Florida but the October stock market crash scared off investors. Russell decided to pitch his idea to the Walt Disney Company. For architects, “just one such idea out of 10 is successful,” said Russell. Following the initial pitch Disney asked for more details and Russell even provided a model. Eventually Disney turned down the proposal saying they were working on a European plan and they didn’t have the funds to proceed with Russell’s proposal.
Russell asked for his model and plans to be returned and heard nothing. Subsequently he sent a demand letter insisting upon their return but eventually heard that Disney had lost everything.
When the Orlando Sentinel published a story about a new Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World which included a stadium that was the spring training home for the major league Atlanta Braves baseball team, Russell recognized a facility that bore a strong resemblance to his “lost” plans and model. Russell, Chairman of the Board and Nicholas Stracick, retired Triple “A” baseball umpire, shareholder and President of All Pro Sports Camps Inc., decided to sue Disney seeking “$1.2 billion.”
It was no easy task as they were “thrown out of one federal court and two state courts” before finding a court that would hear their case.
“Disney treated us like a nuisance case,” said Russell and “that’s where they made their mistake.” That mistake was hiring a junior law firm whereas Russell hired Willie Gary and Johnnie Cochran. (Remember OJ Simpson?)
“How did you get Cochran?”
“I picked up the phone,” said Russell.
“Watching the OJ Simpson trial I was sure he was going to prison,” said Russell. “That’s how naïve I was.” And so he called Cochran.
In fact Willie Gary was the lead attorney and he was known as the “Giant Killer.”
“He took no cases under $100 million and had never lost,” said Russell.
“We hired a consultant to help choose the jurors. There were 300 called in total. I learned a lot about juror selection.”
Ultimately the jurors in an Orange County Circuit Court, Orlando, awarded Russell $240 million. “They (the jurors) later told me they wanted to be fair so that the Appeals Court wouldn’t overrule their judgment,” said Russell. As it turned out they spent two years in the Appeals Court. “On the last day before the court was to announce its decision Disney decided to settle out of court.”
How much you may ask? Well, that can’t be published. Rumours abound. Russell did say that had he lost he would have been bankrupt. “Yes, I was nervous. I could have been out on the street!”
THE NEXT CHAPTER
It was at this point, with his recently acquired earnings, that Russell began to fulfill a lifelong dream and purchased his own airport facility and vintage WW 2 prop-driven aircraft including a Harvard, Hurricane, Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf-109.
Historic Flying is a British Company that rebuilds Spitfires. At this time of writing there are only 22 flying Spitfires in the world according to Russell. A spokesman reportedly said that “if they (the customer) need to ask the price, they probably won’t be buying one…I’m only interested in people who can write a cheque for 1.25 million pounds.”
In addition to having his name – Russell – added to the Spitfire, Ed included The Fighting Mickey (Mouse) character near the plane’s nose. “I found that picture from the ‘30s,” said Russell. “I think Disney forgot about it.”
As for the Messerschmitt, “I think the plane itself killed more Germans than the Allies,” remarked Russell. His Bf-109 is the sole surviving plane that still flies. “It still has the original engine.” Russell had to bring in a test pilot from Nassau to fly it. Each year it must be re-certified by Transport Canada to the tune of $80,000.00. “It’s stripped down to each wire,” he emphasized.
The Messerschmitt was built in 1937, fought in the Spanish Civil War and became the personal plane of Joachim Marseille who flew it in the Battle of Britain. Each time it was shot down it was restored. “The Germans rebuilt their planes,” explained Russell. Marseille was killed in the African Campaign in a flying accident when he was forced to abandon his fighter due to engine failure. After exiting the smoke-filled cockpit, Marseille’s chest struck the vertical stabilizer of his aircraft, either killing him instantly, or incapacitating him so that he was unable to open his parachute.
The plane completed WW2 on the Russian front.
From 2003 to 2009 Ed and his wife Fran hosted The Russell Aviation Group Air Show near Niagara Falls featuring his aeroplanes, bi-planes and tri-planes.
Presently Ed Russell is selling off his collection. “I’ve done everything I wanted to do,” he told me. The Spitfire Mark 1X which he bought for $1.5 million sold for $3.1 million and is back in England. “I made money on all of my planes.”
The Hurricane has gone to Australia and he still has the Harvard Trainer and Messerschmitt. He is awaiting better offers. “It’s different being a seller than being a buyer.” The photo of Ed and Fran was taken next to his Spitfire replica with an authentic barracks in the background.
SILVER DART
Readers no doubt recognize that J.A.D. McCurdy flew the Silver Dart at Baddeck, Nova Scotia on February 23, 1909. A group of Welland, Ontario volunteers were determined to build a flying replica of the Silver Dart to celebrate the 100th anniversary of that event. When they required extra hangar space to complete their challenge they turned to Ed Russell who rolled out the red carpet. Ultimately a Canadian astronaut flew the replica. “Yes, it flew here,” answered Russell. Presently, that Silver Dart is on display in Nova Scotia at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.
NEXT?
“I want to take Fran to Turkey, Israel and Egypt, sites of my archeological digs,” said Russell. “That’s where I experienced an epiphany when I took off my shoes and I just knew that Christ, Paul and John had walked there too.”
“At night we had to sweep the area because the Arabs would sneak in during the night and plant land mines. By sweeping we could see if the ground had been disturbed.”
And Ed wants to get back to painting in oils. “When I was younger helping on a relative’s dairy farm near Goderich I was on a hay wagon when a Lancaster flew over. I never forgot that. I have it all sketched out. Now I just need to paint it.”
And then there is the new Lincoln and Welland Military Museum that he plans to help build at Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Perhaps Ed Russell hasn’t done everything he wants to do. Yet!