German WWII bomber successfully raised from the bottom of the English Channel

[GiGaBiTe]

[QUOTE=TestECull;41003101]And not a single bit of that has anything to do with his concerns. His concerns were entirely "But they plucked it out of the channel, it'll never be safe to fly." Which is bollocks, because it wouldn't be allowed to fly if it wasn't sound.[/QUOTE]

Incorrect.

Old warbirds are classified as experimental aircraft. There is no civilian class of "fighter aircraft", and they can't be classified as anything else other than experimental. Experimental aircraft aren't subject to the same mechanical scrutiny that let's say a Boeing 737 is because it's not carrying passengers.

[QUOTE=TestECull;41003101]Your concerns about the engines are true, but it must be said that modern engine building techniques has made them far more reliable than they were.[/QUOTE]

Nobody makes those engines anymore, or parts for them for that matter. They're all original equipment from 60-70 years ago. Many of those engines are reaching the end of their lifespan because you can only overhaul an engine so many times (those engines had MTBOs where the entire engine had to be torn down after so many running hours) before the parts are outside of a tolerance range and make the engine unsafe/unable to operate.

And just because engine design has advanced leaps and bounds since WWII, doesn't mean anything. There have been limited runs of some Russian radials by the Chinese (which were license copies of Wright Cyclones), but they're made with the exact same tools and processes from 60-70 years ago. In order to modernize any of those designs, it'd take tens of millions of dollars and there's no market for it.

[QUOTE=TestECull;41003101]They're not ticking time bombs. While true that they do once in a while burn up like that, it wasn't common enough for me to have any reservation flying on a plane powered by them. They're no more likely to go poof than a modern turbojet.[/QUOTE]

You underestimate the mechanical complexity of those old piston engines and their purpose. They're far more likely to misbehave than a modern turbojet would, and they do all the time. Do you ever go to airshows or watch videos of them? There's no end to the amount of engine trouble they have.