Editing Abrams P-1 Explorer (section)

== Restoration attempt ==
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In 1968, a group of aviation enthusiasts began a project to restore the Explorer, including Jim Linn, who worked at Abrams Aerial Survey, Ron Dietz, a student pilot and engineer at Oldsmobile Division of [[General Motors]], and Ellis Hammond, President of the Michigan Aerospace Educational Association. They worked with Don Lopez, the Assistant Director of the [[Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum]] to release the aircraft, and in January 1975 the Explorer was transported in a [[Michigan National Guard]] [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] to the [[Capital Region International Airport|Capital City Airport]] in [[Lansing, Michigan]].

The aircraft was moved to a state-owned hangar, where Dietz carried out careful photography before any disassembly was done, as well as detailed tracings of all the lettering so it could be recreated accurately at the end of the project.

The wings were sent to [[Montcalm Community College]], where they were stripped, cleaned, repainted and recovered with silver painted fabric. The instruments panels and controls were disassembled and restored by Dietz's colleagues at Oldsmobile.

The aircraft was physically moved to the [[Lansing Community College]] aviation program. However, the restoration attempt was never completed; in 1981, the [[Lansing Community College]] truck driving school returned the plane to the [[Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility]] of the Smithsonian, where it remains.