The USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio recently moved some of its iconic WW2 warbirds back into position after they were temporarily relocated to provide room for the Memphis Belle exhibit opening back in May. These included the P-51, P-47, P-38 and A-36.
In the process, opportunities were provided to get a better look at the aircraft, resulting in a new series videos that can be seen below.
Continue reading WW2 Aircraft on the Move at USAF Museum [Video]
Aerodynamic Media, LLC is proud to announce the release of the eighth issue of The Flying Machine: Early Aero Quarterly.
Issue #8 Contents:
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Yesterday, C-53 Skytrooper “Beach City Baby” performed a taxi test under its own power for the first time in 20 years.
As previously reported, the aircraft (S/N 41-20095) was constructed by Douglas and was on the factory floor when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred in December 1941. It was delivered to the USAAC in January 1942 and was soon flown to Africa to participate in Operation Torch. The machine also saw service transporting troops and VIPs during the war and completed its service with FEA, Cairo Division.
Following civilian service with Danish Airlines/SAS and a stint as “Buckeye One,” the official state aircraft for the governor of Ohio, the Skytrooper was retired and flown to the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio where it remained until 1990, when it was acquired by Ohio University of Athens and stripped of its engines. Eventually Ken Joseph stepped in and returned it to an airworthy state, obtaining a ferry permit and flying it to Beach City, Ohio in 1992. Continue reading C-53 “Beach City Baby” Performs First Taxi Test in 20 Years
After adding an extremely rare Nakajima B5N “Kate” to its collection of WW2 aircraft back in 2016, The Pacific Aviation Museum in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii has reported that the machine has been moved to its new home in Hangar 37 as part of a new exhibit.
As previously reported, the B5N was considered the most effective aircraft operating with the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was credited with causing the bulk of the damage sustained by battleships during the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The museum’s restoration shop, located in historic Hangar 79, had begun restoring the aircraft for static display, although a final livery has not yet been selected. The process is reportedly complete for now, and details about the new exhibit are said to be forthcoming.
Click below to check out a video of the recent move.
Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona has reported that their newly restored P-40E has been placed on display.
The aircraft, which arrived at the museum last September, is reportedly made up from parts of several wrecks recovered from New Guinea, although the museum is identifying it as S/N 41-25163 “Arizona” flown by Lt. Sidney Woods of the 9th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group.
The machine has reportedly been moved to its permanent home in the museum’s new Hangar 5 facility. Click below to check out photos of process.
Continue reading Pima Air & Space Museum’s Newly Restored P-40E Goes on Display
Yesterday, Pioneer Aero, Ltd. of Ardmore, New Zealand reported the first outing of their P-39 project into the sunshine “wings on, wheels down” since WW2.
The project (42-20341) is reportedly based largely on an ex-Soviet Air Force P-39Q which was recovered around 1995, although it is also said to feature parts obtained from P-39Q 42-20341. The machine is reportedly owned by Jerry Yagen / Military Aviation Museum and is being restored to airworthy condition as USAAC 220341.
Click below to check out images of the aircraft in its current state.
Continue reading Nearing Completion, P-39 Project Makes First Outing Into Sunshine Since WW2
The British Columbia Aviation Museum in North Saanich, Canada has announced the acquisition of Avro Lancaster FM104 from the city of Toronto.
The bomber was originally built by Victory Aircraft of Malton, Ontario in 1944 and installed along Toronto’s waterfront following its retirement from the RCAF in 1964. Now in need of extensive restoration, the machine has spent recent years in storage at Edenvale Aerodrome west of Barrie while its future became the focus of debate.
The Lancaster will be relocated to the museum, located near Victoria International Airport, over the next few months. Restoration will reportedly commence immediately with the goal of returning the machine to airworthy condition in partnership with the a team of vintage aircraft restorers at Victoria Air Maintenance.
BC Aviation Museum President John Lewis states: “I am pleased that many local aircraft manufacturing specialists and vintage aircraft enthusiasts have pledged their time and knowledge to volunteer on this project. Many people at the BC Aviation Museum and the Victoria aviation community have worked hard to make today’s announcement possible. We are now looking forward to the day when Lancaster FM104 goes on display at our museum.”
(via British Columbia Aviation Museum Photo: airforcefe via Wikimedia Commons)
The Mosquito Pathfinder Trust has announced “a commercial understanding with the Aircraft Restoration Company (ARC)” to “provide the suite of Engineering and Design Services” for a de Havilland Mosquito airframe that will be brought to airworthy condition before being transferred to the UK.
The machine in question has been under construction by Glyn Powell and is currently said to be 50% complete. The project is based on the remains of NZ2308, which was originally constructed at Bankstown near Sydney as an early model FB.40. It was initially allocated RAAF serial A52-20 before being converted to a T.43 dual control trainer and given the serial A52-1054. In 1947, the machine was acquired by the Royal New Zealand Air Force with less than 20 hrs of service time. Now identified as NZ2308, the Mosquito entered service with 75 Squadron at Ohakea and performed “numerous exercises and aerial demonstrations all over New Zealand.”
The aircraft was declared surplus in 1955 and sold to a private owner. Over the following years it languished outdoors until it was recovered by Powell, who spent the next 20 years working on the project, which included the scratch-built construction of an entirely new wooden airframe. Continue reading Mosquito Pathfinder Trust to Return Wooden Wonder to UK Skies by 2020
The USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio has begun restoration of its Avro 504K.
This particular example of the famous WW1 British trainer was originally constructed by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Aircraft Maintenance & Development Unit in 1966-67 using original parts, including a 110 hp Le Rhone rotary engine. It arrived at the USAF Museum in 2003 and has since been on display in its Early Years Gallery wearing the colors of an aerobatic trainer of AEF No. 3 Instruction Center, based at Issoudun, France in 1918.
The aircraft was recently disassembled for transport to the restoration facility, a process that has been captured in the newly released video below. A time frame for completion and color / marking details have not yet been announced. Continue reading USAF Museum Begins Restoration of Avro 504K [Video]
Leicestershire-based charity The People’s Mosquito (TPM) has announced an “achievable, structured five-year engineering plan” to return de Havilland Mosquito RL249 to UK skies.
The news reportedly comes after close consultation with the historic aircraft experts at Retrotec, Ltd. and includes the launch of a dedicated fundraising campaign which seeks to raise “£499,000 over the next 12 months to deliver the successful front-end engineering, tooling and design and fabrication of the Mosquito FB.VI fuselage mould in the UK.”
The funding will reportedly support “crucial UK CAA due diligence from the outset of the project” and enable Retrotec’s engineers to analyze TPM’s massive technical library and develop exact computer aided design (CAD) models for the airframe. Additionally, the funding will allow Retrotec’s workshops to be reconfigured to accommodate the build and enable the fabrication the Mosquito’s unique fuselage mold, which will see the return of a manufacturing capability “not seen on these shores for more than 75 years.” Continue reading New Engineering Plan Announced to Return DH Mosquito RL249 to UK Skies
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