Category: Museums / Organizations

Posted on by

Museum Completes Repaint of World’s Only “Big Tail” SR-71

Yesterday, the Air Force Armament Museum located at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida completed the process of repainting their SR-71 Blackbird.

As previously reported, the aircraft, SR-71A S/N 61-7959, was completed in 1965 and, in 1975, was modified with a nine-foot boom on its aft end carrying Electronic Countermeasures and an Optical Bar Camera. The result earned the machine the moniker “Big Tail” and it would remain the only example of the type to be fitted with the modification, as tests revealed that the equipment provided no marked advantage. The aircraft performed its last flight in 1976, being placed in outdoor storage before being moved to its current home in 1991.

The project utilized 22 gallons of primer, 22 gallons of paint and newly manufactured information decals. Click below to check out images of the completed machine, including a scrollable panorama.

Continue reading Museum Completes Repaint of World’s Only “Big Tail” SR-71

Posted on by

Recently Unearthed Spitfire Wreck To Be Displayed For First Time In Ireland

The remains of a Spitfire unearthed last year in County Monaghan, Ireland will reportedly be displayed for the first time as part of a new exhibition at the Monaghan Museum.

As previously reported, the aircraft (Mk Ia R6992) had served in the Battle of Britain before being reassigned to a weather-monitoring squadron at RAF Aldergrove in Antrim. On November 20, 1942 it suffered an in-flight engine failure, prompting pilot Gordon Hayter Proctor to bail out before it crashed in a meadow in Figullar, Emyvale. Although much of the wreckage was removed by the Irish Army shortly thereafter, 21st century ground surveys revealed that additional artifacts were still present about four meters underground, prompting the 2017 excavation that unearthed components such as the aircraft’s Rolls Royce engine and cockpit door.

R6992 is the only Spitfire ever found in Ireland that had been involved in the Battle of Britain, and the new exhibition will be built around its remains. Titled “The Monaghan Spitfire: Life on the Border with a World at War,” The exhibition is described as exploring “the deadly experience of a county, which existed on the border between two worlds, one tearing itself apart and another, trying desperately to stay out of a global conflict which had almost engulfed it.”

The exhibition is set to open on June 28th and will reportedly run for one year.

(via Monaghan County Museum and thejournal.ie)

Posted on by

On-Board Footage Captures Original SPAD XIII’s Flyby With Rafale Fighter [Video]

During the 2018 La Ferté-Alais airshow in France, spectators were treated to a flyby from Memorial Flight Association’s original SPAD XIII and a French Dassault Rafale – an event that encapsulated a century of aeronautical development.

This particular SPAD XIII is the oldest known example of the type in existence, as well as the only original example flying in the world. The aircraft was built in February 1918 by Société Kellner Frères Constructeurs as #4377 and was recovered from an attic in the 1970s by Jean Salis. Restoration began in the 1980s and was completed following its donation to the Memorial Flight Association in 1990. It returned to the air in 1991 and now wears the colors of the machine flown by Henri Trémeau of SPA 83.

The remarkable flight was captured from the ground as well as the air, and can be seen in the video below.

Continue reading On-Board Footage Captures Original SPAD XIII’s Flyby With Rafale Fighter [Video]

Posted on by

Kermit Weeks Plans to Bring Four WW1 Aircraft to AirVenture 2018 [Video]

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks has announced plans to bring four of his WW1 aircraft reproductions to the 2018 AirVenture fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The machines include his TVAL-built Sopwith Snipe and Albatros D.Va, a newly restored Sopwith Pup which is currently undergoing repairs following an “unfortunate incident” during its maiden flight, and his new Fokker D.VII, which was recently completed by noted WW1 aircraft builder Fred Murrin.

It appears that the Snipe is the only machine that could take flight at the event, as the remaining aircraft have not yet amassed the required 10 hrs of flight time, or are currently involved in ongoing maintenance. Click below to check out the update.

Continue reading Kermit Weeks Plans to Bring Four WW1 Aircraft to AirVenture 2018 [Video]

Posted on by

Spitfire RW388 Undergoes Trial Wing Fitting As Restoration Progresses [Video]

Spitfire LF Mk. XVIe RW388 has undergone a trial wing fitting at Medway Aircraft Preservation Society as work progresses to restore the iconic aircraft to its former glory.

As previously reported, the machine was built by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. in 1945 and was used for training and towing targets for Navy ships during WW2. Following the war it was used as a gate guard at RAF Benson and RAF Andover before being officially presented to the city of Stoke-on-Trent by the Royal Air Force in 1972. It was installed at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, Staffordshire in 1985 and has taken a place of honor in their Spitfire gallery, which is dedicated to the type’s locally-born designer, Reginald Mitchell.

In addition to the successful wing fitting, work on RW388’s Merlin engine is also said to be nearing completion. In 2019, the restored Spitfire is slated to return to the museum for display in a new, £6 million glass-fronted extension that will also include a new cafe and city square.

Click below to check out photos and videos of the recent work.

Continue reading Spitfire RW388 Undergoes Trial Wing Fitting As Restoration Progresses [Video]

Posted on by

CAC Wirraway’s Path Toward Flight Continues With Engine, Taxi Test [Video]

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks has shared a new video showing the latest engine, taxi test of his recently acquired CAC Wirraway, which will eventually be the only example of the type flying outside Australia.

The type was an Australian development of the North American NA-16 and the predecessor of the CAC Boomerang. This particular aircraft (A20-704) was delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1945 and was slated to be converted to a target tug, although this never happened. It was instead placed in storage at RAAF Tocumwal and later assigned to 24 Squadron before being struck off charge in 1959. In subsequent years it passed through the hands of a number of owners, including Murray Griffiths, who restored the machine and returned it to the air in 1997. It arrived at Fantasy of Flight in 2014 in what Weeks described as “part of a trade for a Sea Fury I sent down in trade for work that he was doing for me several years ago.”

Since its arrival, the Fantasy of Flight team has been working to return the Wirraway to the air, most recently focusing on the engine and brakes. Click below to check out the latest update.

Continue reading CAC Wirraway’s Path Toward Flight Continues With Engine, Taxi Test [Video]

Posted on by

MAPS Air Museum Corsair Project On Its Way

MAPS Air Museum’s effort to build a F4U/FG-1 Corsair is reportedly on its way.

The North Canton, Ohio-based museum states that it currently has the cockpit of an Akron-built Corsair as well as an engine, a propeller and an engine mount supplied by Minerva Welding and Fabricating. The rest will reportedly have to be found or built.

The museum has been in search of non-airworthy parts (especially landing gear) to construct the machine, which will serve to highlight the 4,000+ examples of the type built in the state by Goodyear during WW2.

Click below to check out the full announcement.

Continue reading MAPS Air Museum Corsair Project On Its Way

Posted on by

New Video Documents CA-18 Mustang’s Return to Flight With Onboard Footage

Following a brief teaser video released last month, Complete Aircraft Care has offered a new, more in-depth look at the final preparations and test flights of Mustang Flight Australia’s newly restored CA-18 Mk. 21 Mustang “Snifter.”

The Australian-built example of the P-51D (A68-110), was delivered to the RAAF in 1948 and saw little service prior to being decommissioned in 1957. After being sold, it sat for nearly four decades before becoming the focus of a seven-year restoration by Sandora Aviation in North Brisbane, during which it was converted to a two-seat configuration. In 2002 it returned to the air and is now the the centerpiece of the Caboolture Warplane Museum, providing regular flight experiences with the nonprofit Mustang Flights Australia while also supporting local war service commemorations. Continue reading New Video Documents CA-18 Mustang’s Return to Flight With Onboard Footage

Posted on by

First F-100C Super Sabre, Once Flown By Neil Armstrong, To Be Renovated

Castle Air Museum in Atwater, California has reported that their F-100 Super Sabre has been relocated to their restoration hangar for renovation.

This particular aircraft (S/N 53-1709) was the first F-100C built and was reportedly flown at one point by famous Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong. It served with NASA at Moffett Field and Dryden as well as the Langley Research Center, being modified for variable stability and also seeing use testing direct-lift control for air-to-air-refueling. Following retirement in 1972, the F-100 was transferred to San Jose State College Aero School for instructional use before eventually arriving at Castle for display in 2004.

Additional details on the renovation have not yet been reported. Click below to check out photos of the recent move.

Continue reading First F-100C Super Sabre, Once Flown By Neil Armstrong, To Be Renovated

Posted on by

Sopwith Triplane Performs First Flight At Military Aviation Museum [Video]

The Military Aviation Museum’s full-scale Sopwith Triplane has performed its first flight since arriving at the Virginia Beach attraction last July.

As previously reported, The Lycoming-powered machine (N543A) was built by Chad Wille in the early 1990s and was recognized as an “Outstanding Aircraft” at SUN ‘n FUN 1993. It became part of the Guntersville, Alabama-based Replica Fighter Museum owned by the late Frank Ryder before moving on to the Homer B. Wilson Vintage Museum at the Guntersville Municipal Airport.

Click below to check out a video of the recent flight.

Continue reading Sopwith Triplane Performs First Flight At Military Aviation Museum [Video]