Category: Museums / Organizations

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Nuclear Museum Launches Effort to Restore B-47 Stratojet [Video]

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque is planning to restore New Mexico’s only Boeing B-47E Stratojet, which is currently part of their nine-acre outdoor exhibit area.

The machine (S/N 53-2280) was constructed by Boeing in 1955 and went on to serve mainly as a test bed for “fly-by-wire” technology. Following removal from the USAF inventory in 1969, it was transferred from the USAF Heritage Museum program, and in 2013 arrived at its current home at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History.

One of only 23 examples of the type remaining, the museum’s B-47 has become part of “Operation Preservation,” a multi-year campaign to refurbish the collection’s iconic aircraft residing on outdoor display. The effort will reportedly begin this month under the supervision of Brigadier General (Ret.) Jay Bledsoe, Restoration Project Manager, and include bodywork and a new coat of primer and paint. Continue reading Nuclear Museum Launches Effort to Restore B-47 Stratojet [Video]

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B-52 “Midnight Express” Begins Journey to Seattle, Reassembly for New Memorial to Follow [Video]

Last week The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington received the first truckload of parts for their B-52G Stratofortress “Midnight Express” following an exterior restoration.

As previously reported, the bomber (S/N 59-2584) has been parked outdoors at the museum’s Paine Field facility in Everett for the past 26 years. A $2.2 million effort was launched to restore the machine for use as the centerpiece of a new Vietnam Air War Memorial Park, which will pay tribute to the aircraft of the Vietnam War and honor the service members who flew and supported them.

Now repainted, the aircraft has been partially disassembled and is now in the process of being moved to the memorial park site on west side of the Museum’s Aviation Pavilion. The museum reports that the “small parts” will be stored until final assembly takes place later this spring.

Click below to check out a video of the first parts following their arrival.

Continue reading B-52 “Midnight Express” Begins Journey to Seattle, Reassembly for New Memorial to Follow [Video]

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Corsair Restoration Nearing Completion in France [Video]

The restoration of F4U-5N Corsair F-AZEG is reportedly nearing completion in France.

The aircraft (B/N 124724) was originally constructed in 1951 and delivered to the US Navy in September of that year. In 1952, the machine was assigned to VC-3 and went on to operate from USS Valley Forge and USS Boxer before returning to the US in 1953.

In 1956 the Corsair was delivered to Honduras and saw action in the “Soccer War” with El Salvador, operating with Fuerza Area Hondurena as FAH 600. After retirement from active service, the aircraft passed through the hands of a number of owners before being acquired by Jean Salis’ Les Casques de Cuir collection based in La Ferté-Alais, France in 1986.

Restoration began in 2008, and the aircraft is expected to return to the air sometime this year.

Click below to check out video of an engine test performed over the weekend.

Continue reading Corsair Restoration Nearing Completion in France [Video]

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Fagen Fighters WW2 Museum Acquires F6F-5 Hellcat, Return to Flight Planned

Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota has reported the acquisition of F6F-5 Hellcat B/N 78645.

The aircraft was built by Grumman and delivered in March 1945, serving with VF-14 aboard USS Casablanca (2 tours), VF-80 at NAS Pensacola, FL and spending time at NART Squantum in Quincy, Massachusetts prior to retirement in August 1949. Following WW2 the aircraft was painted orange and used as a radio controlled drone, but it was eventually restored to its original condition and displayed at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.

Fagen Fighters reports that the Hellcat will undergo an extensive IRAN (Inspect Repair and Replace as Necessary) and will hopefully be flying by summer 2019.

(via Fagen Fighters WWII Museum Additional Information via Yanks Air Museum Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

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New Videos Detail Recent Progress on Kermit Weeks’ A-26 Project

Fantasy of Flight (FoF) owner Kermit Weeks has released a new two-part series detailing the ongoing work on his Douglas A-26.

The aircraft (S/N 41-39401) reportedly saw wartime service with the 9th Air Force and served with the Van Nuys Air National Guard before beginning civilian use as N3457G / “Whistler’s Mother.” Later acquired by Weeks, the A-26 was damaged during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and trucked to Chino, California in 1997, where it is now being restored by Carl Scholl and Tony Ritzman of Aero Trader.

The new videos, seen below, were filmed in January, three months after his last Kermie Cam series on the machine. Since then, the team has (among other things) returned the landing gear, wing flaps and flight controls to fully functioning condition and reworked wiring in the cockpit.

The machine will apparently be painted in olive drab and, like FoF’s B-25 and B-17, will feature nose art depicting Weeks’ wife, Teresa.

Continue reading New Videos Detail Recent Progress on Kermit Weeks’ A-26 Project

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World’s Oldest Original Flying Jet Heads to New Home in US, Oshkosh Demonstration Planned

The oldest original airworthy jet in the world has performed its final flight in the UK before moving on to a new owner in the US.

Glostor Meteor T7 “Queenie” (WA591/G-BWMF) was delivered to the RAF in 1949 and served as a training machine at a number of bases before becoming a gate guard at RAF Woodvale. In 1995 Meteor Flight began restoring the aircraft and it returned to the air at Kemble in 2011. In recent years it operated with Classic Air Force at Coventry, which closed down in 2016 following the retirement of its founder.

Last year, the Meteor was acquired by Detroit, Michigan-based World Heritage Air Museum (WHAM) and last week the machine performed its final flight in the UK, traveling from Coventry to Liverpool for shipment overseas.

WHAM states that they are on target to demonstrate the Meteor at Oshkosh this year. Additional details on this exciting development will reportedly be forthcoming.

Click below to check out a video of Queenie’s final UK flight.

Continue reading World’s Oldest Original Flying Jet Heads to New Home in US, Oshkosh Demonstration Planned

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CAF SoCal Wing to Restore P-47N “Meat Chopper” to Airworthy Condition

The Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF SoCal) has reported that they have been selected to restore P-47N Thunderbolt N47TB.

The Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59B-powered aircraft (S/N 45-53436) was originally built by Republic Aviation in Evansville, Indiana and served with the Guatemalan Air Force in the 1950s before becoming part of the CAF collection in 1962.

In 2002, the aircraft, wearing the colors of “Meat Chopper” of the 464th FS/507th FG, suffered an engine fire which resulted in an emergency landing. Thankfully, the pilot walked away, but the aircraft itself sustained significant damage, including a collapsed undercarriage and broken wing.

To date, “tremendous” repair work has been carried out on the machine, but much remains before it is able to return to the air. It is currently in Dallas but will soon be transferred to the SoCal Wing’s facility at Camarillo Airport. As of this writing, a time frame for completion has not been reported.

Those wishing to contribute toward the project can do so here.

(via CAF SoCal Thanks, Pascal!)

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WW1 Aircraft to Commemorate Centennial at AirVenture 2018

This year’s EAA AirVenture fly-in will reportedly commemorate the final year of WW1 with period aircraft, flying displays and activities.

Related activities will reportedly take place throughout the week, with a special emphasis on Friday, July 27. Among the aircraft slated to appear at the event is a rare 1915 Bleriot reproduction in Royal Flying Corps colors, aircraft from the Kermit Weeks/Fantasy of Flight collection and a original Dayton-Wright DH.4 currently under restoration by the nonprofit “Friends of Jenny” along with Tennessee high school students.

The WWI programming will be primarily based in the vintage aircraft parking area on the AirVenture flightline. Along with the aircraft on display from the 1915-1918 era, there will be WWI re-enactors and static engine runs. In addition, WWI-era aircraft, aircraft owners, and historians will participate in forums and Vintage in Review session throughout the week. A number of the aircraft will also be displayed at various times on AirVenture’s showcase Boeing Plaza.

AirVenture 2018 is scheduled to take place from July 23-29 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Additional details will reportedly be announced as they are finalized.

(via EAA Top Photo: Kermit Weeks Hangar)

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Collings Foundation’s Newly Acquired P-38 to Make Airshow Debut

The Collings Foundation has reported that their newly acquired P-38 Lightning will make its first airshow appearance at the Los Angeles County Airshow at Gen. William Fox Field in Lancaster, California on March 24-25.

As previously reported, The aircraft (S/N 44-53186) was intended for use in photo reconnaissance but was stored in Arizona following the end of WW2. After being declared surplus, it was acquired by a succession of companies, including Kargl Aerial Surveys, Aero Exploration Co and Mark Hurd Aerial Mapping, before being parked in 1963. Over the following years the P-38 passed through the hands of several additional owners before being acquired by Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, which restored the machine to pristine condition and placed it on display in 1997.

In 2014 the aircraft was offered for sale and was soon acquired by the Stow, Massachusetts-based Foundation. It has since undergone maintenance, flight evaluation, and preparation at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino.

The machine will reportedly be on static and flying display during the event and will be the only Collings Foundation aircraft in attendance.

(via Collings Foundation Photo: Articseahorse via Wikimedia Commons)

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Owls Head’s New Sopwith Pup Performs Engine Test [Video]

The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine has performed the first engine test on their newly acquired Sopwith Pup reproduction.

The aircraft was assembled by Brian Coughlin and features a steel tube fuselage constructed by Dana Narkunas and restored wing panels originally built by noted WW1 aircraft builder Carl Swanson. Powered by an original Le Rhone rotary engine, the machine made its debut at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome last year.

The recent acquisition was made in a frame-for-frame trade for the museum’s previous Sopwith Pup, a reproduction built by Dick King in the 1960s which was a regular performer at Old Rhinebeck throughout the 1970s. Coughlin is now in the process of restoring this machine (see The Flying Machine #6 for additional details).

Owls Head retained the Le Rhone engine from the King Pup and installed it in this new example. It is expected to return to the air this year.

Click below to check out a video of the test.

Continue reading Owls Head’s New Sopwith Pup Performs Engine Test [Video]