Look! Up there! In the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!

[whollygoats]

The two craft I flew in at Duxford. A Dragon Rapide and a Tiger Moth. I was a passenger in the Dragon and a 'student' in the Tiger Moth.

 

[whollygoats]

The Ilyushin IL-18 at the Budapest Aeropark.

(Interesting sidenote: The cars there are part of the gathering of 'American car owners'....Lots of muskrats and snakes and other muscle cars, mostly, and some some really tricked-out police vehicles in full Southern county regalia....but the American there [me] was gawking at the two Ladas in primo shape, probably because they were official airport vehicles.)

Yours truly at the controls of the IL-18.

 

[whollygoats]

the MiG in best shape at the Krakow Polish Aviation Museum:

 

[Worldtraveller]

Open cockpit flying is amazingly fun, isn't it?

It's gotta be hard to maintain aircraft outside in that environment (Krakow). My favorite air museum (Pima) has most of its aircraft outside, but that's in the desert. They repaint them every few years, but other than that, they don't degrade a lot.

If you haven't, you should at least get a ride in a helicopter. It is a really different experience.

I loved the time I got to spend in this:

http://www.helistart.com/pictures/Sikorsky-S64.jpg

 

[whollygoats]

Yes...The Tiger Moth ride was a hoot.

I have done the helicopter routine. I booked a heli tour on Maui. I got stuck in the worst seat in the craft, back center.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Yes...The Tiger Moth ride was a hoot.

I have done the helicopter routine. I booked a heli tour on Maui. I got stuck in the worst seat in the craft, back center.

That's too bad. I was riding in the 'crane' operators seat, facing backwards, with a bubble canopy all around.

 

[whollygoats]

Re: The craft being stored outdoors in Krakow.

Initially, I thought about it and deemed your observation worthy. Then....I thought about it.
They are mostly Russian craft; they are designed and manufactured for that kind of crappy condition.

 

[whollygoats]

One of the three days I spent at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, they dragged this baby out on to the tarmac and started tinkering with the Merlins.

Then they started them up. One at a time. They didn't fly it; they shut down in the same order they powered up and all shut down, leaving a pall of exhaust smoke over the parade grounds and deafened the closer spectators.

The tarmac vendors were not happy.

 

[whollygoats]

Duxford static pix:

 

[Worldtraveller]

One of the three days I spent at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, they dragged this baby out on to the tarmac and started tinkering with the Merlins.

Then they started them up. One at a time. They didn't fly it; they shut down in the same order they powered up and all shut down, leaving a pall of exhaust smoke over the parade grounds and deafened the closer spectators.

The tarmac vendors were not happy.

Nice. If the simulator is any indication, I have a lot of respect for the pilots and crews of those planes. Fully loaded, even with a long runway, they are not easy to get off the ground!

Nice pics. There are some pretty rare birds there.

 

[whollygoats]

And, from the 2017 Cosford Air Show....

 

[Worldtraveller]

Love those old de Havillands. And that Comet....those are rather famous aircraft in structural engineering circles (infamous may be more accurate). Cool to see one in that good of shape.

 

[Tharmas]

A true Ghost Squadron: these birds are not "up there in the sky"

The Setup:

Over thirty years ago in the mid eighties I was driving around west Fort Worth to see what I could see at Carswell Air Force Base. I had borrowed my dad's SLR. While circling around the base I found a field where I could get a view of the main runway. The picture is not very interesting except it shows the condition of the field I was standing in.

It turned out that a part of this field, in the crook of the L formed by the old Consolidated aircraft plant (later General Dynamics) as it intersected with the Carswell main runway, was fenced off. When I investigated, it turned out to contain a collection of post war aircraft. For a suggested donation of a dollar or two you could walk around among them, climb around, and shoot photos. There was a trailer where they sold some videos and books. In my visit, and subsequent visits, I never saw more than two or three other people, including the old guy in the trailer.

Some of these aircraft, like the C97 and the B70, were in fairly good shape. Others were slowly fading into the mud, and still others were already wrecks:

I intend to post more images in the next few days.

 

[Tharmas]

C97

Or more accurately, KC97:

Showing the outboard jet engine. Note the activity from the base under the wing tip.

 

[Tharmas]

AT6, not in great shape

F86D Sabre

F89 Scorpion

F100 Super Sabre

F105 Thunderchief (aka Thud)

 

[Tharmas]

{snip}

Some of these aircraft, like the C97 and the B70, were in fairly good shape. Others were slowly fading into the mud, and still others were already wrecks

I intend to post more images in the next few days.

D'oh! Obviously I didn't mean "B70." I meant B58.

 

[Tharmas]

B52

So here was this grand old lady sitting in the junk yard while across the runway a squadron of her contemporaries was on active duty. I read on wiki that the Air Force now plans to keep these operational in various capacities until 2040. That's an 85 year service life.

I hadn't realized how low to the ground they sat until I stood next to one. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled under the fuselage into the bomb bay, where I was surprised to see that the electrical wiring looked like something from a 1940s house - cloth insulated copper wires, the kind we spent several thousand dollars replacing in our house (c1941) last year.

The tail gunner? position.

Next up, the B-58 Hustler.

 

[Tharmas]

B-58 Hustler

This ship was in a bit better shape than some of the others.

I believe there was a happy ending - it was transported to an actual museum facility and fully restored for static display - indoors.

I can't verify that though.

As you can see, there was a platform that allowed you to look into the cockpit(s).

 

[Tharmas]

B-36 Peacemaker

I’ve been in love with the B-36 ever since as a young child I was taken to see the movie Strategic Air Command (1955 – Jimmy Stewart, June Alyson). It seems like about a quarter of the movie takes place around and inside a B-36.

[youtube]-YKMdGz1ihc[/youtube]

This one was in pretty sad disrepair. At least one engine was missing.

Here's the missing engine, a P&W R4360 Wasp Major, 28 cylinders, 3500 horsepower, partially disassembled, on display. I remember it had a blown cylinder head (big hole in it). There was a separate bucket collecting money for the engine's rebuilding. I threw in a dollar, but it didn't look too promising.

This B-36 actually had a bittersweet story. It was the last one off the line at the Consolidated/Convair plant at the end of the runway, and christened "The City of Fort Worth." After its Air Force service it was retired on display at the ill-fated and short-lived Amon Carter Field in Fort Worth. After the airport folded I guess it found its way to where I saw it.

Later several citizens tried to raise money to restore it, and approached the Ft. Worth city council. The good citizens of that city rejected a bond proposal to move it to a facility where it could be restored and displayed. However eventually the Air Force stepped in and moved the ship to Tucson, where it was fully restored and put on display at the Pima Air and Space Museum. I have not yet been there to see it. I don't know if it's still named "The City of Fort Worth."

So, that's all I've got. If I find any more old pictures I'll be sure to post them.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Nice set of pics. Cool to see those F-4s taking off in the background as well.

The Pima Air Museum has a very nice B-36 in their collection. I believe it is slotted for a full restoration again sometimes next year (2019). Even though a large part of their collection is outdoors, the desert environment isn't too harsh on the airframes, and they do regular restorations on all of their aircraft. They just received the very first 777 that rolled of the production line when Malaysian airlines retired it.