Great aviation museum

One thing I did notice was the B-25, which was bare metal. There were some
polishing marks under the wing, where it looked like there was some overly
aggressive paint removal. Also, not unexpectedly, there was a fair amount of
filliform corrosion on the undersurface as well.

They also had a windshield wiper on the bombardier's window in the nose, but
not on the B-17- first time I noticed this up close.

Overall, a memorable day.


"gatt" wrote in message
...

"Viperdoc" wrote in message
news
I saw a bunch of planes outside as well, apparently awaiting renovation.
Looked like a Beech starship and an F-15, along with some others.

The F-15 was the first to end up in civilian hands and he got his because
his son was a '15 pilot (the museum is named after him.) The son retired
from the USAF iirc, became a police officer and was killed in a motorcycle
accident.

Driving out we saw some WWII armor, as well as what looked to be a T-76.

Yep. I'm pretty sure it runs. I've never seen the IMAX, and you
described the Goose engine in a previous post. I'm pretty sure that's a
new display too. Very cool! Took my father-in-law there for father's day
a couple of years ago and he got a little misty-eyed (I imagine that
happens a lot there) because the UH-1 out front was the first bird to
which he was assigned.

Other trivia is that the C-47 with the Normany stripes used to be at the
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry...as a UAL DC-3 that you could walk
around in. At some point there was talk of trying to restore it to flying
condition, but then I think they discovered that it had actually
participated in D-Day, and that made it worth too much to risk flying so
they returned it to its original livery and configuration. That place
really is amazing for being out in the middle of nowhere.

What a great treasure in the middle of nowhere.

I did my IFR training around there and one time while I was under the hood
outbound for the procedure turn my instructor says "Wow! That's a big
airplane." I couldn't look. Then she goes "WOW! LOOK!" It was
Nine-O-Nine, coming in over the river beneath us on the ILS. It looked
magnificent in its OD paint and red tail against the farmland below. I
never imagined I'd look down at a B-17 in flight and I only hope that my
grandfather was able to look down from much higher and share in my
excitement.

Pretty much shot my concentration for the day. There was no way I could
go back under the hood, because the B-24 was still out there somewhere.

-c

Recently, Morgans posted:

The Spruce Goose is totally interesting to me, for the massive scale,
and for the groundbreaking use of new technology. Add to that that I
am a woodworker, and that fills out the trifecta.

Anyone got a link that has a bunch of good articles (or whatever you
want to call the reporting) on the Spruce Goose, and good pictures to
go with it? I goggled for a long while, and never came up with a
good web site. I am primarily interested on how it was made, and how
it works.

ISTR a History Channel documentary on Howard Hughes that spent a good
amount of time covering the Spruce Goose.

Neil

"gatt" wrote in message
...

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

The Spruce Goose is totally interesting to me, for the massive scale, and
for the groundbreaking use of new technology. Add to that that I am a
woodworker, and that fills out the trifecta.

Trivia: I overheard an Evergreen volunteer say that the reason you can't
access the cockpit is because it's not handicap-accessible and they don't
want to either get sued or modify the airplane to put in an elevator.
Got to run around (you don't crawl in the Goose) inside before it was put
back together. They asked for volunteers to peel off the white fire-proof
coating since they couldn't pressure wash it or steam it off without
damaging the wood.

Seemed like a great idea. I peeled a little for a minute and only then
did I really start to understand how big the airplane is. It would have
been worth it, but if I'd have started in 1997 by myself in my spare time
I'd still be doing it.

Right now, it has an SR-71 sitting under the right wing. The blackbird
looks tiny.

-c

My wife and I visited a couple of weeks ago. Terrific Museum. The SR71
IS small. I'd never seen one up close. The RAM was held on with sheet metal
screws and washers. They have their own vineyard, and produce a very good
wine.

Al G

Margy Natalie wrote:
Putting in all the stuff to make it accessible is EXPENSIVE and most
museums don't have much $$ (if any).

they could easily save the money by removing and stop maintaining all
these female bathrooms; do you actually imagine how EXPENSIVE it is
to accommodate women in public places like museums (with limited funds
and all)? I mean, I'd understand if it were a museum about cooking
or child rearing and the likes, it's not as if they'd be interested
in stuff like aviation or other technical stuff like that.

(do I actually need to specify that the above is sarcasm? do you
actually get the point?)

--Sylvain

Sylvain wrote:
Margy Natalie wrote:
Putting in all the stuff to make it accessible is EXPENSIVE and most
museums don't have much $$ (if any).

they could easily save the money by removing and stop maintaining all
these female bathrooms; do you actually imagine how EXPENSIVE it is
to accommodate women in public places like museums (with limited funds
and all)? I mean, I'd understand if it were a museum about cooking
or child rearing and the likes, it's not as if they'd be interested
in stuff like aviation or other technical stuff like that.

(do I actually need to specify that the above is sarcasm? do you
actually get the point?)

--Sylvain
And what exactly is your point? The OP was asking about access to the
cockpits of some of the A/C and Margie said there is no money to make
them accessible so they are closed to all.

"John Theune" wrote

And what exactly is your point? The OP was asking about access to the
cockpits of some of the A/C and Margie said there is no money to make them
accessible so they are closed to all.

Yet another example of the government's rules, with no flexibility allowed.
Instead of getting access for the handicapped, it has resulted in getting NO
access for anyone.

There should be a grant process (for all I know, there is one) so that
historic (and perhaps other uses) items like the Spruce Goose could get some
monetary help in installing the equipment needed, so that all could enjoy
and learn about our history.
--
Jim in NC

On Wed, 6 Jun 2007 17:23:25 -0400, "Morgans" wrote:

Yet another example of the government's rules, with no flexibility allowed.
Instead of getting access for the handicapped, it has resulted in getting NO
access for anyone.

There should be a grant process (for all I know, there is one) so that
historic (and perhaps other uses) items like the Spruce Goose could get some
monetary help in installing the equipment needed, so that all could enjoy
and learn about our history.

Unfortunately, it's probably not just a money issue. If access to the flight
deck is currently by hatchways and narrow stairs, then the museum will have to
cut the hatchways larger and install ramps or an elevator.

Not the thing you want to do to an historic aircraft....

Ron Wanttaja

There should be a grant process (for all I know, there is one) so that
historic (and perhaps other uses) items like the Spruce Goose could get some
monetary help in installing the equipment needed, so that all could enjoy
and learn about our history.

IMHO there should be a regulatory process whereby stupid laws that
result in unintended results (like banning access for EVERYONE, in
this particular case) shall be repealed, or at least waived in special
circumstances.

There are certainly plenty of places in the national park system that
are not handicapped accessible -- yet they are still open to the
public. How do *they* get around the ADA?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Right now, it has an SR-71 sitting under the right wing. The blackbird
looks tiny.

My wife and I visited a couple of weeks ago. Terrific Museum. The SR71
IS small. I'd never seen one up close.

Um, the SR-71 is bigger than a World War II bomber, and almost as big
as a modern airliner.

"Small" it is not.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

IMHO there should be a regulatory process whereby stupid laws that
result in unintended results (like banning access for EVERYONE, in
this particular case)...

That may not be an unintended result.

Jose
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