Some old Photos from Air Heritage

[mustangdriver]

I was just going through one of my photo albums and thought that maybe some of you guys would like to see these. This is where I first learned about warbirds. I started volunteering at the Air Heritage Museum in Beaver Falls, Pa when I was 12. Some old pics I thought you might like.


















I also took my flight training on the same field.


I hope this doesn't bore you guys, just thought that some of these older pics might be fun to see.

[TAdan]

Great stuff Chris. I love that first shot, the P-39 and P-40 look like they just came out of the jungle.

[mustangdriver]

Well, those were David Tallichet recoveries, so that is possible. I know the P-39's still had sand in them from the Pacific. I can't remember the history of the P-40. My friend was on the P-40 crew. We all joined crews and would work on "our" airplanes. Then if the museum had one big thing going on that needed all the volunteers we would do that. Like getting the P-47 up on it's gear and items like that. I was really lucky to have such great folks around me at an early age. They taught me a ton. I was on the B-26 Marauder crew until it left then worked on the L-21 and the A-20. Then we would all help with other projects like the B-25, B-17's, and others.

[gary1954]

Chris what year was the photo of 909 taken....if you don't as yet have symptoms of C.R.S.

[mustangdriver]

The pics with no engines was around 1990. The aircraft flew out of Beaver in I think 1991.

[Rauhbatz]

Is that P-47 the same a/c that was displayed at the Eiffel Tower at war's end? The 56th painted a P-47M in a spurious Zemke Wolfpack scheme for display and then the a/c was supposed to be scrapped...

[mustangdriver]

I had heard some people claim it was the same one, but I always seemed to think it was just painted that way. It sat infront of a restaurant for a while then it went to the Genesseo Warplane Museum. Then over to Air Heritage. The aircraft flies today as we painted it, as Hairless Joe.

[flypa38]

Wow! Neat to see! Did you train at Moore's?
Regarding the P-39. I think there were two there. I heard that one of the volunteers there flew one of those P-39's during his service. I don't know who or if it was true.
I've always wondered, did Air Heritage have anything to do with the trade for fiberglass repros of the P-47 and P-51 at the Pittsburgh Air Guard base?
I loved every minute I spent volunteering there at Air Heritage, although I didn't have much time there at all.......

[6trn4brn]

Hey Chris...an attempt at irony with the picture of the B-25 "Hoosier Honey"??? I mean with you being a Hoosier now and all

[mustangdriver]

That's true, I never thought of it that way. HAHA I will have to show my wife that. AS for the P-39's at one time we had 3. All of which were WWII combat vets. One had bullet holes in it, and one was the real Snooks 2nd. I think Larry's dad did fly the P-39. As for that big Mustang deal, don't get me started. We got screwed along with the ANG by Mr. T

[Steve Nelson]

Great pics! The older I get, the more I love seeing all these "back in the day" shots.

Did those P-39s find their way to MAPS at some point? The first time I stopped there in 1995 or so the place was closed, but there were a couple of Airacobra fuselages sitting outside, along with the wings from the Marauder.

SN

[mustangdriver]

They did. One of those fuselages that went to MAPS is Snooks 2nd at WWII combat vet

[Zachary]

Is that P-47 the same a/c that was displayed at the Eiffel Tower at war's end? The 56th painted a P-47M in a spurious Zemke Wolfpack scheme for display and then the a/c was supposed to be scrapped...

Two different aircraft. The one you are talking about was a P-47M, serial # 44-21175. The one that was at Air Heritage and restored as "Hairless Joe" is a P-47D, serial # 44-90471. It's history is in Scott's registry here: http://www.warbirdregistry.org/p47regis ... 90471.html

Zack