An EAGLE for the Battleship

[Owen Miller]

On Sunday June 5 the WWAR crew began to deliver and assemble
an F-15 at Battleship Park in Mobile. This long anticipated addition
"completes the set", so to speak. Now, displayed in a single location,
is an F-14, an F-15, an F-16, a YF-17, and an F-18. Nowhere else
can an enthuiast see that combination.

Sunday, the fuselage arrived. Monday it was unloaded and set on the
gear. Tuesday the wings arrived and were installed along with the
flaps, horizonals, and, when I left, the nose was nailed in place......

Below is a link to photos taken so far.....

http://community.webshots.com/album/572 ... =community

[tom d. friedman]

owen, your museum runs a 1st class operation!!

[seaknight15]

Super ! Just like putting together a plastic model.

[Robbie Stuart]

Nice to see yall got one of the 33rd Fighter Wing's Eagles. A good bit of history there with the "Nomads".
Regards
Robbie

[the330thbg]

hey, I had that 'kit' a few years back. Mine was 1/48th Scale.. yours looks closer to 1/1

Very well done.

Congratulations, you have a FINE collection of aircraft there!!!!

[Holedigger]

It is indeed a fine collection. I worry about it's proximity to the water...bad with storm surge short term and corrosion long term. What are they doing to extend the life of these birds sitting in the salt air. Not much one can do about storm surge but pick up the pieces! They pretty much recovered from the surge a couple years ago? I know it really knocked things about.

[mustangdriver]

Owen congrats buddy. Your museum is a first class place. I am planning another visit in July.

[the330thbg]

It is indeed a fine collection. I worry about it's proximity to the water...bad with storm surge short term and corrosion long term. What are they doing to extend the life of these birds sitting in the salt air. Not much one can do about storm surge but pick up the pieces! They pretty much recovered from the surge a couple years ago? I know it really knocked things about.

Excellent point, makes you wonder if 40 years from now are our kids and grandkids going to be bhitchin about an F-15 on a stick as if it were the P-38 on a stick!

Should just start making fibreglass replicas now and store a few of these.., although the burn rate of fuel.. not many will be flying large jets!!! (Vulcan) as an example.

[cozmo]

They pretty much recovered from the surge a couple years ago? I know it really knocked things about.

Try close to four years ago. I didn't know they mostly recovered, haven't heard much.
How is the P-51, F-8 F-9 and SR-71? Those are the planes I remember as having been mostly damaged.

[Sabremech]

Nice to see one of the old Eagles taken care of. I find it interesting with the Mig kills on it. I was with the 33rd TFW , 58 TFS in Desert Storm and crewed the F-15 there. This particular S/N was not one of our birds when we were in Saudi Arabia. It was one of Bitburg's F-15's as we left the newer airplanes there and got Bitburg's old ones when we got home. Looks neat with the Mig kills none the less. I've got some pictures of my airplane which shot down a Mig 25. I'll post a picture if I can dig it up.

David

[Owen Miller]

OK, let's see if I can address some questions and concerns.....

We're had the discussion before about the location's proximity
to the water. It bothers me too, especially this time of year;
just as it bothers me about the LEX, TEXAS, D-Day Museum,
NNAM, Armaments Mus at Eglin and all the other locations in
FL. I also worry about the fires, mudslides, and flood in CA,
the tornadoes in the midwest and northeast. And then there
is the whole east coast hurricane thing.

B/P continues to recover incrementally from the effects of
Ivan and Katrina on '04 and '05. If you look at photos 3014
& 3025 you can see the F-105 and C-47 that await attention.
The Cougar, F-86D, P-51, and OS2U also wait their turns.

Our Blackbird is an A-12, not an SR-71. It was the single seat
forerunner of the SR-71 and, to the crews who flew and maintained
her, the best of the breed. It was a CIA operated project, not
USAF. Last week we had the family of Birmingham native and
CIA pilot Jack Weeks with us to remember the 41st anniversary
of his death at the controls of an A-12. Last year we had a big
celebration. This year was quiet and more personal. Very
emotional.....

Link to this year....
http://rides.webshots.com/album/5728182 ... host=rides

Link to last year.....
http://roadrunnersinternationale.com/weeks_tribute.html

Link to some pix of the A-12.....
http://rides.webshots.com/album/562311819ZBiYqR

Someone asked about the RF-8. It was so badly damaged the
USN graciously supplied another one. Here are some photos.

Link to RF-8 Crusader pix....
http://rides.webshots.com/album/561175127HtFIGD

Below is a link to some generic pix taken in the hangar
showing the progress back to normalcy. Some of them
are old and need to be updated. The Intruder and Huey
are not shown. But is is a far cry from what the place
looked like after Katrina.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/560870085NUTHvR

As to the Eagle, I'm unsure about the markings. I have
heard several stories about it. I believe it is a composite
scheme designed to be representative of the 33rd. I do
not believe that airframe has two MiG kills (but don't they
look impressive). I think it was a total for the unit on a
deployment....kinda murky....

[retroaviation]

Owen, did the F-15 arrive to y'all from the Air Force Museum in it's current condition, or did y'all have a shop pretty it up for you? It looks great. And it looks like you can just put a couple of signs in front of it, tie it down, and call it "done."

Also, I'm shooting you a PM now.

Gary

[Owen Miller]

Gary, it arrived from Eglin AFB just as you see it.
And yes, it will display fine just as it is.....

[Sabremech]

Hi Owen,
No offense meant towards the Eagle being displayed. I like seeing the unit I deployed with for 9 months getting recognition. The 33rd TFW shot down the most Mig's of any unit deployed to Desert Storm. It's an important time of my life and one I won't forget. Our airplanes had the Iraqi flag painted on the side for each Mig shot down. The display of these aircraft is important, and none more meaningful than your Eagle to me.
Thank you,
David Staffeldt

[Owen Miller]

Goodness, I guess it is; Dave!!!!
Send me some pictures of what
you think it should look like.

No offense taken, it's just something
I'm not familar with.....