Pima Air Musuem 10/23/07

[bilwor]

Here are a few aircraft at the Pima Air & Space Museum that have either been repainted or have arrived in the last year.

First is the newly repainted Douglas B-23 Dragon, USAAC 30-051


Next repainted Grumman F-14A Tomcat Bu Nol 160684


Newly arrived Hawker-Siddeley Hunter J-4035, N151AM. When it gets reassembled for display I will post additional photos.


Lockheed S-3B Viking Bu No 160604


Lockheed VP-3A Orion Bu No 150511


Scott if you want to use any of these photos for the registry, please feel free to do so. I have some more photos from Arizona Skyfest 2007 that you are missing in the registry. I will post them if you would like to put them in.
bill word

[Saabmeister]

That B-23 looks SHARP! I love Dragons.

[Curtis Block]

Is that a new hangar?

I hope they are planning on putting some of the older machines in there.

[bilwor]

Yes the new hangar was dedicated and opened this summer. The aircraft displayed in it are:
1 Douglas B-18B (B-18A) "Bolo" (2643)(USAAC 38-593)(N66267)
2 Fairchild Republic A-10A "Thunderbolt II/Warthog" (USAF 75-0298)("DM" - 358th FS, 355th FW, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ)
3 Helton "Lark 95" (59134)(N1512H)
4 Kaman SH-2F “Seasprite” (USN 150155)(HSL-31)(TD08)
5 Lockheed S-3B “Viking” (391A-1184)(USN 160604)(Torpedo Squadron Twenty One)(USS Kittyhawk CVW-5)
6 Lockheed SR-71A (YF-12C) "Blackbird" (2002)(USAF 64-17951)(NASA 60-6937)
7 Martin PBM-5A "Mariner" (USN 122071)(N31906E)
8 North American YF-107A (212-1)(USAF 55-5118)
9 Pereira "Osprey II" (N17EH)

[Pat Carry]

Nice pics!

[Steve Nelson]

Man..the amount of activity at that place is nothing short of incredible! I was amazed when I visited three years ago, and they've grown considerabaly just since then.

I do hope someday they can get all the aircraft inside..the desert sun cooks off those nice paint jobs pretty quick. I also hate the painted canopies..although I understand the necessity on aircraft that are kept outside. I'm more than willing to accept it to see the aircraft preserved.

SN

[mustangdriver]

Yeah Steve, it would be great to see the collection housed.

[drgondog]

I just heard without confirmation that a hanger and the P-47, P-51, F-105 and A-10 are going to be commemorated to the 355th FG/TFW to honor the long and illustrious service of the org.

We will have our 2008 Reunion there in April 2008 to honor Col Langbough before he moves on from CO of 355th in June.

[jamesintucson]

I just heard without confirmation that a hanger and the P-47, P-51, F-105 and A-10 are going to be commemorated to the 355th FG/TFW to honor the long and illustrious service of the org.

We will have our 2008 Reunion there in April 2008 to honor Col Langbough before he moves on from CO of 355th in June.

There are no plans for a 355th hangar specifically. Unless something is going on that nobody has bothered to inform a mere curator about. The A-10 is already in the new hangar we just opened and there is no way it is coming back out. It is possible that somone has misheard the plans for the exhibit that will be placed with the A-10. We'll be doing an exhibit on aviation in Arizona and the 355th will be mentioned since they are at Davis-Monthan and did fly our Hog.

James

[jamesintucson]

James,

Since you are an "inside" man, could you give us an update on the website, specifically, when will the restoration updates return? That was an extremely good example of a frequently updated restoration site, and it has been greatly missed!

Has the rear fuselage of the B-36 been re-attached yet?

I am working on getting a restoration updates page put together. It isn't as high a priority for the webmaster as it is for us in the collections department but I hope to have something up in the next few weeks. I know how well liked that section was on the old web site and it will return. We're also planning a special permanant section that will cover the entire B-36 restoration in greater detail than will be done for the other projects.

The tail of the 36 is almost ready to be attached to the front end. It should be on by the end of November. As for other ongoing or recent projects:

1. Beech 18 - Being returned to its original 1937 airline markings. Should be done by the end of the week.

2. Curtiss O-52 - Final installation of glass underway. Should go to paint in the next couple of weeks.

3. Hawker Hunter - Wings will go back on in the next week or so, I hope. Then into paint. By the way, if anyone out there has detailed photos of the markings that were put on the nose of the Hunters in the 5th Fighter Squadron of the Swiss Air Force in 1994 for the retirement I'd like to talk about copies. i'm especially interested in the list of names that was on some of the aircraft including this one.

4. P-51 - Fuselage is ready to go on the wing. It should look like an airplane in the next few weeks.

5. OH-6 Cayuse - Finished and on display in its original Vietnam War markings, B Troop, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cav.

6. F-111 - Repainted and back on display. Same Gulf War markings as before.

There are other assorted small projects but that's most of what is going on right now.

James