Dead Airplanes on Popsickle Sticks

[Steve Nelson]

I take it the landing gear has been removed from the F-16?

SN

[Larry Kraus]

Steve,

I honestly can't tell if the gear on the F-16 is intact or has been removed.I just went out and took some pictures.I'll include the original pics and copies adjusted with Photo Shop to make the pylon mounting rig more visible.

































One other item of note on this airplane is the spotlight on the left side of the nose.Several years ago,I read in the Klamath Falls newspaper that this was for reading identification numbers on unidentified intercepted aircraft at night.

[Larry Kraus]

I asked around and learned the following.This F-16 flew over to Medford from Klamath Falls several years ago for static display at an air show.Apparently,some terminal problem with the engine made the airplane unairworthy without an engine change.Since the F-16's were to be retired at Klamath Falls and be replaced with F-15's,it was decided to donate the airframe for display in front of the Medford airline terminal building.According to a reliable source,the Air Force sent over a crew to completely gut the airframe and it had the landing gear,along with anything else of potential reuse or of significant weight,removed.That helps to explain why this airplane is currently resting on glorified sawhorses rather than on it's landing gear.

As an aside,the person relating the story of the F-16's grounding said that it was due to serious cracks in the engine.After thinking about this for a couple of hours,I suspect that this was a misunderstanding on his part.Serious cracks in the airframe are a more likely cause for permanent retirement.

[Steve Nelson]

Thanks for the info. I figured she'd probably been gutted for parts. Even if she still had landing gear, it looks like they'd have to remove the display mount in order to extend it.

Back in the early '90s, our local Air Guard base took down an RB-57 that had been onna stick for years. They donated it to the Yankee Air Museum, but I heard that nobody could find the landing gear. The plane is on it's on its gear now, so it must have turned up somewhere.

As for the spotlight on the F-16, Canadian Hornets have the same feature. I asked a pilot at an airshow about it, and he said the same thing..since their main purpose is coastal patrol and interdiction, the spotlight is used to get the numbers of suspicious aircraft.

SN

[mustangdriver]

F-86 at Beaver County Airport, north of Pittsburgh, PA



My Jeep with an F-102 at PIT


My Mustang with the same F-102




F-89 near Erie, PA


T-33 near Pittsburgh

[retroaviation]

What's with the nose on that F-89? I can't say I've seen that before.

Gary

[Steve Nelson]

It's actually a Lockheed F-94 Starfire..an all-weather interceptor developed from the T-33. The "C" model had a battery of rockets in the nose, covered by retractable doors. Looks like one of them is open in the photo.

Here's a shot with all the missile bays open.

SN

[retroaviation]

Thanks Steve.

Gary

[mustangdriver]

F-94!!! That's what I meant.

[Second Air Force]

Here is the Dodge City Ks. A-26:




And the El Reno, Ok. A-26, on display since September of 1957:

[peter]

This is our lonely Sabre on display In very rough condition with corrosion rampant!
http://image14.webshots.com/15/6/14/23/172861423aCWBwU_ph.jpg

[richkolasa]

I just got back from a 12-night Mediterranean cruise, and I managed to find two dead airplanes on sticks for you:

Here is a Dog-nosed Sabre jet mounted on a stick at some airfield outside Rome, Italy. I shot this from about two miles away through the window of a fast-moving tour bus on the motorway, so please don't gripe about the small size or lack of clarity (I cropped out the unnecessary clutter and enlarged the remains to 200%). I was lucky to get off a shot at all!


Cheers!

Way cool, I took this shot in Dec 2006 from our coach tour also! Definitely a FIAT.

[cadet77]

This F-86L Sabre 52-4142 is on a pole outside the gate of the NC ANG at Charolette, NC.

[Matt Gunsch]

here are a couple of "preserved" planes on a stick in the Phoenix area,
F-86D in Chandler, AZ


notice the high level of preservation this plane is given


F-100 Glendale, AZ, this is a Ex-Thunderbird plane


This used to be in front of the base hospital at Luke AFB, no idea where it is now. Might be beer cans by now


This F-84 used to be in front of the city hall, Peoria, AZ,

I think it is now in Iowa somewhere.

[Keith Gaff]

Here's a couple of planes on stick down under.

The Fairey Firefly is on a pole in Griffith New South Wales outside the Returned Servicemens League Club. The propeller is rotated by a low geared electric motor.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z208 ... 1245102884

The second image depicts a GAF Jindivik target drone on display at the Missile Park in the township of Woomera in South Australia.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z208 ... 1245103002