Warbird Information Exchange

Yes. The tour guide told me that that is going to be the biggest obsticle in the restoration. Weather took its toll on the plane.

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When all is said and done more is said than done.

Well, I'll be in full snoop mode!

XC-99 Folks:

Props and front fuselage did show a great deal of weathering. Photo D.K via C/w.com

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FAH619®

That's why they called the B-36 "Magnesium Overcast"!

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I never said the jokes were Good, they're just Free! You gets whatchyas pays for!

When I was still volunteering at the museum two years ago, I was told that a large portion of the 99 had been flown into WPAFB onboard a C-5. Whether it was really a LARGE portion I have no idea.
I do know one thing.....if and when they finally get and reassemble the whole thing,they'll have to construct the building around it,just like they did both times with the B-36

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Historical Aircraft Squadron

These were taken on 1Jun05 as I taxied past in the C-17. The outboard wing panels, most of the trailing edge accessories, and lots of the tail have already been flown up to the Air Force Museum. Sitting out on the racks at Kelly were about six or eight other pallets of parts, leading edges, tail cone and such, waiting transport up to Wright Pat.

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Brad

yes, the elements are the worst enemy for magnesium. walt soplata's b-36 is a testimonial to that fact. he even related that his entire 36 is not restoreable. the wings have faired the worst, as looks to be the case on the xc99. regards, tom

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Brad:

Great shots! Right place/time!

I hope "bdk" can get some close-ups for us this week. It will take a great deal of work to save this plane but steps are being taken in the right direction! Good Job! Boneyard Buff/FAH619

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FAH619®

Howdy Ya'll,
My step-mother's sis married a neat fellow named Ray Whitfield. He was a San Antonio native...and the delivery pilot for the C-99 to that city...where the San Antonio Air Material Area used the plane to deliver parts to many places. He said this evening that it was a good plane.

He did not have good feelings towards a B-36 from which he bailed out...

http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/BC/broken_arrow.htm
http://www.cowtown.net/proweb/nightmare.htm
Cheers,
David Aiken

Since there was some of the rest of the plane why not the wings?

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When all is said and done more is said than done.

Brad, CorsairFreak: Thanks for those great photos.

fyi.....i'm 5 foot 8 inches tall, i stood at ground level next to soplata's b-36 wings & they came up to me at almost upper chest level in regard to their thickness. amazing that kind of iron even got airborne from it's sheer size!! regards, tom

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Tom: This stat amazes me for a plane built at that time in the late 1940's.

Maximum takeoff: 145,000 kg (320,000 lb)

I thought I might share with the group my little XC-99 story. Hope you like it.

In 1969 my father was stationed at Lackland AFB, and we happened to live just outside Kelly AFB. In those days there was a road that connected the two bases, and it ran from Gen. McMullen Drivedrive, around the perimeter of Kelly, and then up the hill to Lackland. About half way (5miles or so) sat the XC-99. I had always been a real fan of the airplane and more than that once spentsent my entire allowance (50 cents---remember, this was the 1960’s) to Aviation Photo Exchange for pictures of the big transport. We were settled in our new home less than two days when I straddled the banana seat of my purple 5-speed spider-bike and set out to photo document the XC-99 with my Kodak 124 Instamatic. I arrived at the site after peddling for about an hour. As I turned off the road, I was greeted by an old man who apparently lived in the small Streamline trailer (it was only about 7 feet long) located near the airplane. He gave me a brief history of the XC-99 and then told me admission was a whopping $1.00, plus--- you had to buy a coke from the machine next to the trailer (the old man apparently got to keep the coke money). Fortunately, I was flush with cash after selling the 500 coke bottles I had transported to Texas during our move from Maxwell AFB in Alabama. (Some of you may be too young to remember, but 6-12 oz bottles brought 2 cents each and if you were lucky enough to find a 16 ouncer---those big boys brought 5 cents.) Besides, a coke sounded very good after riding myby bike in the July Texas heat, I gladly paid the dollar, drained the coke, and then entered the caverness carcass of the XC-99. At that time the airplane was in very good shape. It was newly painted and the interior of the craft was complete. I took several rolls of film (sadly, only one shot of a control panel is all that survives today) and then headed to the base Fotomat to get my pictures developed.

I was in San Antonio in 1990, doing research for my P-38 book, P-Screamers, when I decided to return to the XC-99 and I was shocked when I arrived. The old man, his trailer, and the Coke machine were long gone and the plane was a mess. It was unpainted and had been vandalized beyond description. Admission was now $8.00 and there was a young boy selling Xerox copies of some literature on the XC-99 for $5.00. (I think he, like the old man, got to keep the $5.00) Out of nostalgia I paid the admission and bought the book, but tears formed in my eyes as I witnessed what had happened to that proud bird. I cannot tell you how happy I am today the XC-99 will survive.

That is a great short story P-Screamer. Hopefully others will escape the scrap man as well.

Mike

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Mike R. Henniger
Aviation Enthusiast & Photographer
http://www.AerialVisuals.ca
http://www.facebook.com/AerialVisuals

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