Warbird Information Exchange

Does anyone know on which side of the interstate it will be displayed?

I'm thinking if they put it out in front of the McDonnell Planetarium (where the rocket used to be), that would look awesome.
Anyone driving by on I-64 could easily see it and maybe be interested enough to stop by for a look-see.

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1) Dig big hole
2) Insert 'plane
3) Refill with earth / concrete to taste
4) Carefully smooth over
5) Apply grass seed
6) Y'r dun.

Well, you did ask!

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

James,
You forgot 2 1/2 tons of bird/rodent poop, several thousand gallons of polluted rainwater allowed to stagnate and morph in the bird/rodent materials, and most importantly, people with room temperature I.Q.s who think the project would look a great deal better if it was missing several access panels (the higher up, the better or a smashed in canopy) and big dents from large sticks/iron pipes (permissable to substitue 'G.F. luvs R.M'. for ever).

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

As a bonus to my instructions, none of that's an issue if the blasted thing is buried under concrete, as I was saying...

(As one may gather, I don't like 'modern' jets.)

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

The Navy better hope he doesn't put gas in it and fly it away! I'm sure it hasn't been properly demilled if the Chino F-14s are any indicator.

My daughter was "excessed" from Boeing with 22 years in and no "golden handshake" either. As she walked out the door , she met her replacements, two guys from India where most of the computer work has been going lately anyway.( So much for security) She has always said things have been going downhill since the merger. At least while she was there and had a lot to do with the B-2 such as the rotary bombay and part of the hull, as they called it, plus the wing tip, I was able to get a tour of the Boeing built portion of the B-2 in Seattle. (Building is gone now) She moved back to Richland , WA and now works for Lockheed-Martin. Boeing's loss is L-M's gain. In my way of thinking, if Boeing built it after any of the various mergers then it can be a "Boeing" but as previously mentioned there should never be a Boeing P-51 or DC-3. Just ain't right.
mike13

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Beware of the use of the word "NEVER" as it can come back to bite you.

Well I have to admit that after looking at the WIX thread with the photos of the Snyder, Texas F-105 and F-101, I'm afraid that we may as well do as JDK says and dig a hole. From the "long term preservation" standpoint, the local soil conditions in St. Louis are probably better than the surface conditions. The weather around here is not fit for man, beast, or Hornet. I'm not sure which side of the highway they will use for the display but it does look like the City's mounted police force are moving out of the 1904 blimp hangar so maybe that structure will be saved. The Stable/Hangar is very close to the Science Center's Jame S. McDonnell Planetarium so maybe someday, it can display the F/A-18?

I visited the F/A-18 today and even with the wings off, it's a big plane. I have not been up close to one for several years and I guess I just forgot about it's size.

There is no such thing as a 717 or MD-82. Those are just stretched DC-9s. I'm not sure I understand all this Boeing/McDonnell/Douglas hand wringing though. Boeing has done a fine job with the 787 Dreamliner, right? Ok, maybe that's not a good example. what about the 747-800? No, hold on....I'll come up with something.....

Here in St. Louis we have learned to bend over and smile. Our brewery is now owned by some guys from Bolivia, or Chile, or Argentina, or some place south of the Canal Zone. Our two Chrysler plants are closed and one is actually being torn down. Not even Fiat wanted to re-open them! You know you're out of the game when Fiat blows you off. The true path to happiness in St. Louis involves lowering your standards and your expectations. But it's all good. The Council of Economic Advisors annouced today that the recession ended six months ago! There, don't we all feel better now?

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Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

Sorry, I was on a ramble-rant. Here's another photo of the F/A-18 Blue Angels #7 in the hangar. There's not much room to close the door but it does fit.

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Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

Thanks for the pic.
The rant was entertaining though, but I put it second to the Inspector's impressive 400 metre 'aviation history for the bitter & twisted'. I place myself third with a gratuitous anti-F-18 proposal, but am happy to be pushed of the podium by any other offers of "what's wrong, went wrong or why it's all wrong, mine's a pint of bitter..."

What the heII, I'll offer another rantette: Retrospective branding the the work of the devil, however one very carefully groomed and with all the 'TM' 'R' and copyright 'C' notes in all the right places, but no sense of real propriety, rather than propriety branding.

But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.
Othello Act 3, scene 3

Regards,

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

Does anyone know the BuNo of the Saint Louis F-18?

Mike

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

Do you want to find locations of displayed, stored or active aircraft? Then start with the The Locator.
Do you want to find or contribute to the documented history of an aircraft? If so then start with the Airframes Database.

JDK & astixjr;
Curiously enough, there is a full page article in this Sundays (Sept. 26th) edition of the Everett HERALD that looks @ both sides of the Boeing vs. Unions issues and tends to prove out that the company is doing everything it can to short sheet the blue collar part of the equation with 'take aways' and 'give backs' they both have regarded each other as potential combatants in a drunken brawl since the IAMAW was founded in 1935. Living so close to the issue for most of my life, I see the growing utter disdain that management shows to 'the great unwashed' (it was always there, just better covered up in the past) and the article points out just how much of a disaster 'outsourcing' is and how it has dispirited the average worker @ Boeing (despite denials, look for Boeing to make a run @ buying out ALENIA). In the old days your job was always tenuous with the 'lazy B', now you can be let go as astixjr points out between first break and lunch and actually pass your more cheaply paid replacement on your way out.

Apparently the bean counters think there is an unending supply of touch labor types out there and if there aren't any locally, we'll just build a plant where labor is A) cheap and B) not represented giving you South Carolina as a 787 assembly facility 'in case those louts in Seattle go on strike again, we've got to maintain our production rates' with out interruption. That gives you what is referred to around here as South Carolina Airplane Builders or SCABS. Apparently Gulfstreams continuing issues with finding people who can wear shoes and show up five days in a row at the same time along with Rockwell abandoning their efforts years ago to try and build the 112/114 there are 'ancient history'. And the article points out that if the local union types behave themselves, Boeing juuussstt might let the 737 replacement be built locally instead of China or Katmandu or where ever labor is very cheap.

Curiously enough ICLO, the article also points out that our brother airplane builders in France are facing the same issues with labor and managements perceptions of labors net worth.

I didn't mean to hijack this thread but astixjrs sisters dilemma just ripped the scab off a very old sore point with a great deal of Boeing types past and present 'POOF!! you don't exist anymore' it's DILBERT in 3D.



OK, soap box put back under the stairs and coattails pulled back down-may I have a glass of water?

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

About 20 seconds in and again at about 48 seconds, it looks like "161746", which, according to Baugher, "McDonnell Douglas F/A-18B-10-MC Hornet (Lot 5) 161746 was Blue Angels aircraft. In 2009 was at museum at NAS Pensacola, FL"

http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-retired ... 2380.story

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Donate to support WIX here:

http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/donate.html

Hi Inspector - I wasn't (and won't) comment on US labor issues. My comments related to entirely different matters.

Just to be clear.

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James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com