ex Yankee Air Museum T-33 now in Kentucky

[BK]

I do wish they'd get the planes under some shade. Here's the seat on the Panther after a few years in the sun.

That seems to be the plan, an indoor facility at the current site: http://aviationheritagepark.com/?page_id=352

[peter]

even something simple as fitting a reflective sunshade inside the canopy would do wonders for protecting the interior....

[Boeing666]

Although most T-33s are either in a military junkyard or on display somewhere, some are privately owned.

“At the end of World War II they had so many they just sold them,” Roark said.

Found it here:
http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2011/03 ... /news3.txt

They are putting together a nice aircraft display in Kentucky. The T-33 will be a nice addition to the Panther and Phantom. The statement above regarding T-33's being sold at the end of WWII is strange - I wonder if this actually refers to T-6's or SNJ's??

Especially since the T-33 wasn't around at the end of WWII, didn't have its first flight until 1948

[Boeing666]

When the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star aircraft arrived in Bowling Green a few weeks ago, it was in pieces. Now Aviation Heritage Park workers are putting those pieces back together and hoping to make the plane look as good as new.

Arnie Franklin, president of the Aviation Heritage Park, explained some of the challenges of restoring an old aircraft Monday afternoon as he, Jerry Roark and Joe Leudenburg worked on the plane in a hangar at the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport.

The T-33 was taken apart to make the trip to Bowling Green from Ypsilanti, Mich., where it had been on display at the Yankee Air Museum. Before that, the aircraft was stripped down and “de-militarized,” Franklin said, meaning the engine, instruments and various other parts were removed.

“In the process of taking it apart, you tear up some things,” Franklin said. The job now is to put it back together and make repairs where needed, which requires many steps and people.

Workers are currently finishing the reattachment of wings. After that, Franklin said Brian Peters of Western Kentucky Powder Coating will perform soda blasting on the plane. This strips all the paint off the plane and cleans it down to the bare metal without causing damage.

Once that is done, Franklin said the plane gets a good once-over to find any other repairs that need to be made. One challenge in working on an older plane is that if something is broken during restoration, finding a replacement part can be difficult, if not impossible.

Franklin said painting is the next step in the restoration process. PPG Aerospace provided high-quality paint for the first two Aviation Heritage Park aircraft and organizers are hoping it will help again. The paint is the type used on the Blue Angels jets as well as Air Force One.

On-Site Electrostatic Painting out of Louisville will then apply the paint using electrostatic force. Franklin explained that the plane will be given a negative charge while the paint will have a positive charge. When the paint is sprayed, it quickly adheres to the aircraft and goes into tiny spaces and around corners. The paint also doesn’t overspray or make a big mess.

Franklin said they are researching how the plane would have looked when it was first built and used as trainer aircraft. The heritage park will try to restore it to its original condition.

While many places that restore and display military aircraft only worry about the outside of the plane, Franklin said they restore the cockpit as well. Recreating the cockpit of a T-33 isn’t easy, but Franklin said Roark is working on it now and often finds needed items on eBay.

Although most T-33s are either in a military junkyard or on display somewhere, some are privately owned.

“At the end of World War II they had so many they just sold them,” Roark said.

The T-33 will be the third aircraft on display at the Aviation Heritage Park at Basil Griffin Park. The others on display are an F-4D Phantom and a Grumman Panther. The park organizers don’t just take any aircraft they can get their hands on.

“There’s a story to go with every plane,” Franklin said, referring to stories involving local individuals who were connected to the models of aircraft.

The T-33 is in honor of Glasgow native and Western Kentucky University graduate Gen. Russell Dougherty. Dougherty frequently flew a T-33 plane from Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb., to Washington, D.C., while he served as commander of Strategic Air Command. Dougherty died in 2007 at age 86.

Franklin said they begin their search for aircraft by learning about local aviators who served our country. The group has a wish list of planes it would like to acquire.

The next aircraft it is planning to acquire is a NASA T-38 to honor local astronaut Terry Wilcutt.

Once group members locate a plane they need, it’s only a matter of getting it to Bowling Green and restoring it. These things cost money, however, and Franklin said they appreciate any support they receive.

Franklin said they have space for seven airplanes at the park and they are looking forward to filling the empty spaces. This year, they will continue to work on the T-33 as well as bring the T-38 to town.

“It’s going to be a busy year for the Aviation Heritage Park,” Franklin said.

— To find out more about the Aviation Heritage Park, visit http://www.aviationheritagepark.com.

Found it here:
http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2011/03 ... /news3.txt

that is great to hear that the T-33 HAS A NEW HOME, at the AIR PARK AT YAM no one was working on it, no one working on the B=52, it is falling apart, for a MUSEUM being around for 30 years, having only few aircraft in the PARK (8) same as when join in 1993, it is a FLYING CLUB for the CLICK, not a MUSEUM,

There are more than 8 planes in the park. There has been a wingless orange Antonov 2 that has been there for the past 2 years and the ex Zantop DC-6 was added in the last 10 years..

[Steve Nelson]

The An-2 has been assembled and painted, and is on display out back of the museum's new facility. I snapped this pic last month on the way to the Hamilton show. She looks pretty good, although local pigeons seem to have taken a liking to her.



While we're on the subject of the Yankee Air Museum...

I've been reluctant to even mention this, especially as I know we'll have to endure another incoherent rant from Capt. Grumpypants, but I heard a totally unsubstantiated rumor that they may be scrapping a couple of planes in the airpark. Now before anyone goes off the deep end, I say again this is just something someone told in in a store in Ann Arbor last month..he said the YAM was planning to scrap the DC-6 and Argosy, and was selling the collection of A-6 parts on Ebay. AGAIN..I say this was COMPLETELY UNSUBSTANTIATED. I'm just wondering if anyone has any actual information about the situation, or it was just someone repeating something they heard somewhere that has no basis in fact.

SN

[Boeing666]

It doesn't make sense to scrap the Argosy and DC-6, both planes are in decent condition. They must be if they allow people to board them. The DC-6 has a lot of nice airline memorabilia that fortunately they kept inside of the plane that they didn't lose in the hangar fire. The Argosy I believe is their only other plane that you could go inside.

[YAF340]

Unfortunate but true. Neither plane will be open at Thunder. JOE