Warbird Information Exchange

www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123313086 With 224,000 sq feet of display space, it will be quite an addition to the museum campus.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Great news indeed ! An additional building is certainly needed. BUT, ...is one building enough? When I think of the other aircraft currently waiting outside (C-82, EC-135, C-125...) as well as the C-5, C-9, KC-10 C-17, C-21,C-22, C-23,.... C-40, C-99, KC-135, E-3, E-4, the Swoose, Memphis Belle, all of the 'X' aircraft of the 1950's, XB-70 plus all of the aircraft hanging from the ceilings of the various buildings they still need more display space !!! Two more for sure.

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http://www.fuselagecodes.com

The X-planes weren't outside last time I was there, are they now?

Get that C-141 inside!

It takes lot's of $ to build these hangars. The intent is to eventually have everything inside. Very few museums with a collection as large as the NMUSAF have been able to get as much under cover as they have. They have the benefit of being on an AF base and being able to take advantage of some older hangars to keep part of the collection out of the elements. It takes time and money...

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

The ultimate goal is to not only have everything inside but have whats hanging from the ceilings sitting on the floor where it can be better seen

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A&P/I.A., A.A.S./Aviation Maintenance technology
Warbird salvage/recovery
One day I'll get that P-40!

The Air Force Museum is doing a good job of gradually increasing their inside display area. I would imagine another building beyond the new one planned now will happen eventually.

For the long range, what would really be nice to see someday would be better lighting in the existing and future buildings.

The X planes are still inside.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

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Impeach, Remove, Convict, Imprison!!...

This is the previous location of the museum (1954-71) off Buckner Rd. at Wright-Pat AFB. The WWII era building had support beams every so many feet which prevented many planes from being displayed inside.

Follow this link: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared ... 24-012.pdf

Shows the layout of the addition. C-series on west wing, space in the center, presendential aircraft on the east wing. Clearly shows sillouettes of the C-141, C-5, C-82, C-119, C-130 and KC-135 etc on the transport side. Looks like all of the presedential aircraft will be on the east side. Currently all the X-planes and presedential planes are in the annex/R&D hanger.

Once ground is broken on this latest addition. They need to start planning for the next addition. They are going to need a place for the XC-99 when it is someday eventually restored, and a VC-25 when they are someday retired.

When I first visited in 1981 they still had just the one building in the current location. It was less than 19 years old and there was a plaque out fron saying it was opened by President Nixon in the early 70s.
I thought that was great. You had the WWI aircraft on one side, WWII and newer on the other.
In between was the gift shop, cafeteria and a nice balcony that served as an exhibit for the Chaplain Service (with the stained glass windows commemerating the Lady Be Good from the Wheelus AB, Libya chapel and an stained glass showing a modern pilot and his family)... a nice vantage point.

When I went back (actually stationed at W-P) in the early 90s, they added another, and I though THAT was great.
Now evrytime I go back it seems there is a new building. Well...it keeps getting better.

Although I do miss the Chapel balcony/overlook...(I think that's admin offices now).

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Very few if any of us will still be around when the XC-99 gets restored. The museum is shipping it to New Mexico for long term storage.

I'm wondering if they'll extend the WWII hangar someday. They're going to need room for two more B-17s, the B-23 if the ever restore it, the USAAF Ventura (B-37?), the He111 and whatever else they end up with. I'd love to see the Storch, CG-4 and Norseman especially come down from the rafters.

Looking forward to the new building when it's completed. It will be great to see most of the aircraft in one location. I'm sure they'll still keep the building across the field open for tours and additional aircraft storage.

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Matt

Lighting should a priority. In 2003 when they opened the Cold War Gallery I was very excited about seeing the addition. When I saw how dark it was, I thought the building contractor forgot to put in lights! I think the very dark conditons detract from the overall experience of what the museum has to offer.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!