MAPS Air Museum Visit

[kalamazookid]

This past weekend, I visited the MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio for the first time. It was well worth the three-plus hour drive. Great collection of aircraft, nice staff, an interesting exhibit hall, and seeing everything in a historic hangar is really cool. The aircraft are very well cared for, and it's very apparent the museum does high-level restoration work- particularly with the jet aircraft. The outdoor displays all looked to be well cared for, even the aircraft that haven't been restored yet.

I was also able to get a brief look inside the restoration building, but I'm not going to put any pictures up of that since it is not really open to the public. I want to respect the museum and how they want to update their restorations. They do have the F-86A that won a race at the 1949 Cleveland Air Races, as well as an A-26, BT-13 and the ex-Walter Soplata F-84F under restoration.

I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking. If anyone is interested in seeing more of a particular aircraft, let me know and I will see what I have.

I'm sure the B-26 will draw the most interest, so I'll put that one up first...

B-26 Overall View by mbvader, on Flickr

B-26 Engine by mbvader, on Flickr

Charlie's Jewel by mbvader, on Flickr

B-26 Details by mbvader, on Flickr

B-26 Nose by mbvader, on Flickr

B-26 Nose-Art Side by mbvader, on Flickr

SNB-1 Expediter by mbvader, on Flickr

A-7 Corsair by mbvader, on Flickr

F-101 Voodoo by mbvader, on Flickr

C-47 Skytrain. by mbvader, on Flickr

F9F Recon Cougar by mbvader, on Flickr

F-86 Packed by mbvader, on Flickr

F-100D Super Sabre by mbvader, on Flickr

Tracker by mbvader, on Flickr

FG-1D Cockpit by mbvader, on Flickr

More photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124970884 ... 083046303/

[Warbird Kid]

Very cool! Thanks for the photos! Did you happen to take any shots of the displays, showcases, and other things there?

[Pat Carry]

Nice pics! The B-26 is looking too good.

[Fouga23]

Any pics of the Soplata F-84?

[Rob Mears]

Ahh! You saved the best pic for last.

[cooper9411]

Wish I had known you were going, I would have went with you as I'm sure you came through my area in Ohio! Thanks for pictures.

[Spectre_I]

The Tracker looks great. We've been working on one for 3 years, almost done now. Sure is an interesting airplane.

The other ones look good too.

[Courier Sportster]

When I was there last year, there was a pretty cool Chinese Mig (i think) in pieces. Very beat up, which is why I liked it. I think I was told they would be cleaning it up, and that made me sad. I can see they've been moving things around. I like a museum on the move!

[bomberfan]

I read an article about the restoration about the Marauder and they said they weren't sure what they were doing about the props. It seems they found a solution, does anyone know what they used?

[kalamazookid]

CourierSportster, the MiG-17 is on display in the main hangar. I'm assuming it has been cleaned up a bit, but it still looks very original. The cockpit is open for guests to sit in. It's tight fit, even for a small guy (5'8) like me! Here's a pic:

IMG_0759 by mbvader, on Flickr

Fouga, I don't have any pics of the F-84 as I did not take any pictures in the restoration area. The aircraft is disassembled along the fuselage break, with the paint stripped off. The top of the wings are also stripped, but it looked like there were still markings on the bottom. The fuselage and cockpit appeared to have most of the original equipment inside. It is missing some parts- the docent specifically mentioned having to make new wingtips- but it looks as if it will make a very nice display aircraft.

I took a few pics of some of the model displays, but they didn't come out very will because of the display glass. I will see what I have and try to post some later.

[oscardeuce]

I too will be happy to meet at MAPS. Do not get there
Much, but the place is in great hands

[APG85]

Does anyone have the story of the B-26...where it came from, the restoration history and what the plans are for it when it is finished? Somehow I missed this one. Thanks.
Great pictures by the way. Thanks for posting them...!

[mustangdriver]

She is a Tallichet bird. One of the first warbird projects I ever got to volunteer on when we had it at Beaver Falls, PA at Air Heritage. We had a complete aircraft inside, and then two partial fuselage parts donors outside. One of the parts planes was used in a guy named joe and still had the Japanese markings on it.

[sandiego89]

Does anyone have the story of the B-26...where it came from, the restoration history and what the plans are for it when it is finished? Somehow I missed this one. Thanks.
Great pictures by the way. Thanks for posting them...!

She is one of the "Million Dollar Valley" recoveries. Recovered for the wilderness in 1971.

From the MAPS site: MAPS B-26, the 99th Marauder built, crash landed in British Columbia, Canada, on January 16, 1942. https://sites.google.com/a/mapsairmuseu ... 26/history

More on the "Million Dollar Valley" recoveries. http://explorenorth.com/library/aviatio ... alley.html

[maxum96]

Love the Sabre Dog! Thanks for posting the pictures.