67N20 wrote:
So, what exactly will be left at Evergreen besides the Spruce Goose? Sounds like most of the "good stuff" is going away.
The way I see it goes like this:
Evergreen certainly isn't a "warbird" museum -- it's far more of a "history of flight" museum. If all of these planes go away, there will still be planes from the earliest days of flight to the modern jet and rocket aircraft in the "space" museum. Frankly, I think the warbirds aren't displayed very well at all -- they're rather crammed in next to each other. So, a certain amount of "cleaning out" wouldn't be so bad. Up to a point.
At this point, nothing has left the museum, but from what I've heard, including a lengthy chat with a docent there about a week ago, Collings plans on flying out the B-17, the P-38, and the P-40, and the docent was quite sure that the Bf 109 would go away, though I'm not sure if that'll go to Collings or not. The museum's Bf 109 is very notable in that it has a German engine, as most others have Spanish engines. Or so said the docent.
I will absolutely miss the B-17 and especially the DC-3, if indeed the latter sells and goes away.
By the way, I've been to the museum quite a number of times over the past few months, as I'm a member and about a half-hour's drive away. And virtually any day of the week, the museum has been plenty busy, with all kinds of different license plates on the cars in the parking lot. I have been going to the museum for years, since its early days, but I only recently learned that you can actually get up into the cockpit of the Spruce Goose -- a friend and I paid an extra, whopping $25 for the both of us to get up there. We spent about a half-hour up there with a very good docent, and had a great time. I highly recommend it!
Finally, there are plenty of warbirds in FAR, FAR better displays at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, and the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Madras is open for viewing in its new hangar -- and (of course) very nearly every plane in that collection flies. Visiting the "museum" (the hangar) there is a great experience -- walk in the door, pay the entrance fee, then walk through the hangar without any kinds of ropes or chains or anything keeping you from poking your nose wherever you'd like to poke it into. It's just some of the best access you can get for a hangar full of warbirds. The "Airshow of the Cascades" is happening next weekend (August 28-29), and admission to the air show includes admission to the Erickson Aircraft Collection. There is still time to make some travel plans.
In the end, if Evergreen loses some warbirds (and a few non-warbirds) and if those indeed wind up flying, I don't think that's so bad. There are plenty of other opportunities to see warbirds relatively close-by.
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