Ground Support Equipment in Aviation Museums

[Noha307]

Here we are again with more ground support vehicles!

While not technically at museum, the Aircraft Restoration Company uses some sort of small olive drab aircraft tug:

(Source: Warbird Digest)

They've had that tug at Dx for at least 30 years that I know of. It's called Terrence

How cute! (Didn't think I'd ever say that about a tug!) Pray tell, how did it receive such a name?

[ZRX61]

I think it came about because Thomas the Tank Engine, so they went with Terrence the Tug.

[Lon Moer]

[Noha307]

I found 4 pieces of GSE owned by the Conservatoire de l'Air et de l'Espace d'Aquitaine:

Tracma TD 1500 Aircraft Tug – Painted white, manufactured in February 1975, chassis number 26D507

Guinault Ground Power Unit – Painted light blue & white, painted as number 814

GMC CCKW 353 Fire Truck

Ford Ranger Bronco II – Painted in yellow and black checkerboard

Nice! Who owns that? Is it yours?

[Lon Moer]

<>

Nice! Who owns that? Is it yours?

Sanders Aeronautics

[Noha307]

The New England Air Museum has been mentioned once before in this thread, but I just came across a post on their news page that mentions that as of 17 August 2018 they purchased a new Harlan tug using a grant from the William and Alice Mortensen Foundation:

[Noha307]

The Hagerstown Aviation Museum recently acquired a bunch of GSE according to the February 2018 edition of their Pegasus Flyer newsletter. It includes:

• Unknown Yellow Tug – Donated by the GSA and came from Letterkenny Army Depot.
• 1952 Clark Tug – It was last used by US Air Express and was found at the Marion Auction.
• Towmotor Forklift – It was used at Fairchild in the 1950s and 60s and was purchased at the Hagerstown Aircraft Services auction a few years ago.
• 1946 Mack 750 Fire Truck – It was originally built for the US Army and was found at the Michaux State Forest in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania. It was donated by the GSA through the Maryland Surplus
  office and arrived at the museum on 3 February 2017.
• 1957 Walter ARFF Crash Truck – This truck was purchased by Fairchild in 1957 and used as part of their fire department until 1984. It was donated by Tony Cook of Triadelphia, West Virginia and arrived at the museum on 1 December 2017.

A crane at the Connecticut Air & Space Center was covered in a previous post, but they also have a blue and white tug that is not listed on their website:

(Source: Google Plus)

The Fagen Fighters WWII Museum has a small yellow tug:
Link to Oversize Picture
(Source: Warbirds News)

Ginge Copenhagen firetruck at the Finnish Aviation Museum in Helsinki, license plate number EJK-52, marked as number 5, used by the Finnish Civil Aviation Authority:

(Source: Flickr)

They also have a searchlight:

(Source: Flickr)

I don't know what this thing is and whether it is technically GSE, but it is at the Karjalan Aviation Museum:

(Source: Google Plus)

Another possible GSE vehicle at the Karjalan Aviation Museum:

(Source: Google Plus)

The Italian Air Force Museum has what appear to be two olive drab ground power units in their Skema Hangar:

(Source: Ministero Della Difesa)

One can be seen in the background of this picture:

(Source: Flickr)

The Newark Air Museum has a Houchin Mk.5 Ground Power Unit:

(Source: Flickr)

The National Museum of Flight Scotland has a Stonfield firetruck, marked as Highlands & Islands Airports license plate CYT 673V:

(Source: Flickr)

The Brooklands Museum was the subject of an earlier post, but apparently there is more GSE that is not included on their website:

Morris Minor 6cwt Van, marked as British Caledonian Airways, license plate YYC 708H

(Source: Flickr)

A Morris Minor Quarter Ton Pickup Truck, marked as Dan-Air London, license plate UDD 815

(Source: Flickr)

The Ansett Museum in Australia has a white tug:

(Source: Flickr)

Not to be confused with the darker blue tug at the C. R. Smith museum, the Delta Flight Museum has a blue tug:

(Source: Flickr)

While not a museum, the Olympia Regional Airport has 3 aircraft tugs named Larry, Curly, and Moe:

(Source: Flickr)

I have to admit, I am enjoying all the comically named tugs in recent posts!

Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to the "Airport Vehicles" Flickr group. I found a good number of the photographs in this post by searching the group for "museum".

[Noha307]

I was originally going to include it in the above, but the Malaga Airport Museum has so much GSE it warrants its own post.

International Loadstar 1700 firetruck, license plate PMM 0919G, marked as A-3:

(Source: Flickr)

International firetruck, license plate PMM-0890-G, marked as T-1:

(Source: Flickr)

Rosenbauer Cheetah crash truck, license plate PMM-1526-G:

(Source: Flickr)

TLP crash truck, license plate PMM-0275-J:

(Source: Flickr)

Kronenburg firetruck, license plate MA-2817-BH, marked as H-5:

(Source: Flickr)

Three fire trucks:

(Source: Museo Aeronáutico De Málaga)

Unknown Model D460 fuel truck, license plate 4-32003:

(Source: Museo Aeronáutico De Málaga)

Land Rover, painted yellow, license plate MA-9304-CG, marked as M-16:

(Source: Flickr)

Renault 4 "follow me" car, marked as Aeropuerto De Málaga:

(Source: Flickr)

"Follow me" car:

(Source: European Tourist Guide)

Airport bus and baggage conveyor belt ramp:

(Source: European Tourist Guide)

Start cart, marked as Aviaco:

(Source: European Tourist Guide)

Unknown yellow car, tractor, unknown piece of GSE, and Land Rover:

(Source: European Tourist Guide)

Aircraft tug, painted blue, marked as Servisair:

(Source: European Tourist Guide)

Airstair, painted yellow:

(Source: European Tourist Guide)

[Noha307]

I just happened across a more up-close picture of the Lone Star Flight Museum's tug that was included in a previous post:

(Source: Wikipedia)

Also mentioned in a previous post was the Yankee Air Museum's Ford BNO-40 tug, which apparently is the exact same tug pictured below towing the last B-24 to be built at Willow Run:

(Source: SaveTheBomberPlant.org)

[Left Seat]

This is the definitive test for Aviation Ground Support Equipment:
https://youtu.be/K05NgDMz2r4
There you go...

[Noha307]

When I posted about Joe Swelnis a while back, I neglected to mention that apparently runs a Yahoo Group for Clark Tugs.

While I mentioned the MAPS Air Museum tugs in the very first post in this thread, I just recently came across two videos of their tugs on YouTube:

• Clarktor 6 MB4
• MAPS Clarktor 6

I also came across an interesting thread about Clarktor Aircraft Tugs in Britain and Australia which, among other information, included a picture of one being used to tow P-51, A68-769, at the Caboolture Warplane Museum:


The Delta Flight Museum actually has two tugs:

• Clarkat CK30 Tug, Serial Number CKF-127 2248
  
  
• Clarktor 21 Tug, Serial Number CT21-20EC158
  

The museum wrote a blog post about them back in 2017. In an interesting coincidence, like the one at the C. R. Smith Museum, it was also the oldest piece of GSE the airline had when it was retired in 1990.

[DADE]

[DADE]

Photos from the Aviation Heritage Museum, Perth, Western Australia

[DADE]

[DADE]