Warbird Information Exchange

It's in the background of the shot of the AQM-34Q Firebee.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

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Bdk- one of the Robins A-26s was moved to Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in June 2020

Link to article:

https://www.robins.af.mil/News/Article- ... er-robins/

You are right - I just missed it.

Thank you Vagabond. I travel on business to that area annually and usually go to the Robins museum. It is free, and worth going to even for 1/2 an hour. The other Invader is hard to access at the moment because of the B-17 restoration.

That airframe looked pretty solid. Not sure when I might get to Birmingham to ever see it again. Hope it is well taken care of in its new home. I wonder if it will be stored inside and accessible to the public?

Wow, they have a second Zero? I had no idea. In the 80s they had a tail on display in the WW2 section of the Museum. Is this that wreak, or did that get used in the rebuild of the Zero now on display?

Thanks,

Jim

I see the Dragon Rapide is being taken to bits.
I wonder if they have found a suitable trade, or if they are just making more room to store things.
That's a real interesting set of shots. Lots of history there.

Andy

Vzlet wow thanks that was great. I am reassured by just seeing some of these again. i feel great unease at any plans ever to divest. I'm happy to have a glimpse and I like this even better than the museum proper. all eras mixed up, very worn, with dust and grime and faded paint. this is how i like it. i don't want anything to ever leave the collection, i just want it to grow, and i want to see all the things i expect to see, and more new additions. This very cool section should be open to the public.

The Dragon Rapide has been acquired by Scott Glover's Mid America Flight Museum and will be restored to flying condition. I believe the work is going to be done at the MAFM restoration facility in Urbana, Ohio.

Awesome gallery from the NMUSAF storage hangars! There are a few aircraft included that I have never seen photographed and some I'd never seen a color photo of. Especially nice to see the B-23 and C-39. I am surprised the P-63 is no longer on display.

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Matt

-Tours have not restarted. I was fortunate to have an escort to take me through the buildings. (Like, real fortunate!)

-The Zero is in a crate marked as "Zero number 9". What I could see of the fuselage looked somewhat intact, if in fairly rough shape. The sheet metal is amazingly thin! (I don't know if that is lightweight design, corrosion, or both!)

-My escort did mention that the Dragon Rapide was headed to a facility in Ohio, so that could well be the MAFM location.

-The YC-125 is indeed parked out front. The Piper Enforcer looked unchanged from the shots the museum has online with the exchange offer.

-Besides the P-63, the EF-111, and the C-45 have been taken off display.

Thanks Matt.
That's great to hear. Nice to know she will fly again. Such a lovely machine.
Practically the very definition of "Art Deco"

About DH Rapides.....the one damaged at Abbotsford a couple of years back is being rebuilt.

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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.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Here's same list Sean posted above, but sorted by location: Loaned Aircraft by Location
Aerial Visuals also has their own version: National Museum of the United States Air Force Loan Program


And I can't believe they put the one they received from NASM outside! That airplane had been in indoor storage. It should have been stored inside disassembled until they could make room to display it intact - not put outside where it will be weather beaten.


According to Century Aviation, for their restoration NMUSAF provided:

So I'm assuming this was the second airframe.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

That is my undertanding as well John.
I'm pretty sure it was the intetion of Mr. Sessions all along.
It was a most unfortunate incident. Rapides are notorious for being a handful in a crosswind.
When they were new, runways were a novelty.
The paved runway, invented the crosswind!

The A-26 from the NASM was assembled and inside next to the B-17 restoration when I was there last, looking good. Is the one pictured outside the old one that was just taken apart and moved away?

I'm pretty sure the one pictured outside is the one from NASM (44-34610) since it has a solid nose and the one that was taken apart (44-35732?) has a plexiglas nose. (They appear to be in the exact same spot as well as have the same general bare metal paint scheme, so that doesn't help the confusion.) The pictures were present when the page was archived back in 2017, so maybe it was originally outside, but was later moved inside. I hope so.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster