Pima acquires Philippine Mars

[bomberfan]

Announced on Facebook today, it looks like a home has finally been secured for the former water bomber. They said it would arrive later this year. I'm not sure how easy it would be to disassemble and transport over land, but I'm guessing that since it hasn't flown in years, that flying it to Arizona is likely out of the question. Either way, this is pretty exciting!

[kalamazookid]

Awesome! Maybe they can put it in a giant swimming pool . Will be interesting to see how they transport it. Maybe a job for Worldwide Aircraft Recovery?

[Mark Sampson]

That's great news! I've wanted to see that airplane for a long time.
It's so big that I'll probably be able to see it from my backyard- only ten miles away...
It would be fantastic if they could fly it in- but the nearest body of water to land it on is over 200 miles away (Lake Havasu) or 120 miles away (Sea of Cortez in Mexico).

[JohnB]

The world's largest operational (to differentiate it from the Hughes) flying boat in the desert...sounds fun.
The previous poster brings up a good point, display it on beaching gear....perhaps some custom made for a more secure footing than the factory units...or in a water configuration?
Their PBY is in a diorama with artificial water, so I guess something like that could be done.

Having lived in Arizona, I know they love water features, (any upscale subdivision isn't complete with a "lake"), so a very shallow pond would be neat (and give some relief for visitors in the summer...ever spend eight hours looking at aircraft there in the summer? ) but probably not great for the airframe long term.

[bomberfan]

While I really liked the way they've displayed their PBY. I'll bet they're going to use the beaching gear. It's a very large aircraft to find a spot indoors and build another display, although it would look great. I'm curious how it will be presented. Paint it as a fire bomber? Bring it back to military condition? Or leave it as is?

[K5DH]

"Dean's worthless opinion" is to paint her in correct, original military markings.

[rcaf_100]

I'm curious how it will be presented. Paint it as a fire bomber? Bring it back to military condition? Or leave it as is?

"Dean's worthless opinion" is to paint her in correct, original military markings.

She was repainted in glossy sea blue with Naval Air Transport Service markings about 10 years ago when Coulson was negotiating the deal with NNAM in Pensacola which eventually fell through.
It would make sense to leave it as-is for now, unless the elements have taken their toll on the paint job.

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[Matt Gunsch]

That's great news! I've wanted to see that airplane for a long time.
It's so big that I'll probably be able to see it from my backyard- only ten miles away...
It would be fantastic if they could fly it in- but the nearest body of water to land it on is over 200 miles away (Lake Havasu) or 120 miles away (Sea of Cortez in Mexico).

Roosevelt and Lake Pleasant are large enough and closer

[phil65]

Pima Air and Space Museum Acquires Iconic Philippine Mars
https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbird ... -mars.html

Phil

[raconnel]

they could display a J-3 on the wing.

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[quemerford]

Pima has a fire bomber collection already IIRC, so a repaint in Coulson/FIFT colours seems most appropriate.

And remember that Pima shifted a B-36, so the Mars will be a piece of cake for them!

[JohnB]

And remember that Pima shifted a B-36, so the Mars will be a piece of cake for them!

However, the B-36 once broken down , was relatively manageable in terms of height and width of the fuselage.
Not so here.


To transport it by road, judging by the photo above with the J-3, it will need to be sectioned (basically drawn and quartered) to fit on the road.

Do the longerons and bulk heads simply unbolt or will they need to be cut?
Being a flying boat might work against it, being designed to be watertight, there might be some large one piece sections in there.

Given its size, (look at that photo above, of it on the water. Judging by the scale of the man in the nose hatch, it would be difficult to put that on a two lane section of freeway without slicing it vertically as well as horizontally to get it under an overpass), I'd at least think about flying it there and landing on the grass adjacent to the DM runway..or on the runway itself if foamed.
Of course the USAF and FAA might have other opinions.

A C-124 was cut/disassembled horizontally to fit in a C-17 to get from Offutt to Dover, so there is a precedent for something like that.

I'm sure they can do it...but it will be a job.

BTW...I happened to be there when their SR-71 was delivered by road. That was a sight.

Last edited by JohnB on Fri Apr 26, 2024 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Xrayist]

I thought that it was made, or was going to be made, airworthy for a flight to Pensacola before the deal fell through. I would think that if it was made airworthy for that flight, that it might be easier to make it airwothy again.

[bdk]

Can't they just foam a nearby runway and land there? Do any of the washes typically fill with water during the winter? Anything in the Technical Orders about runway landings?

[Mark Sampson]

The Pima museum is adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB (the boneyard). Airplanes going to the museum use their runways- recently they acquired a 747SP that had been a flying solar observatory. I was sitting in traffic nearby and saw it come in on final- "what the hell is that??" and the announcement came a day or so later.
It would be a great adventure to a) get the Philippine Mars airworthy b) fly it what, 1750 miles, to Tucson and c) skid it in on a foam-covered runway... somehow I don't expect that to happen. But I want to be there when it arrives, no matter how many pieces it comes in.