Warbird Information Exchange

Has anyone been to the Hill AFB Museum since the construction to expand the facilty was finished? Were they able to get all of the planes inside?

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Pat - I have a visit on tap for the next few weeks (well before the end of the year).
I do know they moved the B-29 inside albeit sans the outer ( beyond the engines) wing sections to get her inside with all the other planes. They also painted her with 509th CG nose art (Straight Flush if IIRC).

Tom P

Thanks Tom

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

There's a news article from about a month ago showing that they started moving some of the airplanes inside.

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Sorry it took soooooo long to post these













A few of the older galleries snuck in there to
Tom P.

Big place, and unlike the NMUSAF with its black walls, seems well lit.

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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.

Great pic's. Are those tip tanks of the F-80 larger than the standard size? They seem ginormous.

I agree. It seem spacious and well lit. Thanks Tom for posting those pics!

Thanks - yes, it is very well lit - as someone who has always disliked the darker space approach the "well lit" part makes me very happy! On the tip tanks - I think it is just the angle I took the shot at that makes it look so big.

Tom P.

Bearing in mind that it's displayed indoors, why on earth is that Sabre in ADC Grey?

Looks like an all star lineup, as you'd expect from Hill.

I kinda like the dark look, like KZoo, you can kinda go snow blind in an all white enclosure, a compromise of some form of gray [or olive drab] might have been nice.

I honestly can't think of a time when it has not been painted that way - at least 5-10 years now (IIRC)

I do know that on a few of the smaller planes the museum has opted for the silver/gray paint rather than deal with the cost of keeping the aluminum bright and sparkling.


Tom P

And therein lies the issue for me. Most in-service F-86Fs weren't bright or sparkling. Many moons ago I was involved with a museum's restoration of an F-86L (not yours!) and they did a fantastic job of it too. Then right at the end they dulled it down to get rid of the 'newness' of the panels they'd had to replace. I think they did this by using fine Scotchbrite pads and it looked AWESOME!!! Probably the best-looking and most period-correct F-86L I'd seen to that point.

And then they went over it all and polished it to a deep shine, thereby ruining the whole thing. Even the restoration crew were against it, but apparently the museum director decided it looked nice.

So here we are maybe 20 years later and we're still faced with this kind of thing. It's a great shame when you go to all that effort to restore an aircraft for display.