Static displays in Midland
Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:35 am
Brad's recent posts with the static displays at Lackland got me to thinking that maybe I should post the static stuff that we've got here. Some of the airplanes we know very little about. It would be great if some of you could help us with tidbits of history on them.
Overall, this Thud looks to be in pretty good shape......
Actually, this Phantom and the Super Sabre both appear to be in good shape as well. Is this history for the Phantom accurate?
There is a plaque for the two helicopters, but they are just general information. As far as I know, we don't have any history on either of these. Can anyone help with this?
Does anyone out there know any further history on this Super Sabre?
The F-111 gets moved around from time to time and gets opened up for our annual "Open Cockpit Day." History on this bird would be nice to have as well........
Now, we all know the cool history with this Tomcat. It's the one that shot down the Libyan Sukhoi back in 1981 (I think that was the first air to air kill for an F-14). Does anyone have a picture of this airplane when that happened? I know it was with a different squadron at the time............
Then there's the ol' halftrack and Sherman tank. The halftrack still drives, but the tank is static only........
Now, all I know about this Harpoon is that it's on loan from the U.S. Navy. I think Tim Savage filled me in on some of it's history, but I simply can't remember any of what he told me about it.
There are no numbers painted on it, nor is there a data plate anywhere that I could find, but surely someone out there knows more about this cool ride......
So there you have it. I'm sure there are folks here at the CAF who do know the history of some of these airplanes, but I've yet to talk to any of them who do. Any light that could be shed on that topic would be great. If anyone would like more specific photos taken, just let me know and I'll post them.
Thanks in advance,
Gary
Overall, this Thud looks to be in pretty good shape......
Actually, this Phantom and the Super Sabre both appear to be in good shape as well. Is this history for the Phantom accurate?
There is a plaque for the two helicopters, but they are just general information. As far as I know, we don't have any history on either of these. Can anyone help with this?
Does anyone out there know any further history on this Super Sabre?
The F-111 gets moved around from time to time and gets opened up for our annual "Open Cockpit Day." History on this bird would be nice to have as well........
Now, we all know the cool history with this Tomcat. It's the one that shot down the Libyan Sukhoi back in 1981 (I think that was the first air to air kill for an F-14). Does anyone have a picture of this airplane when that happened? I know it was with a different squadron at the time............
Then there's the ol' halftrack and Sherman tank. The halftrack still drives, but the tank is static only........
Now, all I know about this Harpoon is that it's on loan from the U.S. Navy. I think Tim Savage filled me in on some of it's history, but I simply can't remember any of what he told me about it.
There are no numbers painted on it, nor is there a data plate anywhere that I could find, but surely someone out there knows more about this cool ride......
So there you have it. I'm sure there are folks here at the CAF who do know the history of some of these airplanes, but I've yet to talk to any of them who do. Any light that could be shed on that topic would be great. If anyone would like more specific photos taken, just let me know and I'll post them.
Thanks in advance,
Gary
Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:04 pm
Cool pics Gary...thanks for sharing!!!! 
John
John
Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:44 pm
I'll pass on what I know...or what I think is accurate. Re: the F-100 and F-105...they are gutted, no engine, no cockpit...the F-4 is minus one engine, but the cockpits are essentially complete...The F-111 is from Wichita Falls/Shepard AFB and was an instructional airframe for mechanics: it is complete (we have an F-111 driver here who loves to give cockpit tours during Open Cockpit Day and he marvels at how complete it is)...The Tomcat flew in to Midland...we didn't have a defueler so they just let it sit on the ramp running until all the fuel was gone. It is minus a few things but the crew chief in charge of taking some of the important stuff off of it said if I gave him a week's notice he could have it flyable again...I know nothing about the Huey and the Cobra...The Harpoon was on the Lex and somehow had its back broken when it was being moved around down there....the Sherman tank doesn't have the gun carriage mount nor tube (actually a piece of drill pipe)...That's about all I know.
Old Shep
Old Shep
Sun Jan 21, 2007 6:31 pm
Gary, send me the SN of the cobra and the Huey and i will look them up!