"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
08/07/2015 at 14:33 • Filed to: planelopnik
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"Ash78, voting early and often" (ash78)
08/07/2015 at 14:33 • Filed to: planelopnik | 9
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A couple years back, I visited the National Museum of Naval Aviation (IMHO, nearly every bit as good as the Smithsonian Air & Space and the Udvar-Hazy Annex at Dulles put together). Of the many amazing planes there, one rare old recon plane from the Korean era caught my eye...not because of the plane itself, which is cool enough. The McDonnell F2H-2P Banshee with a nose full of cameras. It was basically a stepping stone towards the SR-71 and U2 in the mission of flying high-altitude reconnaissance:
Link to read more:
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But because of how the museum got it:
The Museum’s F2H-2P Banshee spent the years between 1959 and 1988 with its fuselage filled with cement sitting in sand in a playground in Vero Beach, Florida, where children pretended to soar among the clouds in its cockpit . Accessioned by the Museum in 1989, it is restored in the markings of Bureau Number 126673, a VMJ-1 aircraft of the Korean War.
So this thing sat on a playground for 30 years with kids playing on it? Project Plane Hell. The pics that go along with the exhibit show restorers meticulously jackhammering out the concrete tub and restoring the thing to factory condition using what must have been spare parts from dozens of other donor planes, plus tons of custom fabrication (since very few of the recon versions were ever built).
And incidentally — I was one of the thousands who played on it as a kid. That was my hometown for several years. Here’s me and little brother circa 1988, probably not long before the museum realized what they had on their hands. All I know is that we thought we had the coolest playground around.
bob and john
> Ash78, voting early and often
08/07/2015 at 14:37 |
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wow. small world eh?
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Ash78, voting early and often
08/07/2015 at 14:40 |
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Go visit the National Museum of the USAF. Better than all three combined.
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Ash78, voting early and often
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
08/07/2015 at 14:42 |
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Was it always called that? I always referred to it as the Wright-Patterson museum as a kid...I think. That’s the one with the XB-70, right? Definitely on my bucket list if I’m ever in the Midwest again.
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ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Ash78, voting early and often
08/07/2015 at 14:46 |
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Not sure what the official name has been for the entire life of the museum, but colloquially your remembrance is correct.
Yup, they have the only Valkyrie left. Will soon be on display in the 5th hanger so you’ll no longer need to deal with taking a shuttle-bus over to see it.
We also have a Packard museum downtown, so if you can plan a long weekend, it’s worth a visit. There is a lot of entertainment in the area, plenty of great food as well. And some decent shopping for the SO should they not be inclined to wander around looking at old things all day.
ttyymmnn
> Ash78, voting early and often
08/07/2015 at 15:25 |
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It is the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson AFB. Terrific story, btw, and a fantastic photo. The only reason I can think of that they filled it with cement would be to keep someone from stealing it. It must have literally weighed a ton. Or more.
facw
> ttyymmnn
08/07/2015 at 20:02 |
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Seems like the cement would make it much more durable. You wouldn’t be able to puncture the skin as easily (don’t underestimate the destructiveness of kids)...
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ttyymmnn
> facw
08/07/2015 at 20:04 |
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Good point. And probably a better explanation.
Blue Baron
> Ash78, voting early and often
10/27/2019 at 18:13 |
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It was originally called the U.S. Air Force Museum when it was at Patterson Field. The new museum opened at Wright Field in 1971. During my visit in 2002 it was still the Air Force Museum, but when I visited it in 2004 it had the new name.