Just before Halloween, a thread from the dead.
Two weeks ago I visited Jim England, a retired air traffic controller at Barkley Airport in Paducah, KY. Mostly we discussed the B-17 that was displayed there for the Boy Scouts in 1946, but he also showed me photos of an F-86 taken in 1979 as it was being moved by a Skycrane helicopter. They made an unscheduled landing at Barkley to adjust the lifting straps when the plane started flying itself and affecting the helicopter's performance. I got a couple poor photos of the photos (wish I had a scanner); it looks like the plane was F-86D 52-3638 and it was being moved from (IIRC) the closed military museum in Louisville to end up as a target at Fort Leonard Wood.
Odd that the 638 on the tail was apparently repainted black.
Much earlier shot of '638 at the so-called museum in Louisville:
https://www.key.aero/sites/default/file ... 000004.jpgI'm wondering if, after this place closed in the early '70s, the plane got a camo paint job and might have been displayed in a park or playground? Over to the experts...
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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)