I had no idea this still existed...

[n5151ts]

does anyone (or everyone but me) knows where it is?

[gtokid]

Kalamazoo, MI @ the Air Zoo

[n5151ts]

Kalamazoo, MI @ the Air Zoo

I wonder if they are interested in Racing it next year at Reno?

[gtokid]

Kalamazoo, MI @ the Air Zoo

I wonder if they are interested in Racing it next year at Reno?

Neat idea, but I don't think so . I believe the Acsender belongs to the Smithsonian on loan to the Air Zoo which restored it. I saw it a couple years ago....beautiful restoration.

[Django]

does anyone (or everyone but me) knows where it is?

Yep.

One of these days I hope to make it up there.

[Zachary]

It's the first thing you see on display on the ground floor when you walk into the display area from the museum lobby. Some would say the new display is kind of "gimmicky", but I really like it.

Zack

[262crew]

Air and Space had an article about this aircraft last year and IIRC it belongs (according to A&S) to Kermit Weeks.

[Steve Nelson]

Err...don't know what A&S is talking about. AFAIK the XP-55 is owned by the NASM. It was loaned to the Air Zoo a few years ago for restoration and display as part of a musueum partnership program. They've done a really nice job. I've got some pre-restoration pics somewhere I took when it first arrived in Kalamazoo. It was kinda shabby outside, but in decent shape inside..they basically just cleaned and preserved everything inside, and spiffed up and repainted the exterior. Per NASM orders, they replicated every stencil exactly, even making sure the crooked ones were correctly reproduced. Local avaition artist Rick Herter did the "Ascender" logo. Here are some pics I took just after the restoration was finished, and one I shot last month.

SN

[AIRIC]

Very nice. My wife and I plan to visit KalZoo on the 11th so I’m looking forward to seeing the Ascender. The last time we visited was over 12 years ago.

Eric

[Jesse C.]

That bird is just too cool! Didn't the Japanese version also survive the war?

[APG85]

That bird is just too cool! Didn't the Japanese version also survive the war?

I think you are correct and I believe the NASM owns that as well...

[CAPFlyer]

Anyone want to fund a replica for Reno?

[n5151ts]

Anyone want to fund a replica for Reno?

dimensionally smaller air frame, two Griffon engines, propellers driven by shafts front and rear, engines both mounted midships on the wing, single propeller on front, contras on the rear engine (or some weird combination of this depending on what works best to eliminate the shock cone that develops on the front at high speeds), cuneiform tail surfaces to eliminate the need for a big vertical, F-16 recumbent type seating but with center line controls instead of side stick, no fly by wire, lightweight tricycle gear of course, airframe design that contains center line fuel and ADI tanks so that fuel burn off does not affect the handling.......... submit your designs!

[Django]

Such a cool design.

Is it the lighting or is the insignia blue way too bright?

[mustangdriver]

I think it is the lighting.