Flak Bait- Tourist Bait???

[tulsaboy]

Just because it hacked me off, when I saw it in person... talk about a complete lack of actually preserving/protecting an incredibly rare artifact! I was just stunned. I could have leaned over and kissed it if I'd wanted to. Any joker can come right up to it and run his hands all over the paint. It is just incredible. I took some photos just for folks to see. The bit there, despite the lack of protection, truly is remarkable. Just amazing that you can get so close to the paint, you can see the artist's brush strokes on the individual bombs. Just amazing. I sure hope they get it protected asap.

kevin

















Also saw this little bird while I was there...



And Jack- And Mustangdriver... this Bell's for you!

[jet1]

...for the future ---------heaven forbid that they build it back to flying condition, and fly it around the country so that ALL America could see it and hear the tales that go with it about brave young men and an evil world.

[A2C]

I wouldn't mind if they flew it.

[warbird1]

Kevin, how did you get so close to photograph F.B? The last time I was there, albeit a few years ago, they had the entire nose section surrounded by plexiglass, so it was very difficult to get a good picture.

[Steve Nelson]

When I visited a year ago, I watched literally dozens of tourists rub their hands across Flak Bait's paint (counting the mission marks by tapping them with their fingers seemed to be the favorite activity..see example below.) The NASM has put some plexiglas barriers around the nose in recent years, but you can see a bare spot at the edge of the glazing where countless nitwits placed their hands while peering through the glazing. Much of the port side is still in easy reach. The sooner they get FB out of there and out to Udvar-Hazy the better.



It's not limited to FB either. Pretty much every wingtip or prop blade within reach throughout the museum has been grunged up or rubbed bare by years of grubby-handed idiots. The only thing Security seemed concerned with was threatening to throw me out if I dared to use my monopod to take pictures.

I've been to countless museums of all types over the years, and I've never seen the kind of utter disregard for the artifacts/exhibits that I saw in the various facilities on the National Mall. I think it's partly the type of visitor those facilities attract. Visitors to U-H, NMUSAF and NMNA seem to be much more respectful of the aircraft and artifacts, but those museums tend to be visited mostly by aircraft enthusiasts. Most of those visiting the downtown NASM facility are just tourists hitting one more museum on the Mall.

Sorry for the rant, but this thread touched on one of my hot buttons.

SN

[rreis]

I think it is the responsability of the museum to protect their artifacts. Althought I understand your reaction I also think what else could be expected? If it's in touch reach, ergo, it's "OK" to touch it seems a reasonable reasoning for one who doesn't know better. And how can people know better, especially if you're young. To touch seems a basic impulse for everyone, it's also a way of sharing something, trying to trespass the time barrier to contact with the memory of what went...

[tom d. friedman]

when some gang banging punks scratch their names on it, & put some graffitti on it for kicks then maybe the museum will wake up!!!

[rreis]

tom, maybe that's a great idea. one could do a sticker:

"THIS COULD BE A GRAFITTI! PLEASE SAVE ME FROM IGNORANCE"

and put it there

and I can foresee a bunch of other uses for such a sticker...

[mustangdriver]

I support not flying it because you would lose so much history. But the NASM should be ashamed of what they are doing.

[warbird1]

I support not flying it because you would lose so much history. But the NASM should be ashamed of what they are doing.

I agree completely. Flak Bait should not be flown, because she is truly a time capsule warbird.

[APG85]

Thanks for posting the pictures. I really like the tail shot of The Spirit of St. Louis. Got any more?

[Jiggersfromsphilly]

I was at the NASM about a month after it opened and have been back countless times. The security staff could careless about what historical significance the collection has. Ask them an original question and they will direct you to one of the guides or the desk on the ground floor.

They are worker drones, not caring historians.

[Nathan]

I'd rather see it flying then scuffed up like that.

[rreis]

I was at the NASM about a month after it opened and have been back countless times. The security staff could careless about what historical significance the collection has. Ask them an original question and they will direct you to one of the guides or the desk on the ground floor.

They are worker drones, not caring historians.

what OS are they running? maybe they can be hacked!

[mustangdriver]

I'd rather see it flying then scuffed up like that.

Nathan with the exception of one area, every scratch on her is from her WWII flying days. She is way to valuable to fly.