This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
Post a reply

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:35 am

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:53 am

I really like the Guardian too. The Zero is nice as well. Thanks for posting

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:12 pm

I like the guy shooting pics of the 262's wheel wells. So why no pics here, guy?? So, they really let you get up-close and personal on these planes, eh? Or was it "no ropes" day?

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:12 pm

Unlike many museums, at NNAM you can touch history up close and personal.
You may have noticed the light level. Unlike a wonderful museum in Ohio, NNAM
uses more that a dozen 40 watt bulbs for illimination.

Look the Me-262 over, feel how slick it is. Then go look at a contemporary F6F.
OMG, I'm so glad Adolph wanted then as bombers. Thank god they were never deployed in numbers and that we had ten P-51s for each of theirs.

Owen
Last edited by JOMiller on Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:42 pm

The Zero still bugs me. Probably the USN's most famous opponent, and the one they have on display is a bizarre hack job...

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:59 pm

Kyleb wrote:The Zero still bugs me. Probably the USN's most famous opponent, and the one they have on display is a bizarre hack job...


The Zero was pieced together from numerous parts and wrecks. I think the volunteers did a pretty decent job with what they had...

Image

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:39 pm

APG85 wrote:
Kyleb wrote:The Zero still bugs me. Probably the USN's most famous opponent, and the one they have on display is a bizarre hack job...


The Zero was pieced together from numerous parts and wrecks. I think the volunteers did a pretty decent job with what they had...


Volunteers are great, but why the odd wing root bumps?

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:48 pm

Kyleb wrote:
APG85 wrote:
Kyleb wrote:The Zero still bugs me. Probably the USN's most famous opponent, and the one they have on display is a bizarre hack job...


The Zero was pieced together from numerous parts and wrecks. I think the volunteers did a pretty decent job with what they had...


Volunteers are great, but why the odd wing root bumps?


Not sure. I don't know what they had to work with, what's real, what's fabricated and if they had any plans to work from. It would be interesting to see what they had when they started the rebuild/restoration. I also don't know how old the restoration is. What was done 20/30 years ago might be done to a different standard today.

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Wed Apr 08, 2015 11:01 pm

APG85 wrote:The Zero was pieced together from numerous parts and wrecks. I think the volunteers did a pretty decent job with what they had....I don't know what they had to work with, what's real, what's fabricated and if they had any plans to work from. It would be interesting to see what they had when they started the rebuild/restoration. I also don't know how old the restoration is. What was done 20/30 years ago might be done to a different standard today.


The 'Zero' is one of 'colorful' Canadian Bob Deimert's 1970s creations, and is more of a replica than a restoration. It incorporates a some original Zero parts, combined with a lot of "Red Green Style" garage engineering (the wing center section appears to have been adapted from a BT-13.) I've heard that he also used a lot of non-aviation grade parts from the hardware store. I understand it actually flew once or twice before being donated to the museum. It was on display at the USMC Museum in Quantico for a number of years before ending up in Pensacola. What really bugs me is the fact that when I first visited the Museum in 2005 the 'Zero' had a reasonably accurate paint job. A couple of years later it was repainted in totally bogus markings that are all kinds of wrong.

SN

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:02 am

Hands On!

The first time I visited I met a veteran back seat gunner who gave me detailed information on each plane.

At the Avenger he showed me where the wing crank was located in the wheel well and proceeded to CRANK UP THE WING!

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Thu Apr 09, 2015 8:25 am

More:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:23 pm

I've noticed that for some reason the museum seems to be awash in Wildcats. They have a total of five on display: a "yellow wing" F4F-3, another -3 in the "lake bottom" diorama, a third -3 hanging from the ceiling, an FM-2 masquerading as an F4F in the Guadalcanal diorama, and another FM-2 hanging out by the lobby.

The NMUSAF seems to have a similar situation with F-4 Phantoms, with something like a half-dozen variants on display.

SN

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Sat Apr 11, 2015 7:42 am

Thanks for sharing some really quality photos - all of you.

Ken

Re: National Naval Aviation Museum Visit

Sat Apr 11, 2015 12:51 pm

Fantastic museum. I've visited three times now, and always shoot several hundred pics! Gotta love digital cameras. I remember "back in the day" I'd usually bring four rolls of 'film' (ask your parents, kids) when I visited the USAF Museum, giving me a total of 80 or so shots, of which maybe half would be 'keepers,' and I wouldn't know until I got home and had the film processed. Now with a 16gb SD card I can shoot rhousands of frames, and know instantly if I got the shot, and shoot as many retakes as necessary.

SN
Post a reply