Warbird Information Exchange

There are a lot of things that would be nice, but won't happen because the direction of the museum has changed. This isn't a flying museum anymore, and hasn't been for nearly 15 years. Pretty much all of the flying aircraft are housed in a building that doesn't have runway access. The museum is selling the building that served as the flight operations and restoration center. I used to hope the museum would fly one or two of the fighters, but that hope died a long time ago. They're parked, and unless they're sold or there is a big change in the direction of the museum, that isn't going to change.

The flying era was fun while it lasted and those of us lucky enough to grow up seeing the Cat Flight, Warbirds Over Kalamazoo, etc. will always have those great memories. I grew up going to the museum 2-3 Saturday's a month starting before I could even walk, and I have a lot of great memories there. Seeing the Tigercat, P-47, Hellcat, Corsair, etc. fly consistently is the reason I became interested in warbirds. I miss it like heck, but it's not coming back unless there's a huge change of direction over there.

I visited in December and that was the first time I'd been in the museum in probably three years. It was nice to see work getting done on some of the static displays where the condition had started to slide, and it was nice to see some restoration work of other aircraft. The F-4 has been long overdue for some TLC, and the F-84F looks great in the new Thunderbirds colors. The V-1 is also a nice display, especially considering what was originally there to work with. I'm sure the Wildcat will be a head-turner when complete, but it's going to be a long time and it's going to take a lot of work. Anyone know if the plan is still to display the aircraft at Glenview when it's complete?

The new museum does a great job bringing in kids and families, which is what seems to be the biggest target audience for everything the museum does now. They have a lot of events geared towards kids, even if some of it isn't aviation-related. Everyone I've talked to who goes there says there are always a lot of kids and families at the museum. If that's what the mission is, they're doing a good job at it.

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Matt

You are right Matt, it is what it is, and if they don't have the finances/resources/wherewithal to fly them, at least they are on display and well taken care of.
I remember seeing the pink P-40 in the air when I was a kid, I'm sure others as well, and it would be great to see some of them in the air. I think a majority of visitors there are laymen, and these aircraft look so nice that they think, man, these things are ready to just taxi out and take to the sky, whats stopping them ?
They have no idea of the complexities, maintenance, personnel and finance it takes to maintain vintage aircraft in flying condition, its just out of reach for most individuals and organizations.
I noticed all the kiddy attractions, makes perfect sense. They already have by default the attractions for adult history and aviation nuts, but the average kid would get bored silly pretty quick just looking at parked aircraft ,,, So all the rides, simulators and other things geared towards youngsters make it a family destination, and an enjoyable way for all age groups to spend a historically themed afternoon.
If I lived nearby I'd certainly be a volunteer, about a 4 hour round trip for me so that is out of reach.

They actually did something along those lines in the last couple "flying" years, with what they called the "travelling warbird" show. They'd send the Tri-Motor and one of the fighters to various locations, hopping rides in the Ford and doing some demos with the fighter. That ended when flying ceased in the fall of 2000. As Xray mentioned, most of the "airworthy" planes are in the new facility with no runway access, and they've been parked for over a dozen years. I think the engines were "pickled," but due to fire codes and such (since they're not in an actual hangar anymore) all the fluids had to be drained and systems purged. They would need major maintenance to get back into the air. Obviously it can be done, as the Bearcat and Tigercat were sold and returned to the skies a couple years ago, but I doubt the museum has the resources. Back when I was a volunteer some ten years ago, I was lamenting the grounding of the collection, and one of the staff said there were only two options: park the aircraft and keep the museum in operation, or keep flying them and go bankrupt within a couple of years.

It's sad, and like Jay I really miss seeing the warbirds flying all the time (and kick myself for taking it for granted back in those days) but the hard truth is that as time marches on, costs only increase and fewer people are interested in pumping in the massive amounts of cash necessary to keep these birds flying. The day will come (probably sooner than we think) when the last warbird touches down and shuts down from its final flight. I just try to enjoy seeing them fly while I still can.

SN

The new director very clearly has education as his main focus...science education to be specific. It is a very safe be that the Airzoo flew it's last aircraft when the Trimotor came home. What remains to be seen is how much emphasis (and in what form) is placed on the aircraft as the education programs come more to the fore. Troy has a museum background, and clearly knows how to/is willing to fundraise, something the previous director absolutely refused to do. Troy has very lofty ambitions, and if anyone can pull them off he can. As I said, the open question (at least in my mind) is how much focus will be on the aircraft as the museum moves forward. There are still people who come in specifically to see the aircraft, which is great...there are also people who come in knowing very little about aviation and/or history...if you can talk them into a tour (and that is a big "if", I'll admit), they almost universally enjoy their experience. Some of the volunteers have decreed that as long as the aircraft are there, they will be too...others are waiting to see what the final outcome will be before stating categorically that they will be part of the "new" Airzoo. But times are definitely changing!