Warbird Information Exchange

Yeah, and it still stands. I've still never seen a "gang banging punk" in a museum. Your "boy scout" was probably a different kind of punk....

I know that I am not alone in this, but when I take a plane to an airshow, it is NOT for the general public to take out their touching feelings. I can get very verbal and discriptive on various on persons that get that touchey feeley feeling.

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If God had wanted man to fly behind a flat motor, Pratt Whitney would've built one.

What I had in mind was more of the "flight experiences" and "static tours" that large organizations such as Collings, CAF, EAA, etc. provide. I didn't mean to imply that every owner should let the public play all over their airplanes while making airplane noises.

you need a hug.

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

Phase II is under construction as we speak, with most of the skeleton and outer paneling up. Quite a ways to go, though.

My understanding is that the restoration of Flak Bait has slipped. The Engen family, which has donated a lot of money to the museum over the years (including the funding necessary to get construction of Phase 2 rolling) wanted the Helldiver done first.

Well, I don't really expect Security folks at any museum to know much about the history of the artifacts (that's what docents are for) but I DO expect them to PROTECT said artifacts!

As I said last year, Udvar-Hazy was a completely different experience from the downtown facility. The security guy I talked to at U-H was cheerful and enthusiastic, and actually encouraged me to go back to the car and get my monopod.

SN

Labels on Aircraft: Beware of air intake, Emergency Access, Beware of Ejection Seat, No Step, and Beware of salty pilot.

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"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!" R.R.

Welcome to the USSA! One Nanny State Under the Messiah, Indivisible with Tyranny, Higher Taxes, Socialism, Radical Environmentalism and a Loss of Income for all. Boy I'm proud to be a part of the USSA, what can I do to raise taxes, oh boy oh boy!

Looking at this set-up I don't think there's no blaim on the security people. If you went all day "don't touch it" you would be nuts at the end of it and also visitors would take a bad impression of the museum. The only solution is the plexi wall which is passive device. I would even say the absence of it is an open invitation to touch.

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rreis

If you want pictures, see rreis@flickr

Thanks for the info. Has Phase II been fully funded yet? I know they were still short of money about a year ago. Do you know when the intended completion date of Phase II is?

Yes, I forgot about the Engen Helldiver. That will be nice to see also, after it looks pristinely restored, just like it rolled out of the Curtiss factory. Maybe by then the Good General at Dayton will own F.B.

The Helldiver should be on display now. If it looked good enough to be on display in Pensacola its good enough to be on display in Virginia. Either that or it should have been left in Pensacola!!!!

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

I've heard that the Helldiver never really got fully restored. Yes, it had a nice, pretty, gloss blue paint scheme and looked good from the outside, but the internals were apparently in not that great of a condition. Since the NASM is the "caretaker" of these priceless artifacts and they must ensure they can survive for the next several hundred years, I support the NASM doing a full up restoration prior to it going back on display. FWIW, I don't believe that the Naval Museum's restoration standards are anywhere close to those of the NASM's.

Who is UP or at the same level of NASM? It's a true honest question, please no flames.

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rreis

If you want pictures, see rreis@flickr

If you are asking about restoration standards, then no one. NASM is the "gold standard" by which all others are measured against.

I don't include airworthy restorations in the comparison, because that philosophy is totally different, and does not espouse the view of keeping all original material intact (for obvious reasons).

Even abroad? And close calls?

I understand easily that airworthy is another kind of game, who would be the "NASM" of airworthy restorations?

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rreis

If you want pictures, see rreis@flickr

I can't comment too much on international museums because I haven't seen the majority of them up close. It wouldn't surprise me, however, if some of the National collections from Britain (IWM, etc.), Australia, France (Musee del'air), etc. did comparable work. Perhaps some of our international WIXers can comment on that. The thing that always impresses me about NASM is that even though aesthetically their restorations look superb, they have a policy of keeping virtually all original material intact on the airplanes for future historians and students, as well as their very, very strict attention to detail - even on parts of the aircraft that will never be seen by the public. Do the National collections in Britain, France, Australia do the same? Anyone know?




There is not one single person or organization, but many, many. There are probably at least 5 to 7 just here in the United States, with many more probably overseas in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, etc.