Warbird Information Exchange

Plans are to open the new building in 2014. Very exciting news. www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123255034

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Good news. But that same amount could have been made selling all the outside USAFM aircraft around the country to private individuals.

(just joking)

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Is that to put their Space Shuttle in?

That was their original intention. The presidential aircraft will go in there along w/ all their space related objects and the remaining aircraft on outside display.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

I wish they could get all of the experimental aircraft over to the main area also. The next building after this one maybe . Soon you'll need three days to take the whole museum in closely.

aeroeng

A 4th building is certainly an immediate need for the collection. But looking ahead it seems to me that in reality TWO buildings are really required to house all of the existing and forthcoming exhibits. For example: XC-99,C-5,C-141,KC-10, C-135 variants (e.g. E,R,K & V), E-3, E-4,C-17,C-9, T-43, YC-125, C-60, C-119, C-82, C-131, T-29, all Presidential A/C, X-1 thru X-5, XB-70, C-12, C-20, C-21,C-22, C-23, C-25, C-25, C-26,C-27,C-28, C-29, C-32, C-35,C-37, C-38, B-17D, B-17F,...to name a few. Yes, Space Shuttle too. Does the NMUSAF have a Douglas B-23 and a Lockheed RB-69 stuck away? I believe there is a Douglas C-33 (DC-2) and an O-46 in storage and didn't I see a WIX thread a note regarding the B-42 and B-43 restoration as well. The Lockheed B-37 Lexington is coming too.

Did I miss any? Nope, not a one...yeah, right. Don't forget all the exhibits hanging from the ceilings due to lack of space.

They do have a B-23.


Cheers,
Richard

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Richard Mallory Allnutt - Photography - http://www.rmallnutt.com

Sounds like you have it pretty well covered. It does seem that 2 buildings will be needed to house all of these. There are some very large aircraft in that list. It will be interesting to see how they eventually all fit in.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Yup after the other museum fails to take care of theirs.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

You mean like the NMUSAF is doing with the planes at Barksdale AFB and Chanute AFB? The NMUSAF has let them get away with neglecting those planes for decades in some cases and never done a thing about it except write them letters and make threats.

The B-34/B-37 is already there. I saw the fuselage on the ramp outside the restoration hangars in March.

One that I didn't see on your list is the Spanish He-111. It's been in storage for decades..back in the '90s I heard that the museum had recovered a set of Jumos from a wreck ditched in Norway, and planned to restore the aircraft to represent a Heinkel.

Oh, and the early Douglas transport they have is a C-39..from what I understand it's basically a DC-2 fuselage with a DC-3 center section and tail feathers (there are a bewildering number of designations for various civilian DC-2/3s that were impressed into military service. Most were built to order with different features for different airlines, each variant got its own designation.)

SN

Both of those museums are trying to do their best with what they have. They also need volunteers very bad. So I'm sure if you tried to volunteer there they'd be thrilled to have you

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

I stopped by the BAFB museum last October. It didn't look to me like they were trying very hard to do anything. They do not even appear to pressure wash their planes. As for volunteering, as soon as I get done with my upgrade training I intend to volunteer at the AMC museum at Dover AFB. But thanks for trying to make it look like I am not practicing what I preach.

There are a few folks on here who have worked with the Barksdale group and there are current volunteers on here from Chanute. They can tell you about the challenges they face on a day to day basis. Just to be clear there was a thread about the CHanute Air Museum and the NMUSAF requesting some planes back from them, and the NMUSAF was getting bashed in it. Now you are ticked that the planes continue to stay there. It's a lose lose for them the way I see it.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

I am not bashing the NMUSAF at all None of that changes the fact that two museums made 99% out of NMUSAF assets are not taking care of the airplanes in the manner that is required by the loan agreements and they have not done anything about it at WPAFB other than write a few letters and make a few threats. Most AFB museums are behind the fence at some military base, out of the reach of people without ID cards. These are two museums open to the general public. Many peoples view of the NMUSAF will be based only on what they see at those two museums. I do not see why they are putting up with that.