Jaybird,
That is NOT dust.
That is a special coating that is applied by the maintenance department for use in one of the training programs that the Cavanaugh Flight Museum has implemented for Volunteers.
Now and then the newer Volunteers (and some of the older Volunteers requiring re-certification), are trained in the "art of cleaning". Since all the aircraft at the museum are in such great condition, and never get dirty, we have to use this "special coating" to be able to identify if the Volunteer is implementing the cleaning process properly. Without it we wouldn't be able to tell if they had actually done anything!
Seeing that maintenance has applied the "special coating" to the Corsair tells me that there must be a training session coming up very soon!
We also do training exercises related to the recycling of oils and chemicals, in order to stay in compliance with EPA safety regulations.
This usually involves flying the C47 around the pattern a couple of times, and then seeing how much oil each volunteer can get on a rag/shirt/hands/hair etc, before it drips off the aircraft onto the ramp. If we don't manage to catch all the oil in time, the "follow-on" training course "101 uses of kitty litter" is immediately implemented.
(One of the pictures taken by Brandon shows the C47 just after successfully completing its "oil egress test", and prior to the start of this last weekends "oil recycling" training session).
As for the Eagle. From memory, (and Doug can correct me if I am wrong) the last time we flew it was in 2003(?), when Kevin (Museum Assistant Director) flew it to Oshkosh.
Brandon, nice pictures.
Needle.