Prep for last flight to Pensacola

[kenlyco]

AJ-2 SAVAGE LEAVING BRIDGEPORT FOR PENSACOLA 82? N68667

[chippie51]

Great looking aeroplane. How many of those are still around?

G

[Holedigger]

Here is another shot of that same A/C. I don't recall ever seeing one of these. They appear to show 2 different paint schemes of the aircraft at that site. They also state it is the sole survivor of 143 built.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled-(AVCO-Lycoming)/North-American-AJ-2/1401344&tbl=photo_info&photo_nr=1&sok=WHERE__(aircraft_generic_%3D_%27North_American_AJ-2_Savage%27)_&sort=_order_by_photo_id_DESC_&prev_id=&next_id=1253369

[tom d. friedman]

i didn't know one was still flying!!

[Holedigger]

It looks like just a hop to the Navy Air museum, which probably means it will never fly again.(unless someone knows different)

[Jerry O'Neill]

It is the last Savage and it WAS a flyer. Now currently in the backlot at Pensecola. I wish I could've seen it fly once, since I lived so close. I used to see it at the airport and have a bunch of pics. I even talked my way in to seeing the log book once!

It was a test bed for AVCO Lycoming when they were in old Vought Plant.
At least it was saved and has a good home.
Thanks for posting Ken!
Jerry

[Warbird Kid]

My dad remembers seeing it leave the field for FL. Just as he was pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. Must have been cool.

[Dan K]

Test bed pic for the F-102 program:

http://collections.naval.aviation.museu ... n=16008027


And on display:

http://collections.naval.aviation.museu ... ?irn=27378

[mustangdriver]

She is one of the birds slated to come in when the new addition is put up. Groundbreaking is in the works

[Holedigger]

The sooner she gets in out of the weather, the better. Shame to have her in flying condition, then go to a "museum" and rot! As a one of a kind, and many are after the military scrapping and not preserving examples, preservation is preferred to having to rebuild and fight corrosion after years of neglect.

[viking73]

Wow, there's only 1 Savage left in the world and that's it? I didn't know that. What a shame...

There must be some in the ocean somewhere I wonder if underwater salvage efforts of post-WWII aircraft will ever happen...?

[Jerry O'Neill]

There was another one back in the 1970's. It was near Philadelphia and didn't have it's outer wing panels. I believe it was scraped.
There was a photo in Air Classics back then of the Savage sitting in a sad state.
Jerry

[kenlyco]

Here is a Pic I found online with the 502 extended..



IF you ever get a chance to find a video of one of
these Taxing check out the main gear walking...

[Chris Brame]

There was another one back in the 1970's. It was near Philadelphia and didn't have it's outer wing panels. I believe it was scrapped.

Yes, and it was the first XAJ-1, being used for static load tests at the Naval Air Engineering Center. Too bad that some of those '50s Naval birds like the Savage, Mercator and Marlin are now either one-of-one or extinct...

[Steve Nelson]

I know NMNA has a (the) Marlin..is the Mercator extinct?

Here's a snapshot of the Museum's Savage circa 2005.

SN