Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:11 am
viking73 wrote:Is the glass all going to be painted gray like most of the other a/c at Pima? I assume this is to protect the glass from the sun?
It would be to protect the interior from high temps.
Tue Feb 24, 2009 12:52 pm
skydaddy61 wrote:viking73 wrote:Is the glass all going to be painted gray like most of the other a/c at Pima? I assume this is to protect the glass from the sun?
It would be to protect the interior from high temps.
To answer the questions that have come up:
Painting the glass does several things. It helps keep the temps inside the airplane down, it protects the interior from fading in the sunlight, and it keeps the plexiglas from fogging over. It also discourages people from climbing up on airplanes to look in cockpits. If the airplane moves indoors then the material we use can be removed fairly easily.
The planes are painted because the paint helps protect the underlying surface. On the B-36 the magnesium skins are particularly sensitive to water so we have no choice about this one. The primer isn't designed to be left exposed and it will actually fade and flake faster than the top coat will. The paint we are using now should hold up longer than some of the stuff we were using in the past. We are hoping for 13-15 years from all of our recent paint jobs. We'll find out in 10 years when the first ones we did with this system hit the 13 year mark.
I don't know right off hand what was wrong with the hatch. It wasn't that we couldn't fix it. We decided that it wasn't worth the effort since we have no intention of opening the cockpit for tours and there is another way in if we have to get inside. If the decision about tours changes at some distant future point then we'll fix it.
James
Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:19 pm
Thanks for answering the questions. The plane looks great!
Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:36 pm
I at least like it when a museum places big glossy photos of the interior on an adjacent easel so you get a taste of what the interior looks like. Maybe you could petition for that to be added somewhere in the museum in some appropriate fashion - and that goes for all the planes that are presentable.
Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:45 pm
Sasnak wrote:James,
I hope the powers to be decide to display the B-36 with it's nose gear doors in the open position. In the operational days, they were generally left open and it gives her a more 'ready to go' appearence. You can still keep her locked with addition of a simple pad-lock on the inner access hatch. It helps to give the display a more accurate appearance.
Just a suggestion. Might also help with keeping the nose area more vented for heat dissipation purposes.
The RB-36H at Castle and the B-36J at the SAC museum are displayed with the nose-gear doors in the open position. Whereas the B-36J at the NMUSAF has her forward doors closed, and I've always thought it looked odd.
I expect they will be closed to prevent occupation by wildlife.
James
Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:21 pm
Having lived and worked on planes in Tucson...closed is best.
Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:48 pm
6trn4brn wrote:Outstanding! Do you know if the cockpits are opened-up for special occasions like reunions only or is this a planned thingy? Is it only veterans that are allowed? Should I send extra money ahead of time with my membership dues
Yeah, yeah...I know, don't get too excited about sitting in the cockpit of the Big Stick and making airplane noises, correctWhen I got caught fondling the F-14 at Grissom, I quickly learned that not all of us are as badly afflicted with my disease
May 15th the museum is having another open cockpit night. 6-10P.M.
Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:14 am
Hmmmm...my birthday is on May 18th, and my wife was asking what I wanted..... 
I didn't know NMUSAF was still doing any open cockpit events. Is this for "freinds" and vets only, or open to the general public?
SN
I didn't know NMUSAF was still doing any open cockpit events. Is this for "freinds" and vets only, or open to the general public?
SN
Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:46 am
Everyone is welcome.
Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:37 am
Cool! I may have to check into it. The IPMS National Convention is in Columbus this summer. I know they've got a trip to the NMUSAF planned..I wonder if there might be an open cockpit event then as well. The Museum to do those for model shows on a fairly regular basis..I got a chance to crawl through several of the warbirds back in the early '90s, including the B-36, 17, 29, and my favorite, the -24. Of course back then I was shooting film, so I had to pick my shots carefully. I'd love to go back and reshoot everything in digital.
SN
SN
Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:36 am
I'm curious as to what happened to the engines? I know when it was still here in Texas it had all of the engines since my great uncle was one of the folks that worked on her to get her ready for the flight from Greater Southwest airport that never happened. Were they distributed to other museums when the plane was being restored in Ft. Worth, or was it after it was sent to Pima?
Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:42 am
I thought the plane was complete...the engines are gone?
Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:58 am
I think the plane has only one engine left. The USAF was upset that the Ft. Worth group was going to try and fly her so they stepped in. I'm not sure where the other 5 engines went.
I'm sure someone else here knows the entire story.
I'm sure someone else here knows the entire story.
Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:15 am
Once the decision was made that it would never fly, the engines were removed from the power pods to save weight. This was in the late 70s when the aircraft was being diassembled at GSW in preparation for the move to Carswell. I remember seeing piles of parts - jugs the size of my head, a four-foot-long crankshaft... No idea what happened to them.
Wed Feb 25, 2009 12:16 pm
Thats a shame. Hopefully they were saved...