MI Trip

[CorsairFreak]

Last weekend I took a trek up to MI to see the Air Zoo then over to the Henry Ford Musuem. While I was up there I went over and looked at the YAM planes outside. The cleanup looks like it is almost done. I thought that the air zoo was great but the lighting was very poor (new building). I toured the restoration buildings as well. Lots of planes packed in together. F11F, Mig 21, 2 Ford Tri-Motors, ect. The wings are on the XP-55. That is one wierd looking aircraft. Here's just a couple of pics I took. Kinda mad cuz I had a shot of the instrument panel of the XP-55 but it blurred.

[Originalboxcar]

CF,

Thanks for the updated pics! Did the kzoo give a completion date on the ASS-ENDER?

Anyone know if the xp-55 will go back to NASM when completed?

Regards,

t~

[CorsairFreak]

They didn't say when it would be completed. But I did learn that once they get it done, they will put it behind the SR-71B. They also said NASM could take it back at any time.

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Hi,

Thanks for posting the photo's. They are pretty good considering that they were taken inside a hangar. You've had more luck with that than I have <grin>. I had heard that they were the ones doing the XP-55. I always kinda thought of the Ascender as a "Long EZ" with machine guns. Very advanced for it's day. But I think that the Japanese were working on a similar aircraft themselves. Either way....both types were advanced for their respective time periods.

Nice to see this one back on it's gear. The last time I saw it, it was sitting on it's belly mostly disasembled at the storage facility at Silver Hill.

Thanks again,

Paul

[bdk]

Rats! Couldn't they maybe make just one more flight?

[CorsairFreak]

Our guide told us that they had just finnished attaching the wings a week or so ago.

Taking photos inside the hanger was awful. In the new building the lighting was horrible. In the old building everything blurred for some reason. I don't know what the problem was.

[kalamazookid]

The lighting in the new building is awful. Its a shame that all the planes are in the dark. Alot of the pictures I've taken at the old building of the air zoo blur too but I haven't been able to figure out the problem either. As for the Ascender the last newsletter I got said it should be ready for display by late summer or early fall. I saw that Greg Herrick's Trimotor was parked outside the museum Restoration Center recently so I assume that was the other Trimotor there. Did anyone mention when the museum's Ford will be ready to fly?

[kalamazookid]

The lighting in the new building is awful. Its a shame that all the planes are in the dark. Alot of the pictures I've taken at the old building of the air zoo blur too but I haven't been able to figure out the problem either. As for the Ascender the last newsletter I got said it should be ready for display by late summer or early fall. I saw that Greg Herrick's newly restored Ford Trimotor was parked outside the museum Restoration Center recently so I assume that was the other Trimotor there. Did anyone mention when the museum's Ford will be ready to fly?

[CorsairFreak]

I didn't think that the museum's tri-motor was going to fly.

I talked to some photographers and they said that for lighting like that you need a tripod and use the setting for a longer disposure time. If that helps.