NMUSAF asks Chanute Museum for voluntary release of aircraft

[K5DH]

The Navy keeps tabs on its Museum assets as well. At VFM, we have an L-5 Sentinel and several aircraft engines on display that are on loan from the Navy. We are required to provide photographic evidence every year that these assets are all kept indoors, are on public display, and are being properly cared for.

It's a shame to hear that government-owned aircraft are sometimes yanked out of museums because they're not being cared for. But, the problem lies with the museums, not with the Air Force or Navy.

[wendovertom]

That is too bad for Chanute. But, I would love for Wendover to get a B-52 cockpit or C-47. Something to tie into the Heavy bomber theme (C-47s were used a lot to move personnel between Los Alamos and Wendover for the 509th)

Tom P.

[jotomp]

The big problem is lack of money, just like everybody else. The city owns the hangers the museum is in and they want close down the hangers in 2 to 3 years.

[JohnB]

If the NMUSAF takes control of the outdoor aircraft, I'm not sure who would want/afford to move the C-133.
The prototype B-47 deserves a good home too.

The B-66 is rare but I'm not sure who'd want it (especially with the F-111 nose) and I'd like to see the Albatross get a good home. 51-7200 was the prototype "B" model and the subject of the long-running Monogram kit.

[Bill Greenwood]

Surely with all the airplanes and even rockets the NMUSAF has, they wouldn't want to try to grab any airplanes that other bases or museums have displayed as part of a collection. After all, not everyone can be in Dayton.

Whoever is in charge of NMUSAF wouldn't be that greedy would they?

[mustangdriver]

The NMUSAF is trying to help this museum survive. The aircraft being discussed are only the outdoor display aircraft some of which are in risk of structure failure. There alot of facts that are not public right now but the Chanute museum and NMUSAF are working together not against one another. Chanute will be coming on the Warbird Rescue show in two weeks. Hopefully we can drum up some attention.

[PJ]

So...when the city takes over the hangers are they going to tear them down? Visited the museum last summer and if you scroll through a previous post you can see my photos of the aircraft, hangers, and base buildings. Seems like some folks are living in the former officers quarters, but a lot of the base is a HazMat nightmare, so without huge dollars spent on cleanup I don't know how it will be developed for future use.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37008&hilit=chanute

PJ
PV-2 Harpoon "Hot Stuff"
http://www.amhf.org

[whistlingdeath77]

ok ok, i'll take them all. Anybody want to help me move them to my house?

[mustangdriver]

The story I heard is that they want to tear the hangars down and develope that land. From what I have heard the local community is in favor of building on that land even if it costs them the air museum.

[Django]

What can they build there? It's an airport.

[mustangdriver]

I have no clue. We are hoping to help them as much as we can.

[Bill Greenwood]

Chanute is or was a training base, where you got the technical training after basic. I spent part of the early Spring there for mechanics school.
It was grey, cold, often wet, and almost totally depressing, The instructors were civilians and seemed to be smart enough and versed in their subjects. But as for the military part of it, they really had some slow and low types. We weren't given most of the time to study, wasted a lot of it on shining shoes, I think, and other nonsense. Everyone knows, don't they, that the VC and NVA were such good fighters mainly because their shoes were so shiny.
I survived because I told myself that is was not forever and that the normal world was still out there where men's hair looked better than their shoes, and your roommate was the opposite sex and had actually read a book in the last year.
When I had a little time off on a weekend, there was not time to go home, so I went down to the next town which was Champaign Urbana, Illinois and the home of the U of Ill and at least for a few hours I could be around a college atmosphere again. Man, it was hard to leave there in the evening and go back to the middle ages.
The military part and the technical training part were separate and really pretty much at odds. I heard a rumor that if you had an A average in your academic subjects, you got sent home 2 weeks early. I didn't know if it was true, and I certainly could not ask the cretins who were mainly there to make life miserable for us, but I took a shot. I had about a B- average at that point, and if I started to ace every phase, I might raise it to an A. I was partly sick, had fever and headaches every day, but I found a way to skip some of the military bull and study more, as well as bypass the normal cafeteria and get some better food. I started to make 100 % on the written, then was able to get to classes a few minutes early and get some of the practical time in. I never got caught, thank God,and I got my A average. I went home 2 weeks early. When I got to my Doctor in Austin, he took a blood test, and before the lab result was even back he said he was sure that I had mono. The blood test came back in 48 hours and he said that this was the worst case of mono that he had ever seen, despite it being somewhat common among students. I was partly sick for the next 6 months, used to fall asleep at my job on the AF weekends required. Of course I got not much sympathy there either, but slowly got my strentght back.
It is a shame that the whole AF and military thing was set up mainly to harass young men, not to inspire them; and that the strong motivation that resulted in me working so hard in the end was just to get out of there as soon as possible, to a normal life.

[agent86]

ok ok, i'll take them all. Anybody want to help me move them to my house?

You rent the U-Haul and we'll be there to help

[Bill Greenwood]

When I was there Rantoul was a sad gloomy town. It looked cheap and dirty, and although I didn't have much contact with the town people it seemed to me that they were a sad lot.
I am not surprised that they would not want to support a museum.

[T J Johansen]

Someone should take back a certain P-38 in NJ back then, shouldn't they...

T J