B-17 My gal sal

[runninwild]

Thanks for the updates runninwild. I visited the museum last month, and noticed that the Bf109 was no longer on display. Is this also planned to go into the new annex?

The BF-109 was removed from display to be used as a movie prop in GI Joe 2, I believe, along with our Spitfire and our 88mm flak gun. Since we quit building Shuttle hardware at the Michoud Assembly Facility, quite a few movies have been made there. The 109 is still in the shop for new motor mounts. It is not scheduled for the new annex.

[runninwild]

Update on My Gal Sal:
The mods and repairs are complete. The wings have been fit checked to the fuselage, and the aft fuselage has been fitted to the forward section. All of this has not been without problems. Some of the parts, particularly the interface flanges for the forward and aft fuselage sections had been rebuilt and the connecting longerons had been replaced. None of these parts have previously been mated together. They fit now, but took some head scratching to figure out. The plan is to move the aircraft pieces by truck to the museum this weekend, and begin the final assembly for display. This has been an awesome experience. I am not yet allowed to post attachments on the site, so sorry, no pictures, but I have plenty for future posting.

[peter]

Will she be raised up on her gear??

[runninwild]

Will she be raised up on her gear??

She is going to be suspended about 50 ft in the air with several other aircraft. Elevated walkways will allow visitors to get up close.

[Mike]

Thanks for the updates runninwild. I visited the museum last month, and noticed that the Bf109 was no longer on display. Is this also planned to go into the new annex?

The BF-109 was removed from display to be used as a movie prop in GI Joe 2, I believe, along with our Spitfire and our 88mm flak gun. Since we quit building Shuttle hardware at the Michoud Assembly Facility, quite a few movies have been made there. The 109 is still in the shop for new motor mounts. It is not scheduled for the new annex.

Thanks for that.

[Chris Brame]

Are you still going to have to remove some of Sal's internal components to be able to suspend the airframe? If so, maybe you could work a deal with Mike Kellner and the folks restoring Desert Rat/Tangerine - especially the parts they still need to bring it back to bomber configuration. Just a thought.

[runninwild]

Are you still going to have to remove some of Sal's internal components to be able to suspend the airframe? If so, maybe you could work a deal with Mike Kellner and the folks restoring Desert Rat/Tangerine - especially the parts they still need to bring it back to bomber configuration. Just a thought.

We have removed only a few items. The radios, oxygen tanks, fire extinguishers, all of the ammo with projectiles, all of the items that were easy and quick, and will not be visible to the viewing public. It would take too much time to remove any other items of significance, and we have no place to store them other than where they are. I am not sure of the Museums position on trading or selling, but I guess if someone really needs something it would be worth a call.

[runninwild]

Are you still going to have to remove some of Sal's internal components to be able to suspend the airframe? If so, maybe you could work a deal with Mike Kellner and the folks restoring Desert Rat/Tangerine - especially the parts they still need to bring it back to bomber configuration. Just a thought.

We have removed only a few items. The radios, oxygen tanks, fire extinguishers, all of the ammo with projectiles, all of the items that were easy and quick, and will not be visible to the viewing public. It would take too much time to remove any other items of significance, and we have no place to store them other than where they are. I am not sure of the Museums position on trading or selling, but I guess if someone really needs something it would be worth a call.

We also removed the toilet! LOL

[APG85]

I cringe at the thought of anything being removed...

[runninwild]

I cringe at the thought of anything being removed...

Keep in mind this aircraft had an empty weight of about 18 tons.

[APG85]

So why "suspend" it? Why not put it on supports like the Enola Gay?

[runninwild]

So why "suspend" it? Why not put it on supports like the Enola Gay?

I wondered the same. Maybe because of limited floor space? I hate to think it may be because of an "in action" way of exhibiting aircraft in a misguided effort to make the subject appealing. It's not impossible to do this, but it's got to be done in such a way that gives insight to it's use, not just as a static object hanging up yonder. It's pretty hard to see an aircraft very well like this and it's a putoff for me unless I learn something from the experience. Museum exhibition design has wound more than a few WIXers in past posts, me included!
Here's a wonderful museum that gets "in action" right, for me anyway. http://www.omaka.org.nz/omgallery/index.htm

First, you must understand where the Museum is located. It is in downtown New Orleans just off of Lee Circle. The streets are barely wide enough for two cars to pass. The Museum started as the D-Day Museum, but quickly morphed into something much larger. To expand, the Museum must obtain adjacent properties, build new facilities for new exhibits, all where floor space is at a premium. There is NO WAY to display aircraft except overhead. If you bother to check the web site you will see that there are elevated walkways for close up viewing of the suspended aircraft. The port side wing tip of the B-17 will actually be just overhead of one walkway. So before you get "wound up" again about exhibition design, you need to know and understand the reason why things are the way they are, and not from some "misguided effort".

[runninwild]

The Museum has literally thousands of artifacts yet to be restored and put on display, even one of the heavy water barrels from the German atomic program recovered from the bottom of the fjord in Norway. You mention in your previous post about learning from the exhibits. The National WWII Museum considers itself a learning institution. Every week we have lectures and speakers who are experts on the war. Remember, the Museum was started by Stephen Ambrose, an author and Professor of History. Every exhibit in this Museum tells a story, and we have a number of veterans who come every day just to hang out and talk. The Museum also sponsors trips to Europe and Asia, visiting battlefields and traveling routes followed by the Allies. I consider the National WWII Museum to be one of the pre-eminent institutions on the subject of WWII. As far as the aircraft, there is really no other way to display them. It would take an entire city block to display all of the aircraft and related artifacts. That is just not possible. Also displays are constantly being rotated, and renovations being made to existing buildings. Moving these aircraft is a challenge to say the least. This is definitely a world class institution that the entire country should be proud of.

[TAdan]

Thanks for the updates on Sal and the other exhibits runninwild.

[Warbirdnerd]

This was posted on the Museum's Facebook page today: