B-17 Boeing Bee gets a hangar again

[spookythecat]

From the Museum of Flight facebook page this morning.

B-17 moving day!

The Museum has been fortunate to find a hangar on Boeing Field for its DC-2 and B-17. Although this move unfortunately takes these precious artifacts out of the public view, it will greatly help protect them from the elements until those times when the Museum can exhibit them during favorable weather conditions, or until the airplanes have a permanent, indoor exhibition space.

[The Inspector]

So, Clay needs the room? Must have worked a deal with Vulcan.

[hang the expense]

Bob Richardson rolling over in his grave.

[APG85]

I'm glad the B-29 also got to inside...oh, wait...

[peter]

Great news!

[Chris Brame]

Good! Now they have a nice dry place to paint its wartime training field codes and name Patricia back on it. (suuuuuuuure... )

[Pat Carry]

Glad to hear its gunna have a roof over its head again!

[p51]

I went to a space-related event at the MoF last year and I talked with their marketing and fundraising people.
There are NO longterm plans to build anything for the 17 and 29. So storage is all that awaits these planes for the foreseable future. And they made it clear that space is the focus of the museum for now, not warbirds as much as it had been. "We've spent all the money we're going to for a very long time on military aircraft," one told me.

[Mike]

It seems to me that the next focus will be on getting the Lockheed 10E and Stinson Model O inside the main building. I wonder if anything will be evicted to make room?

[The Inspector]

So it's heading back to the Howard Lovering PNAHAAF days again huh? The Great Gallery is going to be mighty quiet with a pile of 'Golden Age' fliers and no customers. If P.A./FHC manage to get ahold of ATS Hgr 1 then they'll have a good sized facility (125000 Sq Ft) that will hold a 747, and all the stuff currently in the 'Hall of Heros' or as it's also known, 'The mushroom farm' (because it's so dark and cool) @ KBFI can all move to KPAE leaving plenty of room for 30's aircraft. The former Champlin collection (owned by VULCAN/P.A.) is on loan to the MoF.

[hang the expense]

I went to a space-related event at the MoF last year and I talked with their marketing and fundraising people.
There are NO longterm plans to build anything for the 17 and 29. So storage is all that awaits these planes for the foreseable future. And they made it clear that space is the focus of the museum for now, not warbirds as much as it had been. "We've spent all the money we're going to for a very long time on military aircraft," one told me.

Again I say, Bob Richardson rolling over in his grave.I bet no amount of money could pry the B-17 from their storage hands.

[p51]

Again I say, Bob Richardson rolling over in his grave.I bet no amount of money could pry the B-17 from their storage hands.

No argument from me on either point you made. There's no way MoF will sell the 17 or the 29.
The really sad thing is that if the museum didn't get the shuttle FFT trainer that's sitting in there now, they would have just filled that great new (and very large) building with random space stuff instead of putting one of their airplanes in there. I also got that from their money people directly because the money for that building was given to them for a space annex.

[The Inspector]

Again I say, Bob Richardson rolling over in his grave.I bet no amount of money could pry the B-17 from their storage hands.

No argument from me on either point you made. There's no way MoF will sell the 17 or the 29.
The really sad thing is that if the museum didn't get the shuttle FFT trainer that's sitting in there now, they would have just filled that great new (and very large) building with random space stuff instead of putting one of their airplanes in there. I also got that from their money people directly because the money for that building was given to them for a space annex.

The main 'Great Gallery' was designed to support and accommodate a B-17 where the DC-3 is hanging now since both airframes are about the same size and weight.

[mustangdriver]

Interviewed the museum director for our show. There are plans to expand on the museum to get the collection indoors. FHC alread has a B-17 that they have hidden away in storage.

[JohnB]

The MoF needs to step back and think about what it wants to be.
From a distance, it looked to me like they spent the last decade waiting for the Space Shuttle...now that that's not coming, they need to think "what's next".

With their receent AE Electra purchase, I really don't think theyre going all space anytrime soon.

Besides, with the shuttle program grounded and no new American program of the horizon, I'm really not sure what they'd have to display IF it were to focus on space
(not to mention the problem with space hardware is your rarely get anything back to display...leaving a nice museum of mock-ups or replicas).

I've said here a couple of times thatthey need to leverage the local Boeing/Douglas heritage and become the world's #1 air transport museum.
Unlike warbirds, it's a niche that no one else (at least in the US) seems to be doing.
Besides, it's right up Seattle's political climate....not war/military focused.
Something to think about.

Last edited by JohnB on Wed Mar 20, 2013 12:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.