Warbird Information Exchange

That old 2011 thread popping up reminded me that I haven't done one of these updates for some time, so here is the PASM 2014 year in review and end of year update.

We started out with redoing the A-4 Skyhawk in the markings it carried with VMA-214.
A-4 display by planecurator, on Flickr

Next was our TAV-8A Harrier in its original 1976 VMAT-203 markings.
TAV-8A display by planecurator, on Flickr

Over the summer two new aircraft arrived from England. First was a Sepecat Jaguar.
Sepecat Jaguar by planecurator, on Flickr

Which we have begun repainting in the markings it carried during Desert Shield in 1990-91.
Jaguar wing repaint by planecurator, on Flickr

Soon thereafter our Harrier GR.3 arrived.
P8064205 by planecurator, on Flickr

As soon as the Jag is finished we'll reassemble and repaint the Harrier.
GR3 wing by planecurator, on Flickr

We completed the restoration of the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel in its Tripartite Test Squadron markings.
Kestrel display by planecurator, on Flickr

The tail section of a B-52D was restored and placed on display near our exhibit on the Vietnam War.
B-52 tail display by planecurator, on Flickr

Restoration work on our complete B-52D is continuing. The lengthy process of repainting it is well underway. This project has taken up the vast majority of our time this year, which explains why we've only done a few smaller projects this year.
B-52D repaint_1 by planecurator, on Flickr

Our TBM Avenger has been repainted in the markings it wore with VT-1 on the USS Bennington in July and August 1945.
TBM display_1 by planecurator, on Flickr

TBM display_2 by planecurator, on Flickr

The Stinson L-5 has been restored and is displayed in the markings of the Arizona Wing of the CAP.
L-5 display by planecurator, on Flickr

The long restoration of our F-86E has been finished and the plane is on display in its Korean War markings.
F-86 display_2 by planecurator, on Flickr

Bonus Sabre photo while it was being moved.
F-86 rollout_1 by planecurator, on Flickr

The fuselage of our Douglas A-24 Banshee is complete and has been placed on display while we begin construction of the wings.
A-24 display by planecurator, on Flickr

A-24 guns by planecurator, on Flickr

And finally our latest arrivals. Two HU-25 Guardians from the U.S. Coast Guard.
HU-25 by planecurator, on Flickr

That is about it for 2014. The next year should bring us some exciting new projects as we are about to begin construction of a new display hangar that will house most of the remaining World War II aircraft in the collection that are either outdoors or in storage awaiting restoration.

Happy New Year to all,
James

James thanks for the post.

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A&P/I.A., A.A.S./Aviation Maintenance technology
Warbird salvage/recovery
One day I'll get that P-40!

Fantastic James So much going on there. Keep up the great work.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Thank you James for the updates! Some gorgeous results there, and as mentioned already, so much work being done over the past year! I noted in the latest Classic Wings that the PASM razorback P-47 (42-8130) "Frankie" is now in Australia, and will be restored to static display condition by Historic Aircraft Restorations.

Thanks for the update James. Great to see Civil Air Patrol continuing to get love from museums around the country to help bookend our finally getting the Congressional Gold Medal that our WWII members so greatly deserved.

James,
Thanks for the updates, the information on the restorations has been severely lacking since they went to facebook.

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
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We tried voting with the Ballot box, When do we start voting from the Ammo box, and am I allowed only one vote ?
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Nice shots. Do you know Bill Thomas? I believe he was one of the founding members of Pima.

Thanks for the update James.
What an impressive collection.
You must have some really skilled folks working there.

Andy Scott

The repaint on the B52 albeit extremly costly and sucking up alot of the man hours this year will be well worth it in the long run, as it should see that airframe outlive many of her sister aircraft. She looks great!

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Cheers,
Peter

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A great thread, full of lots of great work. It's great to see a Banshee being restored as such, rather than the usual "make it into a Dauntless" approach.

It's also great to see a US museum putting such an effort into preserving so many British types, congratulations on the Jag and the Harrier. For what it's worth, the RAF name for operations over Iraq was Operation Granby (so named after the pub the plans were drawn up in, or so the story goes!). Desert Shield/Storm was the American name.

Nice work on the Kestrel too, it's been a good year for those with another going on display at RAF Museum Cosford.

Thanks again for the update, here's to a New Year and the continuation of that special UK/US relationship.

Thanks for the update, James. Good to see that you will be preserving an HU-25 Guardian as well. That's one of the nice things about Pima, viz. that you do not just pay attention to flashy fighters and big bombers!

The Kestrel looks nice, but you might like to consider doing something (such as a collar to support the collapsed strut) on the nose leg to correct the distinctly odd-looking nose-down stance it now has.

Great work being done at Pima as always, thanks for the update.

Double post

Yep, we know. We tried to get it lifted up to the right height but couldn't get the strut to extend. Usually you get the weight off the gear and give it a good wiggle and they drop right down. This one is jammed in there real good. We'll get it fixed eventually but other things are ahead of it on the priority list right now.

James

Great work! Thank you for posting. I'm a sucker for BUFF's and harriers....

I imagine it differs between greatly between aircraft, but can you make a general statement regarding the completeneess of interiors of aircraft on outside display? Do most have seats, instruments, etc? Does the museum try to get ones that have not been picked for spares?