Chanute Air Museum

[Warbirdnerd]

An Update:

RANTOUL — The Air Force has turned thumbs down to a village of Rantoul request to be allowed to retain three vintage aircraft currently housed at the Chanute Air Museum.

Two of the planes will be exhibited elsewhere, and a third will be decommissioned due to safety concerns.

The village had requested that the Air Force allow the continued use of a P-51 Mustang fighter, an AT-6 Texan trainer and an F-86 Sabre fighter.

Mayor Chuck Smith said the P-51 and the Texan are “destined for other locations.”

“The F-86 will be taken totally out of commission,” Smith said. “There were materials in the F-86 that were contaminated.

“It’s a huge surprise and a disappointment because I really wanted to keep the P-51 here. It’s just pristine, and it represented a period in time when the Tuskegee Airmen were at the base.”

The support staff for the Airmen were initially trained at Chanute during the World War II era. All operations were later moved to Tuskegee, Ala.

The Mustang is considered one of the jewels, if not the jewel, of all the former military aircraft exhibited at the Chanute museum, which will close at the end of the year due to financial concerns. Its restoration by Curt Arseneau and Norm Meyers was completed in 2013.

Corky Vericker, Rantoul National Aviation Center operations manager, said the P-51 will be transferred this fall to a location in Warner Robins, Ga.

The AT-6 Texas is on a short list to be transferred to one of three locations, leaving Rantoul.

Vericker said he was told by Chanute Air Museum Curator Mark Hanson that the F-86 has “significant radium contamination in the belly of the aircraft.”

It will not be made available to civilian organizations, Vericker said. Instead it is more likely to be sent to military organizations “with personnel trained in this situation.”

Village Administrator Jeff Fiegenschuh said the village is disappointed in the news that it would not be able to retain the three aircraft.

“It is Air Force property,” he said. “Obviously they found locations for two of the planes.”

He said before he left, Rune Duke, former airport manager, was “upfront” about the matter.

“He said just because we’re requesting them, it doesn’t mean we’ll get them,” Fiegenschuh said. “Even so, we were hopeful. We knew it wasn’t our decision to make.”

The AT-6 Texan is a vintage World War II-era trainer that was used for a variety of tasks, Hanson said earlier. Some were used overseas in an attack role.

Hanson called the F-86 Sabre “kind of the Korean War iconic fighter” and “the Air Force’s first really successful jet fighter.”

Hanson said he had heard nothing about the status of the Minuteman missile that stands on the former air base.

Found it here:
http://www.rantoulpress.com/news/politi ... force.html

[Chris Brame]

Sorry to hear about this; surprised the NMUSAF didn't get the Mustang trifecta (A-36, D, H). Seems a bit small of the Air Force not to even let them keep the T-6. Any word on the other airframes yet?

[Spectre_I]

Sorry to hear about this; surprised the NMUSAF didn't get the Mustang trifecta (A-36, D, H). Seems a bit small of the Air Force not to even let them keep the T-6. Any word on the other airframes yet?

Unconfirmed rumor has it that the B-58 is also going to Robins.

[Mike]

That's a shame, I'd have liked to have seen the B-58 go to Castle as it's one of the few significant bombers that is missing there

[JohnB]

I wonder if the NMUSAF will strip the B-58 from Grissom?
Why not, they did it with the B-17?

[Spectre_I]

That's a shame, I'd have liked to have seen the B-58 go to Castle as it's one of the few significant bombers that is missing there

Yeah, we'd really like it as well. Problem is: airplanes cost a lot of money to move. We're talking 6 figures here. I can see why the decision. Robbins is taxpayer funded and on an active base. It is also #2 in pure size of collection in the U.S., and also missing a Hustler. If the rumor is true, then the Hustler would likely be displayed in a hangar. Castle is entirely outdoors. $200K is a lot easier for the USAF to appropriate for the move as opposed to a place like Castle, which is a 501(c)3 and would have to raise the money. I am sure the USAF wants these aircraft moved ASAP, rather than wait around for a place like Castle to rustle up the money; it can literally take years.

We have a few exciting additions coming in any case, I'll let ya'll know once they show up.

[M.P.]

F-104 Starfighter (56-0732) is moved to the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base at Knoxville, Tennessee. I was at the museum on July 28st 2015 when some ANG Personnel start to disassemble and prepare the F-104 for transportation. This F-104A will be repainted and go on display at Knoxville as a memorial to represent an aircraft flown by a crashed pilot of the 151st FIS.

According someone of the ANG Personnel, also the tail and some smaller parts of C-97G (52-0898) will go to McGhee Tyson ANG Base. The rest of the C-97 will be scrapped.

[JohnB]

Any word on the HU-16?

If they're scrapped, will it be a local firm?
If so, any chance for souvenirs becoming available?

[BK]

F-104 Starfighter (56-0732) is moved to the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base at Knoxville, Tennessee. I was at the museum on July 28st 2015 when some ANG Personnel start to disassemble and prepare the F-104 for transportation. This F-104A will be repainted and go on display at Knoxville as a memorial to represent an aircraft flown by a crashed pilot of the 151st FIS.

According someone of the ANG Personnel, also the tail and some smaller parts of C-97G (52-0898) will go to McGhee Tyson ANG Base. The rest of the C-97 will be scrapped.

That's interesting, as McGhee Tyson ANG already have a F-104C (56-0890) gate guard as a memorial to three men of the unit killed during the Berlin Crisis 1961-62. They just took it down for restoration and said it would be returned to it's original location when done.

Glad to get any KC-97 pieces. I remember when they flew KC-97s, attending the transfer airshow to celebrate when they got 135As.

[M.P.]

Here some pictures and information:
http://www.i-f-s.nl/news/56-732-moving-to-knoxville/

[quemerford]

That P-51H is a beauty!

I do however detect a certain smell of BS in the Air Force's 'radiation' statement regarding the F-86.

Can anyone advise on the situation with this aircraft? Where did it pick up the rads?

[JohnB]

In the mid 90s, the USAF got worried about radiation in static aircraft.
Mainly it was from the dials in the instruments, but also some airframe components were made with slightly radioactive matter.
IIRC, it was castings and much of the BOMARC SAM airframe. So AMARC sent out a team to remove the items from static aircraft they controlled.

I drew up the public affairs plan for the team, provided media training for them and provided news releases and Q&As in case the local media wondered why guys in hazmat suits were inside the F-84 or T-33 in the park. It seemed to go well. They went out and di the cleanup and I don't recall getting any questions from the public or media.

There was also concern over asbestos wraps in tail pipes of early jets.
Considering some were at schools or parks, people were worried although you'd have be a bum living in the thing to have any health concerns.

Yes, it does sound like the MNUSAF (or whoever controls this airplane) is being too concerned over the possible risk.
But remember, we're dealing with a bureaucracy.
(Does anyone else get the idea that the AF would prefer that all statics go away ..."if people want to see old aeroplanes, have them go to the museum at Wright-Patt?"
First they fail to reassemble the B-47 sent to Ellsworth (a fairly rare type that needs prerserving), then scrap the suddenly surplus aircraft at Robbins, now Chanute.

[dirtysidedown430]

It seems the NRC did the F86 on a pole at BVI stayed in the cockpit the two days they were there, its still there as far as I know. Least that's what the door on the truck said NRC.

[dirtysidedown430]

It seems the NRC did the F86 on a pole at BVI stayed in the cockpit the two days they were there, its still there as far as I know. Least that's what the door on the truck said NRC.

[Kyleb]

Considering some were at schools or parks, people were worried although you'd have be a bum living in the thing to have any health concerns.

Yes, it does sound like the MNUSAF (or whoever controls this airplane) is being too concerned over the possible risk.
But remember, we're dealing with a bureaucracy.
(Does anyone else get the idea that the AF would prefer that all statics go away ..."if people want to see old aeroplanes, have them go to the museum at Wright-Patt?"

The easiest way to screw up your career as a bureaucrat is to have an "oops" happen on your watch. So most (all?) bureaucrats go way overboard to insulate themselves from any chance of being second guessed in their area of concern, even though their actions may have an net negative impact on the overall enterprise...