Natl Air & Space Museum - ongoing maintenance

[wolf]

By the way, NASM has an excellent page all about their preservation of the Ho 229 if anyone is interested.

Can you re-post that link? It doesn't work for me.

try https://airandspace.si.edu/research/pro ... 3/stealthy

[Kyleb]

By the way, NASM has an excellent page all about their preservation of the Ho 229 if anyone is interested.

Can you re-post that link? It doesn't work for me.

try https://airandspace.si.edu/research/pro ... 3/stealthy

The first link Noha posted was supposedly about conservation, not a stealth investigation. There is a second link in his post that leads to the same stealth article (I think) you linked. I'm looking for the conservation page...

[old iron]

Here is the page of the Horten 229:

https://airandspace.si.edu/collections/horten-ho-229-v3/

(check the images link near the top)

[Noha307]

By the way, NASM has an excellent page all about their preservation of the Ho 229 if anyone is interested.

Can you re-post that link? It doesn't work for me.

Huh, sorry about that. Apparently removing the last forward slash at the end breaks the URL for some stupid reason. It should have been: http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/horten-ho-229-v3/

[Noha307]

I would argue that the Ho-229 lost much of it's originality once the Allies finished construction on the example and slapped blue paint all over it. The NASM is doing fantastic work on the Horten, but if the goal is to leave the blue paint (and I hope that it is not) then it doesn't represent the original artifact.

Honestly, the multiple Allied repaints just make the Ho 229 more interesting to me. I would argue that they are just as much a part of its history as the original German paint.

The preservation work they are doing is fascinating if not revolutionary.

Definitely, I don't think that many people have tried to preserve plywood before!

I am unsure if the work being done to stabilize it will hold over the decades, or would it have been better to recreate the structure and archive the original wood separate from the display. I just don't agree that pickling rot and corrosion is the best approach.

Well, you do bring up an interesting option. In a perfect world, I think the best approach would be to preserve/conserve the original Ho 229 as it is now, including all the Allied markings it acquired, and built a structurally and historically accurate reproduction to display next to it in original German markings. It would really be a fascinating before and after display.

A few pictures of the 229 remains show what the NASM is trying to conserve.

Thanks for the pictures! If you don't mind me asking, did you have some level of involvement with the Ho 229 project?

[Spitty]

Definitely, I don't think that many people have tried to preserve plywood before!

Talk to the Mosquito guys

[old iron]

DoraNineFan wrote:
I am unsure if the work being done to stabilize it will hold over the decades, or would it have been better to recreate the structure and archive the original wood separate from the display. I just don't agree that pickling rot and corrosion is the best approach.

Well, you do bring up an interesting option. In a perfect world, I think the best approach would be to preserve/conserve the original Ho 229 as it is now, including all the Allied markings it acquired, and built a structurally and historically accurate reproduction to display next to it in original German markings. It would really be a fascinating before and after display.

I am just glad to see the Horten out on display. Unfortunately, most if not all of the old "hard" restoration staff have retired, and NASM has simply not prioritized restoration since the Harwit administration in the late 1980s to early 1990s (before that, there were always four hard restorations in progress at a time, with enough prioritization that these were finished quickly).

I think the only NASM "hard" restoration done in the last 20 years was the Curtiss-Wight Junior, and that was done by retired NASM employees and volunteers. By my understanding, the Curtiss Helldiver and Heinkel 219 restorations were "mixed" as these were not taken down to most basic elements since they were in relatively good condition to begin with (the Helldiver had been previously restored by the NMNA and I think the Heinkel has been had been stored inside for most of its history).

I think one reason for this change away from hard restorations was costs, The Nakajima Irving and Arado 234 restorations took 17 and nearly 19,000 hours respectively, according to Appendix E of the Mikesh "Restoring Museum Aircraft" book (which I helped to edit). I have no idea what the salary + bennies cost per hour may have been, but these cost a lot of money.

I do worry about the Axis aircraft at NASM. The Me 163, He 162 and Ar 196 (also the Cierva) were slated for hard restorations back in the 1980s. While some of the aircraft can go the "soft" route, many of these (for example, the Ar 196 and Cierva of the above list) badly need the "hard." Certainly, very little will be happening in terms of new NASM restorations the near future, with the downtown museum being refurbished. I hope that, when that is finished, there will be a shift back to restorations of whole aircraft, but that will require a pretty significant shift from the present.

[Clifford Bossie]

I applaud the NASM for the work they have done, with many artifacts not always stored in the best conditions in the past. The M6A Seiran is one of my favorites, however there are many more that are just as stunning. I believe the work being done on the Ho 229 will preserve it in the best way possible. Retaining as much of the original artifact as possible for viewing and study.

The P-38 in the collection is unique in being mostly a WW II airplane with little change. The original paint work makes for a great study in the olive drab (one of knows how many variations) if nothing else.

One question though: Why does the Fw 190 not have wheels?

[old iron]

One question though: Why does the Fw 190 not have wheels?

The FW 190 was recently moved to make room for the now nearby He 219. I am not sure why, but the wheels were taken off as part of that move, and will be put back on if that has not happened already.

[wolf]

One question though: Why does the Fw 190 not have wheels?

The FW 190 was recently moved to make room for the now nearby He 219. I am not sure why, but the wheels were taken off as part of that move, and will be put back on if that has not happened already.

The reason for the wheels being removed is easier to move the aircraft on the dolly - the aircraft is the same height as it will eventually be displayed when they move it, without wheels (which would drag) they can pivot the aircraft in a very tight space. NASM love their dollys and other platforms to move the displays