Warbird Information Exchange

Found it here: http://www.startribune.com/462/story/918949.html

Can jet hijack be foiled?

U.S. Air Force wants to take a spy plane away from a Minnesota Air Guard museum.

By Dan Browning, Star Tribune


Unless the Minnesota congressional delegation provides some quick support, the Minnesota Air Guard Museum could soon be singing Bye, Bye Blackbird.

The nonprofit museum, which restored an A-12 Blackbird spy plane after rescuing it from a California scrap yard in 1990, has been told that it must return the plane to the Air Force, which plans to hand it over to the Central Intelligence Agency for a commemorative display at its Virginia headquarters.

"They want to see this airplane on a stick in front of their headquarters," said Mark Ness, a retired brigadier general and former commander of the Minnesota Air National Guard.

Ness and others believe the plane could be better used as a teaching exhibit for a proposed new Minnesota Air Guard Museum on the Upper Bluffs area next to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Museum officials are seeking land and money to construct an exhibition hall and aviation education center.

Lt. Col. Michael Fleck, deputy chief of the Air Force Programs and Legislative Division, wrote a museum booster that because the A-12 originated as part of a CIA program, "it is most appropriate that one of the few remaining examples be allocated to them for memorialization." He said the plane would be dedicated to the memory of everyone associated with the CIA's program at its 60th anniversary this year.

Other planes could be used

Minnesota's A-12 isn't the only remaining one. A Blackbird in Birmingham, Ala., was the first to fly an operational mission for the CIA over North Vietnam on May 31, 1967, and it was the last A-12 to fly when it was retired on June 21, 1968, according to James Goodall, a former curator of the Minnesota Air Guard Museum and author of several books on the Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.

But Fleck wrote in a letter that the histories of other available A-12s were considered before selecting the one in Minnesota for the CIA's commemoration. He noted that the Minnesota Air Guard's 133rd Airlift Wing had no historical association with the plane.

That may be true, Ness said, but he noted that Minnesota technology companies played a critical role in the creation of the Blackbird. Honeywell's Military Avionics Division, Rosemount Inc., and 3M supplied key components for the aircraft. In addition, four of the Blackbird's earliest pilots were Air National Guard members, Goodall said, and three A-12 pilots were from Minnesota: Ken Collins, from the Pipestone area; Denny Sullivan, from the Red Wing area and Mele Vojvodich Jr. from the Duluth area.

Richard Wiessner, a retired colonel who serves on the museum's board, said the Air Force wouldn't take the plane if it knew more about Minnesota's rich aviation history.

According to Wiessner, department store magnate Donald Dayton commissioned the first retail cargo flight in the United States to deliver a 65-pound package to Minneapolis from New York in 1918, and the first Air National Guard unit in the nation was founded in Minnesota by the pilot who made that flight.

Wiessner, 83, a World War II fighter pilot, also noted that Jean Piccard, who flew the first plastic hot-air balloon in 1936, used to fly out of the iron-ore pits in northern Minnesota. John Ackerman, a University of Minnesota physicist and aeronautics professor who worked with Piccard, built a "flying wing" -- an airplane without a tail, Wiessner said. And the first pressurized flight suit was developed by Rochester's Mayo Clinic. Without such suits, the A-12 could never have been flown.

Restoration took 3,500 hours

When the museum found the A-12 in Palmdale, Calif., it had to cut the wings off of the 99-foot-long plane to have the parts flown in giant C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft to the Minnesota Air National Guard base.

Volunteers spent more than 3,500 hours restoring the world's fastest jet aircraft, funded with tens of thousands of dollars in donations from local corporations and individuals. Dayton Hudson Corp., which later became Target Corp., produced a half-hour documentary of the project.

Blackbird is popular

Although the museum has 27 aircraft in its collection, the Blackbird is by far the biggest draw, said Stan Christianson, a retired Navy lieutenant and volunteer museum guide.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, however, the museum grounds have been practically off-limits to the public because of tightened security at the air base.

Wiessner said Minnesota millionaire Kenneth Dahlberg, an 89-year-old entrepreneur who was a triple-ace fighter pilot in World War II, has offered to raise money for the new museum if the board can secure the land for it from the Department of Natural Resources. Dahlberg paid for conceptual drawings of the project, which would be called the Minnesota Museum of Aviation and Aviation Learning Center, Wiessner said.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has written a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force in which he "strongly objects to moving the spy plane from Minnesota," spokesman Brian McClung said Friday. Pawlenty cites the restoration work done on the plane by local volunteers, and the support of Minnesota's congressional delegation when the plane was brought here, among his reasons why it should stay. McClung said the letter would be sent by Monday.

Ness said it probably would require a concerted effort from the state's congressional delegation to get the Air Force to change its mind. Museum supporters have reached out for help, he said.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., issued a statement late Friday in which he said he'd "urge the Air Force to reconsider their position on this issue."

Seems to me it would be better to clean the seaweed from the A-12 at Mobile and send it to a safer place.

I had read somewhere that the Minn. bird was one of the best kept birds. When I saw it it looked in pretty good shape. The Birmingham plane is in sad shape however, as are most of the planes at the Birmingham display. So I think we can see why they would want the Minn. plane. If they do take this plane I think it will send the wrong message to museums, keep your plane in great shape and you may lose it.

Also, I had no trouble getting into the Minn. museum, just got checked at the guard gate and let through.

Bill.

I saw it in person while on a business trip, and it was in good shape. Really clean.

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Mike, you don't realize how high the tide can get !

Yeah, I know, I typed Birmingham, I was thinkin' Mobile ! Can't ya'll read my mind ?

Word is the MNANG lost this battle and the Blackbird is heading out on Monday. Those of you in the area this is the last weekend to view the A-12...

Well if it's true, I'm glad I got the chance to sit in her once, as I'm sure NOONE will be able to even see her a the CIA headquarters

I'd love to go see the A-12 again... Good luck getting into the museum though, they're very rarely open anymore, and never at this time of year

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Dan Johnson

Posted by Kirk Ransom on the F-4 Discussion Forum. Kirk is a former F-4 pilot and an active member of the Minnesota Air Guard Museum.

Another post from a similar perspective regarding the NMUSAF current policies. This from Jim Bloomberg, who I believe is another former F-4 driver.

Well, while I am a fan of taking some aircraft back, when it is needed, a good example is the Memphis Belle. I am not a fan of this one. I think it should stay where it was restored. On the other side of this, the A-12 is not going to be on outdoor display, but indoor display in a new conference center. I saw where it is going. It sucks for the museum, but overall it is going to be indoors. That said, I saw this aircrfat a few years ago, and it was in very nice shape.

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

I think a little part of me just died. One of the coolest experiences I ever had was going to an open cockpit day at the museum and being able to sit in her.

And with all due respect to the Mr. Collins who wrote into the Star Tribune, it's a crock of crap that the CIA decided to take this Blackbird.

Man this SUX!

As one that has given this country 24 years of Service in the USAF and ANG, my heart goes out to this museum. It's bad enough when a museum breaks up and the assets move to a different location, but it has to be worse yet when the AF taps your plane after all the blood, sweat, and tears have gone into restoring it and then gives it all away.

Has there been any talk of compensation for this museum?

Chris

Seems like the Museum should be compensated for the restoration.

Why would Museums put blood sweat and tears into a loan aircraft if it can/will be yanked for some yahoo with more political pull.