It's been a while since I have been there,  so I decided it is time to go visit once more.  

This time I took the Go-Pro rig and do some goofing off.  Found I really need more light and I left the light at home... DOH! So very few Go-Pro shots turned out the way I was hoping for. I also brought the DSLR for some shots.  

Usually on good days they will fly a random plane or two for fun.  Unfortunately there was no flying displays today as the runway is tore up for resurfacing.  I did however help fire up a PT-19 on the tarmac,  after purging and inspecting the wing sumps it fired right up.


"Maytag Messerschmitt"  





Navy FM-2 Wildcat





Sweet Revenge gun bay


Vehicles






Paper Doll in annual inspection mode.





SNJ-4 "Bundle Buggy".






P-38


Zee Germans!





And a Curtiss SB2C-5 Hell diver in restoration mode!









There is a lot not pictured.  This place is amazing!

Turn down your volume.  Audio is fucky.

Oh! yeah.  

I cannot forget this one!

Be fun to have those life sized green army men. Reminds me of the toy plastic ones.

What kind of plane was the Maytag Messerschmidt? Hard to tell from that angle.

Ryan PT-22

Had an Uncle who was a chemist at Sandia Labs for a long time. He bought a PT-19, and 6 crates of parts as surplus. Three years later it emerged from his garage as an almost 100% Zero time aircraft. Got it all certified and checked out and started flying it. It was painted in AAF blue/yellow livery. Next trip to Austin I will have to dig out the pictures.

He was an experienced pilot and also half-owned a Citabria with a co-worker. IIRC the Citabria was a very capable acrobatic airplane in its own right. Visited him in Albuquerque in the late 1960s and got to spend about 50 minutes in the PT-19 with him. It was an awesome experience for a ten year old. Not sure what all my father trained in Primary, on his way to becoming a B 24 pilot, but was told he did his solo flying in the Stearman. He and my Uncle (Moms brother) were up for quite a while and when they got back he had a giant, what I now was a "shit eating grin" plastered all over his face. Good times. Last I heard the plane ended up with CAF out in west Texas. in the early 1980s. Often wondered what ever happened to it.

Thanks for the memories OP. Where is that museum?

Fagen Fighters.  It is in Granite Falls, Minn


On a cool note.  While I was doing a walk through of the pacific hangar I met a WW2 Pacific vet and had a great talk with him.  Sadly.  His brother was killed in Iwo and he was sent to Peleliu and on to the Japan at the end of the war.  I had mentioned to him that I had spoken with another Pacific vet that was in the bay when Mamoru Shigemitsu and MacArthur signed the declaration to end hostilities had mentioned that that was not the end of hostilities.

He mentioned that for days and weeks after the war there were bombings and strafing on the ships and some skirmishes on the ground. Seems there was a lot of strife in the govt and a prolonged coup attempt.   He completely agreed and backed up that statement.  

I did not record him.  As he was taking a lot of time to study the exhibits and seemed pretty emotional about it.  When I had asked him if he had ever been to Ron's museum,  he said,  No and that he had lived within 16 miles of the museums location for 68 years.  I invited him back in the spring to the airshow that Ron has at the museum and told him I would like them to meet.  

I found Ron and told him he needs to come meet a Pacific vet in his hangar.  Ron excitedly dropped what he was doing and we went back to meet the man. Who seemed genuinely exited to meet each other.  

In the end Ron told the gentleman he must attend the show next spring,  that he would be absolutely spoiled and treated as a guest.  


I talked with him for about another half hour after Ron and thanked him and gave him my condolences to the loss of his brother,  had a smile and hug and we went on our way.

Cool story man. We lived in Grand Forks 1960-63. Now I have a good excuse to go up that way for a visit. Thanks for the museum location.

Only one shot of the P-38?
WTF OP?.

Sorry.


From the Sioux falls airshow.


Lincoln NE airshow.

Thank you , much better now.

Great pictures. Thanks for posting. I enjoyed looking at them.

We should modernize the P-38 as a Army CAS plane.

Outboard .338 mini-guns and inboard 20mm cannons. Assorted hard point Hate as needed.

FTW.

Love the P-38

Paper Doll looks to be in amazing condition!

Great pics

Thanks for posting

With a couple of Lycoming turbine engines and a laminar flow airfoil - I could see that.  AF would never let Army do it though ...

saw a few swastikas in there.

the entire museum needs to come down now because that shits racist as fuck.

Paper Doll is an immaculate and beautiful restoration.

Man, I'm no expert but that's one of the best I've ever seen.  Such clean paint and rivets, no wobble in the skin.  Amazing.