A day trip to Tucson with our friends Bill & Michele to visit the Pima Air & Space Museum was very impressive. This museum boasts 100 years of aviation history on 80 acres (150+ airplanes in 5 hangars and then another 150+ aircraft in one of the largest outdoor exhibits). Plus, they have an exclusive “Aircraft Boneyard” tour that you can only visit during the week that has over 4000+ stored aircraft on 2600 acres. What a trip this would be for an avid airplane enthusiast.
This entranced sign tells us what is on the grounds. If you look closely at this sign, notice the three aircraft at the top of the sign above Pima Air. The original fiberglass sculpture of the “flying fish” (as they are affectionately called around the museum grounds) is so much more dramatic in the display of three Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23’s - prototype single-seat twin engine fighters taking off in flight. Maybe that’s why they call it, “The Beauty of Flight”. Sorry we missed getting this picture for you, but we know that these next pictures should make up for it. We hope that you enjoy the tour.
The Wright Flyer, December 17, 1903
Astronauts were trained for weightlessness in space on a Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, “Vomet Comet” 1963-2004
Rear machine gun turret off a B-29
B-17 Bomber
Trainer – pulled out of Lake Michigan (currently being restored)
“Guppy” used for transporting NASA equipment
Pratt & Whitney R-985 “Wasp Junior” radial engine, 9 cylinder 300-400 HP
Biplane, Waco ZK6, 285 HP 200 mile range with 3,250 lb. hauling capacity
Vietnam era helicopter with attached rocket launcher & machine guns
Fighter jet from the USS Kitty Hawk
Amphibious plane
SR-71 Blackbird capable of 2200+ mph
B-17
B-29 Superfortress; the wing tips were removded in order to get the plane into the hangar. 1940’s plane used in Europe
Sabre Jet F-86E “Joyous Joyce” with a range over 1,000+ miles; one crew from Oklahoma – named “OKIE”!
Boeing B-17G “Flying Fortress” (used in Europe)
Aircraft markings and insignia are an endlessly fascinating subject for most aviation enthusiasts and historians. They range from the official to the decidedly unofficial and often times unauthorized. The official insignia are intended to raise morale and provide a sense of community and identify for the units whose aircraft display them. The much more personal “nose art” expresses the wants, fears and hopes of the crew.
These are just some of the pictures of nose art - referred to as “beyond the girls” - that decorated American aircraft (specific to B17’s from 1943-1945) during the first century of powered flight. Each piece is a part of a real aircraft, often the only piece to survive the scrapper.
The row of VIP planes in the outdoor exhibit area included JFK’s plane. This plane had a history of transporting both Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson. They say that JFK often had to be reminded to eat but that his taste buds craved New England Fish Chowder for lunch, according to the JFK Library. The story goes, a girl wrote Kennedy and asked what his favorite food was. Under the urging of his secretary, he revealed he had an appetite for chowder and sent her the recipe.
To see President Kennedy’s chowder recipe click on this link: http://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/jfk-fish-chowder-recipe
Another VIP plane followed for the Johnson family. They would often fly to their home in Texas aboard this plane. Johnson’s preferences for “barbequed spare ribs at a banquet with the ladies in which gloves” was appalling and unacceptable to the White House Chef, after catering to the upscale appetite of the JFK family.
And one of the smallest plane that definitely puts a smile on your face (Kay took this picture).
We know it doesn’t fly, but we couldn’t resist snapping this picture for a special gal in Texas. You know who you are! Jeff says, “get your guns”!
A special thank you to all of the volunteers at this museum who have put in hundreds of hours talking about what they know and love to the visitors that walk the hangars. We sure had a great time talking to them – and they come from all over the US. We salute you and all other veterans. Thank you for your years of service. God Bless America!
Hugs
Kay & Jeff
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