Fantasy of flight- part 7
Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:46 pmA while back, the Weeks foundation got a little 22-passenger tram, at the suggestion of a visitor... saves some trouble and time going over to look at the maintenance and storage hangars. Also helps control crowding in those areas, as only tram groups get to go there, two or three times a day. On the way, we saw this visiting Renegade departing...
A baby alligator in one of the catchment ponds alongside the runway:
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0700a.JPG]
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This lovely Connie, a fuel-injected version formerly owned by Lufthansa, got here on a wing and a prayer not long ago, and because of various mechanical and legal problems, if it ever leaves, as one museum member said. "it will either be at night, or on a truck".
Too bad... but at least she beat the scrapper.
Another derelict: a very old Beech... the nose is something I've never seen on a Beechcraft before.
First stop on the tour is the working maintenance hangar... just look at all these classics laying around!!
Love this Bucker Bestmann- one of the earliest side-by-side trainers.
A pristine Piper L-4... se was also the day's "flight demo"... more on that later.
A perfectly restored and very rare TravelAir 4000... it sports a J-5, same engine used on Lindbergh's Ryan.
Speaking of engines... Weeks must own half the Allison V-12s in the world. The blue one is not an Allison... anybody know what it is?
Heading over to the storage sheds, we pass another sad relic... a very tired old Martin airliner. the leather interior will be torn out to install in the Connie, or so I was told.
A coconut to whoever can guess what this is. In those containers nearby are a complete P-47 and a Lanc. And the bulk of the collection is across the street in a new warehouse... !!
We disembark at the first shed, and I am confronted with this heart-stopping rarity: A B-23 Dragon, the "missing link" between the B-18 and the DC-1!!! this one was caught out in the open by Hurricane Andrew, along with a B-17... according to our guide. "they became airborne in 180-mph winds, flew in loose formation for about 3 miles, then came to rest". The Dragon will be restored, eventually...
As for the Fortress.... well, most of these parts are B-17 parts. :'(
There's also most of a Ju52 crammed in here... and a rare Stinson(?) that is much as it was found after sitting out for 60 years in Alaska...
Another coconut to the sharp-eyed youngster who can guess what this is:
Can you believe this? A Tigercat and a MiG- 15?!
This Tigercat is very complete and very pristine... I just wanted to dust it off and tell it everything would be OK...
Next: A ride in the D-25!
A baby alligator in one of the catchment ponds alongside the runway:
[url=http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/rotfof0700a.JPG]
[/url]This lovely Connie, a fuel-injected version formerly owned by Lufthansa, got here on a wing and a prayer not long ago, and because of various mechanical and legal problems, if it ever leaves, as one museum member said. "it will either be at night, or on a truck".
Too bad... but at least she beat the scrapper.
Another derelict: a very old Beech... the nose is something I've never seen on a Beechcraft before.
First stop on the tour is the working maintenance hangar... just look at all these classics laying around!!
Love this Bucker Bestmann- one of the earliest side-by-side trainers.
A pristine Piper L-4... se was also the day's "flight demo"... more on that later.
A perfectly restored and very rare TravelAir 4000... it sports a J-5, same engine used on Lindbergh's Ryan.
Speaking of engines... Weeks must own half the Allison V-12s in the world. The blue one is not an Allison... anybody know what it is?
Heading over to the storage sheds, we pass another sad relic... a very tired old Martin airliner. the leather interior will be torn out to install in the Connie, or so I was told.
A coconut to whoever can guess what this is. In those containers nearby are a complete P-47 and a Lanc. And the bulk of the collection is across the street in a new warehouse... !!
We disembark at the first shed, and I am confronted with this heart-stopping rarity: A B-23 Dragon, the "missing link" between the B-18 and the DC-1!!! this one was caught out in the open by Hurricane Andrew, along with a B-17... according to our guide. "they became airborne in 180-mph winds, flew in loose formation for about 3 miles, then came to rest". The Dragon will be restored, eventually...
As for the Fortress.... well, most of these parts are B-17 parts. :'(
There's also most of a Ju52 crammed in here... and a rare Stinson(?) that is much as it was found after sitting out for 60 years in Alaska...
Another coconut to the sharp-eyed youngster who can guess what this is:
Can you believe this? A Tigercat and a MiG- 15?!
This Tigercat is very complete and very pristine... I just wanted to dust it off and tell it everything would be OK...
Next: A ride in the D-25!
