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I know I'm not Lyyn, but being in the business...
I haven't been to but
one of these, but tops on my list would be Museum of Flight in Seattle,
Smithsonian Air&Space, including the new Udvar-Hazy facility at Dulles, and
USAF Museum at Dayton. Also worthy of mention, Museum of Naval Aviation in
Pensacola, FL; Warner-Robbins in Macon, GA; (been to both of those, highly
recommended) SAC museum in Omaha NB; Pima Air Museum, Pima AZ; Planes of
Fame, Chino, CA; Fantasy of Flight, Polk City FL; Battleship Alabama Collection,
Mobile AL.
If you find yourself down this way, drop by
our humble little contribution to aviation history, the Southern Museum of
Flight in Birmingham, AL. There's a BUNCH of aviation
museums beyond this list, but those are the ones I would like to hit, if I
wasn't always working at this one! Mike C.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004 5:15
PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] museum
OK Lynn, share with me - what are the top 3 airplane museums in the
Continental US? No kidding, that might be a really fun vacation!
Ken Powell
--------------
Original message --------------
> In a message dated 12/20/2004
1:01:19 PM Central Standard Time,
> micallahan@worldnet.att.net
writes:
>
> << Yeah, I was very suspect of the droop
nose and the big windshield
> myself. Not only that, why in the world
would this "pilot" have her name on
> the side of a prototype and why
doesn't it have the usual twelve foot tall
> letters of the model
number (YF/A-37)? Forward swept elevons? I don't think
> so. The
clincher was the bottom pic with the guys in the foreground manning
>
a big movie camera. Mike C.
>
>
> >>
>
> Not so fast there boys. That is an Air Force camera team. It won't
be an "F"
> anything until after acceptance testing is completed. It
will be a YF
> something until then.
>
>
>
> The canopy is the new Buckey strand reinforced Pyrex glass
structure. The
> nose raises up to streamline at cruise (mach 3.8
without AB) it droops for
> landing like the Concord. The forward
swept horizontals and the lack of
> verticals is
> part of the
shock wave management system. The rudder works split strakes at
> the
wing tips to replicate rudder feel. There are rudder pedals so you can
> overpower the computers for air shows and such. Normally the feet
are in
> stirrups
> in the front of the seat pack.
>
The whole nose is the escape pod. Developed and tested to 40,000 feet by
> Rutan's Scaled Composites people. The escape pod is flyable and has
a range of
> 50
> statute miles. Powered by powdered nitril
rubber and nitrous. It has auto
> pilot and will auto track to the
nearest friendly area before deploying the
> chute.
>
>
A picture of this thing got out, so they made up the movie story to cover
it.
> Now DOD has to front the movie to throw off the bad guys. It's
been flying
> between Tonopa and Groom Lake every night for a year.
>
> There is a guy on that mountain every night with a 16"
reflector telescope
> who says a C-5 leaves there at dusk and this
thing lands blacked out around
> midnight. His guess is that they
either take it close by to launch it, or they
> can
> launch
it right out the back door of the C-5. Pretty cool stuff.
>
>
The one on the carrier was the third airframe. The first was the structures
> test frame so it got bent and vibrated through two lifetimes. It
will be
> repaired and shipped to the AF Museum In Dayton next year.
Although it can
> launch
> from a carrier it is not what the
Navy wanted. So the Naval version will have
> more wing area and a
slightly lower cruise speed, and carry more ordnance. Air
> frame
three is all Air Force
>
> The first flight test airframe is
back at Lockheed Burbank for repairs after
> a fueling fire in
October. This will be the follow on to the F-36, the one
> that can
hover. The F-36 replaces the F-22 that just formed its first squadron.
> Some folks say this one can not only hover, but can leave
unimproved locations
> with full fuel and ordnance load,
> by
using dropable assist rocket motors in tubes along side the lift fans.
> Same fans as the F-36.
>
> During this carrier event
they were just firing those rockets one at a time
> and filming the
effect on the airframe from the epoxy based nonskid surface
> that is
used on all carriers. Also they placed various support equipment nearby
> to see what effect that would suffer.
>
> How do I
know this?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I
don't. I just made it up.
>
>
>
>
>
> If you felt real proud there for a minute,
>
> Keep
right on feeling proud.
>
> This kind of stuff is in the works
right now. The looser in the flyoff that
> the F-22 won is now at the
Air Force Museum and it has the rudders laid down
> almost flat just
like the movie plane. The YF-23 I believe. It is just
> beautiful.
Long and snake like. And it flew real well. Just a bit too pricey.
>
> The F-36 really does hover, and is the replacement for the F-22.
>
> There is an F-22 at the Museum also. The one that crashed
I suspect. Worth
> the trip to Dayton. One of the top three airplane
museums on earth.
>
>
> This and much more, is coming
soon to an air show near you. God bless America.
>
>
>
Lynn E. Hanover
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