Post by rickthelibrarian on Jun 11, 2012 8:16:59 GMT -5
Not too far from where I live, multi-zillionaire Paul Allen has a museum made up primarily of WWII aircracft, nearly all of which are flyable and restored to a fair-thee-well. On weekends during good weather, two or three of them are flown for brief periods and the public is invited to watch for free.
He has a P-40C that was discovered on the Russian steppes in the early 1990s and restored to that of a P-40 flown by a "local boy" with the AVG and it, and a restored Zero went through their paces yesterday, to my delight (The P-40 being my favorite USAAF fighter of WWII). The P-40C's slightly older "brother" flew with the 20th Pursuit Squadron, based at Clark Field.
I took 200+ pictures and had a chance to go through the museum. Really a great day!!
Some sample pictures below and a link to a few more (not the whole 200+!!)
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I like this picture (above) which almost makes you believe they were "dogfighting". However most P-40 pilots who tried to turn with the Zero would be later described as "late" P-40 pilots and their widow would be receiving an insurance check from the government!
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...and a quick one of the interior of the museum:
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Here's a link to the rest of the selected pictures:
P-40C and Zero fly-by
Many thanks to my wonderful (and long-suffering) bride, who not only accompanied me, but had to listen as I droned on about all the aircraft in the museum. I did notice she slept VERY well on the way back!
He has a P-40C that was discovered on the Russian steppes in the early 1990s and restored to that of a P-40 flown by a "local boy" with the AVG and it, and a restored Zero went through their paces yesterday, to my delight (The P-40 being my favorite USAAF fighter of WWII). The P-40C's slightly older "brother" flew with the 20th Pursuit Squadron, based at Clark Field.
I took 200+ pictures and had a chance to go through the museum. Really a great day!!
Some sample pictures below and a link to a few more (not the whole 200+!!)
I like this picture (above) which almost makes you believe they were "dogfighting". However most P-40 pilots who tried to turn with the Zero would be later described as "late" P-40 pilots and their widow would be receiving an insurance check from the government!
...and a quick one of the interior of the museum:
Here's a link to the rest of the selected pictures:
P-40C and Zero fly-by
Many thanks to my wonderful (and long-suffering) bride, who not only accompanied me, but had to listen as I droned on about all the aircraft in the museum. I did notice she slept VERY well on the way back!
