And if you are lucky and you become a docent at an aviation museum, you get to share your knowledge with people from all walks of life. Most, if not all, are volunteers who donate their time and expertise to educate the public about aviation. Museums simply could not function without them.

They may volunteer at a museum once a week (or more) or work alternate weekends. They often wear a uniform of sorts, such as a polo shirt with the museum logo or a jacket or vest and have a museum ID lanyard around their neck. A great many also wear a “fun meter” button with the needle pegged to maximum.

• READ MORE: Earhart Museum to Explore Evidence Related to Aviatrix’s Disappearance

The reason? They love what they do.

As someone who spends a great deal of time at aviation museums, I can tell you they all have their own character and energy, and they all rely on volunteers to operate. Some of the volunteers bring special skills and restore airplanes to their former glory. But many more are the faces of the museum to the public—the docents. You don’t necessarily have to be a pilot, mechanic, engineer, or retired from an aviation career to be a docent—you just need to bring your enthusiasm.

EAA Aviation Museum (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)

“Storytellers are the best docents,” says Chris Henry, manager at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “They can help make the planes pop to life and make you inspired

to learn more at home. A good docent should lead you to wonderful stories, leaving you wanting to know more and wanting to go home and research further.”

Henry notes the museum has a large cross section of society as docents coming from different walks of life and age ranges.

• READ MORE: New Museum of Flight Exhibit Explores Living in Space

“We have everything from WWII veterans to current high school kids,” he says. “It’s helpful if the docent has a passion to keep learning, and they are passionate about sharing what they learn, and they just enjoy showing people new things that they have never seen or heard before.”

Museum of Flight (Seattle)

The larger the museum, the more docents it has.

According to Brenda Mandt, docent programs supervisor at the Museum of Flight (MOF) in Seattle, the docent cadre is made up of 162 volunteers.

“Most of them work one day a week, and they work the same day and shift each week,” says Mandt.

To become a docent at the MOF, a person must take a 12-week basic training class that acquaints them with museum policy and procedures and teaches how to build a tour.

• READ MORE: Michigan Flight Museum Sells Centerpiece B-17 ‘Yankee Lady’

“Docents have a great deal of freedom to create tours that interest them most,” says Mandt.

Many of the docents either have or have had careers in aerospace or the military and often build tours around their experience.

For example, docents Jim Frank and Dave Cable are retired Navy aviators who served aboard aircraft carriers, so they know about “landing on a postage stamp.” Frank’s talk on the history of carriers is informative and entertaining, and Cable’s tour of the A-6E Intruder, the airplane that brought him home many times, and the F-14 Tomcat are quite moving and bring a smile to the face of museum visitor Jack Schoch, a retired Navy chief who served on five different carriers, including a war cruise during Vietnam aboard the USS Enterprise.

That’s one of the best parts of these tours—the docents are able to make them relatable to visitors.

Palm Springs Air Museum (California)

Requirements for docent training vary by museum.

At the Palm Springs Museum in California, the applicants are required to go through a background check and approximately 40 hours of training, “most of which can be done online,” says spokesperson Ann Greer. They also undergo on-the-job training in one of the 10 different areas of the museum.

“We have over 300 docents, and the museum is run with military precision,” says Greer. “They work four-hour shifts, [and] they may be in one of the hangars or on the hot ramp [where aircraft move] or in the library or gift shop. In the hangars we have a crew chief who keeps an eye on things, and if we want to talk to a particular docent, we have to ask the crew chief. There is a chain of command as the docents’ main job is to interact with the visitors and keep an eye on exhibits and airplanes.”

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (McMinnville, Oregon)

At the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, docents in training will spend at least 50 hours under the wing of Don Bowie, a retired Air Force aviator who has been with the gallery for 26 years.

Although the facility is most famous as the location of the Howard Hughes HK-1, the flying boat famously known as the “Spruce Goose,” according to Bowie, there is a lot more going on besides that popular exhibit.”

The museum features two buildings—one houses the HK-1, and the other is devoted to the Space race. Bowie works the floor, helping visitors and docent candidates learn about the aircraft and spacecraft on display.

“You are a volunteer here, and the job has to be fun and you have to be a people person,” he says. “You meet people from all over the world.”

Bowie says the best part of being a docent is when someone comes in and asks about a specific aircraft that is special to them, and there is a docent who shares their interest.

Docent Schedules

Because docents are volunteers, they aren’t required to put in massive amounts of hours on the job, but many do because it is a labor of love. Most museums ask for a commitment of at least one day a week, and often the docents rotate working weekends.

The docent’s typical day often begins with a crew briefing before the museum doors open. This is when they learn about special events at the museum, such as school tours or corporate meetings, and when exhibits are being installed or removed.

This column first appeared in the Summer 2024 Ultimate Issue print edition.

The post Ultimate Issue: Being Aviation Docent Simply Labor of Love appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to the space agency, Engle was born in Abilene, Kansas, in 1932. His family said he was enamored with flight since childhood and always had his eyes on the sky. 

Engle’s entry into the world of aerospace began when he earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1955. He then entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officers Training Corps, earning a commission as pilot in 1958. His first assignment was flying F-100s with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron. He was later assigned to the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base, California.

In the early 1960s as the Space Race was ramping up, Engle applied for and was accepted to Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), which was established at Edwards AFB, California, to train military astronauts. While there, he was selected to fly the X-15 in a joint test program between the U.S. Air Force and NASA, according to Space.com. On June 29, 1965, during a flight of the X-15 rocket plane he flew 50 miles above the earth which qualified him for his astronaut wings.

He would repeat the flight twice more before being selected for astronaut training in 1966.

At the age of 32, he was the youngest of the astronaut candidates and the only one who already qualified for astronaut wings because of his experience in the X-15, according to NASA. Engle served as a support crew member for Apollo 10 and later was named as the backup lunar module pilot for the 1971 Apollo 14 mission.

Engle remained at NASA and in 1977 became the commander of one of the two crews assigned to space shuttle Enterprise. The Enterprise was designed as a proof-of-concept vehicle and was used for atmospheric testing. The orbiter was launched from the top of a specially modified 747, and Engle’s job was to fly it to the ground.

In 1981 Engle was piloting space shuttle Columbia on the second mission of America’s reusable spacecraft. The technology still had a few bugs in it, and what was supposed to have been a five-day mission was cut short to two days because of a fuel cell malfunction. 

Engle later told the press that the vibrations experienced during the launch were “very impressive” and very loud. He compared it to “an old pickup truck with a lot of loose tools in the back.”

Engles final flight into space was in August 1985 aboard space shuttle Discovery.

NASA’s official biography of Engle noted that during his career he flew more than 180 different types of aircraft, logging more than 14,000 hours. His military decorations included the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, USAF Distinguished Service Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster.

He was also the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Space Flight Medal, the Harmon International, Collier, Lawrence Sperry, Iven C. Kinchloe, Robert H. Goddard and Thomas D. White aviation and space trophies.

In 1992, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.

Engle was married twice, first to Mary Catherine Lawrence, with whom he had two children and one stepchild. He is survived by his second wife, Jeanie Carter Engle.

The post Astronaut Joe Engle Has Died at 91 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Although the disappearance was 87 years ago, it remains of interest to many. On July 19 and 20, it will be the topic of two separate events presented by the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison, Kansas.

The discussions are set to take place the same weekend as the town’s Amelia Earhart Festival, which is held the third weekend in July to honor the aviatrix’s birthday, according to museum spokesperson Vanessa Bonavia. Although both talks are sponsored by the museum, they will be held off museum property to allow for a capacity crowd.

• READ MORE: Earhart Museum Nominated for Top Award

The first talk, Adventure Amelia: A Conversation with Explorers in the Search for Amelia Earhart, will be a panel discussion on July 19 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST at the Fox Theatre Atchison, 612 Commercial Street. The presentation is free, but registration is required. 

The panelists include Deep Sea Vision founder Tony Romeo, who got the world’s attention in January after publishing underwater images taken in the South Pacific that he alleges may be Earhart’s aircraft. He will be joined by his brother Lloyd Romeo, who served as project manager during the expedition.

Also scheduled to participate on the panel is Gary LaPook, a celestial navigation expert with The Stratus Project, a U.K.-based organization that has been searching for Earhart. Liz Smith, a Date Line Theory expert, ocean exploration, and science documentary producer, is also participating. The panel discussion will be moderated by Dorothy Cochrane, curator of the aeronautics department at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 

• READ MORE: Museum Celebrates the Life of Amelia Earhart

Panelists are expected to discuss where they believe the famous Electra is now, the reasons for its disappearance, and the evidence that supports their claims.

“As the curator for general aviation that includes the history of women in aviation, I have presented in various conferences and forums solo or with others,” Cochrane said. “Of course, I’ve done many media interviews and articles. At the museum I am responsible for Earhart’s transatlantic Lockheed Vega and related material that will soon be displayed again in the museum’s Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery.”

According to Cochrane, a common question asked is “why Howland Island?” followed by “why was Earhart making the flight?” 

“While not perfectly planned, it was not a stunt,” Cochrane said. “It is exactly what Earhart did for a living—setting records and then writing and lecturing. Women pilots had very few money-making opportunities since they were not allowed to fly in the military or in commercial airlines, and the private sector had little serious interest in them (except Beech Aircraft, that’s another story with Louise Thaden). So, Earhart built her own career. She truly loved flying and touring and supporting other women pilots.”

• READ MORE: Amelia Earhart’s Legacy Enshrined at New Kansas Museum

Deep Dive With Deep Sea Vision

On July 20, the Romeo brothers will talk about their process for searching the more than 5,200 square miles of ocean near Howland Island looking for the final resting place of the Electra.

The expedition spent 90 days on-site searching for the famous airplane that disappeared while trying to find Howland Island, which was a fuel stop as part of Earhart’s attempt to fly around the world. The Deep Sea Vision expedition relied on underwater drones. One of them captured a sonar image that to some people resembles an airplane.

“Both the Romeo brothers are pilots, so they will be bringing the pilot perspective into it,” Bonavia said.

• READ MORE: Ocean Exploration Company Thinks It Found Earhart’s Airplane

The pair will share highlights from their search for the Lockheed Electra 10-E and the company’s plans to launch its confirmation expedition with a high-powered camera to look for more evidence, such as the aircraft’s “NR16020” registration number. The conversation will be moderated by Amelia Rose Earhart, a pilot, author, and artist who in 2014 honored her namesake by completing a global circumnavigation flight.

The Deep Dive with Deep Sea Vision will take place at 9 a.m. CDT at the O’Malley-McAllister Auditorium at Benedictine College in Atchison. 

The post Earhart Museum to Explore Evidence Related to Aviatrix’s Disappearance appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The accident airplane, the teal cabin-class model, was one of the most photographed airplanes in the vintage aviation world. 

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the accident happened around 6:10 p.m. CDT north of Hoxie in the northwest corner of the state. The aircraft caught fire after the crash. Dave was 78, and Jeanne was 79. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating.

The Allens, from Elbert, Colorado, were both accomplished pilots. Dave was a retired airline pilot, and Jeanne flew gliders. They were particularly fond of WACO aircraft and had transformed several projects from piles of scrap to award winners at Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo and EAA AirVenture.

1934 WACO YKC

The Allens’ YKC was delivered to Ohio state officials in November 1934 to be used as executive transport. In 1939, the state sold the airplane to a private individual who flew it until July 1948 when it was heavily damaged in a nose-over. The aircraft would not fly again for decades. The Allens acquired the project in 2003 and spent the better part of a decade restoring it.

The teal-colored WACO was meticulously detailed, down to the period-correct state of Ohio seal on the fuselage and a 1930s-style brass fire extinguisher in the cabin along with the steering-wheel-style yoke.

When the aircraft was on display at fly-ins, the Allens would often set up wooden lawn chairs under the shade of the wing and have a table with iced tea and a Bakelite radio playing big band jazz. Dressed in period-correct clothing, they would answer visitors’ questions about the aircraft and allow them to peruse an old-style photo album that chronicled the aircraft’s journey from pile of parts to award winner.

The preliminary report from NTSB should be available in approximately two weeks. The final report with the probable cause of the accident, if one can be determined, is at least 18 months out.

The post Award-Winning WACO YKC Restorers Killed in Kansas Crash appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The homeward journey across the Atlantic follows a European tour where it participated in commemorations of both the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

The D-Day mission was particularly noteworthy. That’s All, Brother—so named as pilot John Donalson’s personal message to Adolf Hitler that his time as the conqueror of Europe was running short—is the actual aircraft that led the first wave of 800 jump aircraft over the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

After the war, the aircraft followed a winding pathway through the decades, only to be discovered among a group of C-47/DC-3 airframes destined to be converted to turboprop power by Basler Conversions in—of all places on the planet—Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The CAF restored the airplane in time to participate in the 75th anniversary of D-Day—retracing its path over the French coast.

This year, That’s All, Brother took center stage during commemorative ceremonies in Normandy, including the flight over the invasion beaches, parachute jumps by reenactors wearing World War II-era gear and a very special flight carrying five war veterans over the sacred ground of Operation Overlord.

After the D-Day events, the C-47 continued on to Germany, where it helped commemorate the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift, in which Allied aircraft delivered lifesaving supplies to citizens of Berlin during the Soviet blockade.

“The presence of That’s All, Brother in Germany was a tribute to the spirit of cooperation and resilience that defined the Airlift,” the CAF wrote.

Deena Clausen, wing leader of the Commemorative Air Force Central Texas Wing, expressed appreciation for the safe return of its prized possession, now making its way back to its home base in San Marcos, Texas.

“This aircraft is a flying museum and a testament to the bravery of those who served during World War II,” Clausen said. “Its journey to Europe and back has allowed us to honor and remember their sacrifices in a profound way.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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Pilot Robert “Bob” Dempster and his aviatrix wife, Diane, know this only too well as the couple—with the help of several dozen volunteers—built a reproduction of a Douglas World Cruiser (DWC), the Seattle II. On Saturday they fired up the Liberty V-12 engine for what is likely the last time before the behemoth biplane heads to the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

“I have donated it to them,” Dempster said. “I am hoping that it will be displayed in the Great Gallery.”

The aircraft has a wingspan of 50 feet, and the propeller measures 10 and a half feet long. The engine, built by the Packard automobile company in the 1920s, is a 400 hp Liberty V-12.

The Dempsters started building the aircraft in 2001 using drawings obtained from Douglas Aircraft. Their intent of flying it around the world in 2024 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the DWC epic flight, however, is proving to be problematic. Geopolitics make that unfeasible because tracing the route from 100 years ago would have the aircraft flying over parts of Russia, China, and the Middle East.

Given the political climate of the world today in those areas, it would be difficult if not impossible, said Dempster, as he stood next the aircraft clad in knee-length boots and jodhpurs like aviators of the 1920s when this aircraft was in its heyday.

A Time of Setting Records

At that time, aviation was daring and adventurous. It was a period of record-setting flights, such as the crossing of the Atlantic by John Alcock and Arthur Brown. There were many attempts to fly around the world, but most were unsuccessful.

In 1921 the U.S. Army—realizing that aviation was more than curiosity and was here to stay—purchased five heavily modified DT-2 torpedo bombers from the Douglas Airplane Company in Santa Monica, California. The aircraft were selected because they could be put on floats or wheels, which was important since flying around the world meant they would need to be able to operate from both water and land.

The aircraft were modified to meet the mission, adding extra fuel capacity. The engine created in 1917 by Packard at the request of the U.S. military made the journey possible. At the time, the automobile industry, like aviation, was in its infancy, and the shared manufacturing techniques and parts produced boxy noses on the World Cruisers, just like cars of the day.

One aircraft was built as a prototype, while the other four were named for cities from the four corners of the U.S.—Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans. Each airplane was christened with water from either a lake or river in its respective city because Prohibition was the law of the land and Champagne was outlawed. The aircraft were designed for a crew of two—a pilot and mechanic.

On April 6, 1924, after several weeks of preparation, the Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans gathered at Sand Point Naval Air Station near Seattle. The air station was located on Lake Washington and had land runways as well. (The runways no longer exist, as the military base was deactivated in the 1970s, and much of the area redeveloped into Magnuson Park.)

The Army created the route that would take the aircraft north to Alaska (then a U.S. territory) then east around the world. The military had positioned support services along the route, but that didn’t prevent mishaps. The Seattle crashed in Alaska, and the Boston crashed on the leg between England and Iceland. The crews survived.

The prototype was pressed into service, named the Boston II, and it joined the Chicago and New Orleans for the rest of the flight, which terminated in Seattle on September 28, 1924, after covering 26,345 miles.

Seattle World Cruiser II 

While the original World Cruisers sprang from the Douglas Aircraft factory in Santa Monica, Dempster’s aircraft literally came from all over and took a small army of volunteers to build. In the two decades the project had several locations in the Seattle area. When it was on floats, it was kept in an open hangar on the east side of Renton Municipal Airport (KRNT) south of Seattle. 

“The giant airplane being built at Renton” became local pilot lore. In addition, in the banquet room of Randy’s—a coffee shop located adjacent to King County International Airport/Boeing Field (KBFI)—a floor-to-ceiling mural showed the original World Cruiser route, with photographs of Dempsters’ project underway. 

Since they always planned to fly it around the world on the 100th anniversary of the first World Cruiser flight, that meant they had to make sure the aircraft met current airworthiness standards, which included adding a beacon and wingtip position lights.

The name Seattle II pays homage to the original Seattle lost decades ago. There is a line of script under the name painted on the nose in Lushootseed, a local Native American language. According to Dempster, one of the pilots who helped christen the Seattle II was Ken Workman, the great-grandson of Chief Seattle. The first people to live on the land in the Pacific Northwest were Native Americans. The Native American name of the aircraft is Thunder Canoe.

Although the Dempsters did not get to make their epic flight, they got some air time as the Seattle II has made a few trips around the country. In 2016 it flew to Boeing Field to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boeing Company.

One Last Time

Its final flight came in 2020 when it was flown to Chehalis-Centralia Airport (KCLS) south of Olympia, Washington. 

At the airport on Saturday in Seattle, people gathered to watch the engine start for the last time.

Dempster, a consummate showman, brought in a bagpipe player from a local band to open the event by playing Scotland the Brave. The aircraft has Scottish lineage, he noted, as Douglas was a Scotsman and the wires for the bracings are made at a factory in Scotland.

Dempster thanked the 100 or so people who gathered outside the airport fence to watch the event and then carefully climb up to the engine of the aircraft to oil the cylinders. Then, while donning a leather flying cap and goggles, he cajoled the engine to start.

It sputtered once and Dempster joked that the airplane was letting him know it didn’t like sitting around all winter. A few turns of the propeller later, it sprang to life. The roar of the mighty V-12 engine filled the air along with the applause and cheers of those present.

Dempster allowed the engine to run for a few moments, the prop wash flattening the grass and blowing the leather helmet and goggles off his head. His long, white hair whipped in the breeze until he shut down the engine. A round of bittersweet applause filled the air.

The event closed with a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace. If it didn’t bring a tear to your eye, you didn’t have a pulse.

Bob Dempster thanked everyone who helped build the aircraft, most notably his wife, saying the massive undertaking would not have been possible without their support. In September, the Museum of Flight plans to commemorate the end of the World Cruiser flight.

More information on the Seattle World Cruiser project can be found here. 

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Since the 1980s, the grand lady of the air has been a centerpiece of the museum that was formerly known at the Yankee Air Museum located in Belleville, Michigan, at Willow Run Airport (KYIP).

The museum’s name change and the sale of the aircraft are not related, according to president and CEO Kevin Walsh.

“The new name was rebranding and we thought ‘flight’ [was] more enticing than ‘air’ to the general public,” Walsh said.

Walsh declined to identify Yankee Lady’s new owner or its selling price but did say the decision  was made in the best interest of both the aircraft and museum. 

Over the past 40 years, the museum had come to rely on the ride revenue generated by the airplane, creating an “almost unhealthy relationship,” Walsh said. “Instead, the money from the sale will be invested, and the museum will be supported by those investments.”

Walsh also addressed the sale in a letter to the aviation community.

“After evaluating the future of the aircraft and its role in our organization, the board of directors unanimously has determined the museum is no longer the best option for continuing as its caretaker,” he said in the letter. “Furthermore, it was determined by the board of directors that now is the time to entrust this beautiful aircraft’s future to another caretaker.”

The museum’s flight adventure program features the B-17, the North American B-25D Rosie’s Reply, the Douglas C-47 Skytrain Hairless Joe, and a Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” helicopter. Maintenance on these vintage aircraft can be time-consuming and expensive, and keeping them on the ground interrupts the museum’s revenue stream.

“Simply put, interruptions in its revenue stream due to the aircraft’s inability to participate in our flight program have become hardships for the museum,” Walsh said in the letter. “In other words, we don’t feel the museum can ensure her flying future to the extent we feel is appropriate for an historical artifact of her importance and rarity.

“This was a difficult and emotional decision for all concerned, but it was deemed appropriate to ensure the future well-being of the aircraft and museum. The Yankee Lady (44-85829) is headed to a new home and new owner who has the resources to ensure her preservation and flyability for decades to come.”

Walsh assured museum patrons that the flight program will continue. In addition to the museum’s B-25, C-47, and Huey, in 2025 the museum will be adding a Ford TriMotor nicknamed Tin Goose, which has been undergoing restoration since 2020.

Walsh has been with the museum for about 27 years. He began as a volunteer and is a self-described warbird enthusiast. He noted both he and the museum board are keenly aware of how few airworthy B-17s are left in the world and how the ones remaining need to be cared for.

When there is an accident involving a B-17, the cry goes up to ground them, and the response to keep them flying is equally loud. In the past 10 years, there have been three dramatic and, sadly, deadly events involving B-17s.

In 2014, the B-17 Liberty Belle (44-85734/44-85813) was lost due to an in-flight engine fire. There was no loss of life due to the skill of the crew as it performed an off-airport landing in a cornfield. The aircraft might have been saved had the firetrucks been able to reach it, but the ground was too soft for the heavy trucks to navigate.

In 2019, the Collings Foundation’s B-17 Nine-Oh-Nine (42-31909) crashed on landing, killing both pilots and five passengers. Six passengers and one person on the ground were injured when the aircraft, suffering a loss of power in both engines, landed hard then slid up over a deicing tank and burst into flames. 

In the final accident report, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited the pilot’s failure to “properly manage the airplane’s configuration and airspeed following a loss of engine power.” The NTSB also cited “the pilot/maintenance director’s inadequate maintenance while the airplane was on tour, which resulted in the partial loss of power to the Nos. 3 and 4 engines; the Collings Foundation’s ineffective safety management system (SMS), which failed to identify and mitigate safety risks; and the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate oversight of the Collings Foundation’s SMS.”

In November 2022, Texas Raiders (44-83872) was lost in a midair collision with a Bell P-63 Kingcobra during the Wings Over Dallas Airshow. According to widely published video, the P-63 comes from behind the B-17 as if to overtake it, but as the smaller airplane’s belly was facing the B-17, it was physically impossible for the pilot to see the larger airplane. The P-63 collided with the B-17, slicing it in half just behind the wing. Six men—five on board the B-17, the other in the P-63, were killed. The accident is still under investigation.

Walsh noted that although none of these events are related, they are triggering to many people and drive home the point of how rare these aircraft—which once numbered more than 12,000—are now that only a handful remain airworthy.

“There are just five that could fire up the engines and taxi down to the end of the runway for takeoff,” he said. “They are Yankee Lady, Ye Olde Pub (44-8453), belonging to Erickson Aircraft, Sentimental Journey (44-85314), belonging to the Commemorative Air Force, the movie [version of the] Memphis Belle (44-83546) in Southern California, and Sally B (44-85784) over in Europe.”

The Experimental Aircraft Association’s B-17 Aluminum Overcast (44-85740) and the Mid America Flight Museum’s Thunderbird (44-83718) have been down for maintenance for several months for issues related to a spar inspection.

Yankee Lady will be leaving Michigan in a few weeks to head to its new home. In the meantime, the Michigan Flight Museum is preparing for the annual Thunder Over Michigan airshow. This year the event is scheduled for July 20-21, the weekend before EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The post Michigan Flight Museum Sells Centerpiece B-17 ‘Yankee Lady’ appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: When the U.S. entered WWII, the nation’s aircraft manufacturers realized that for the good of the war effort, they needed to set aside profits and competition. So, the designs of aircraft were shared so that they could be mass-produced. 

• READ MORE: Can Student Pilots Perform Preventative Maintenance on Aircraft?

Although it was a Boeing design, B-17s were also built in California by Douglas Aircraft, which produced 3,000 aircraft in Long Beach, and Vega Aircraft, which built 2,750 in Burbank. Meanwhile, Boeing’s Plant 2 in Seattle rolled out 6,981. 

Fun fact: Despite a total of 12,731 B-17s being built, it was not the most mass-produced bomber during WWII. That distinction goes to the B-24 with 18,493 aircraft.

• READ MORE: Is There an Official Weather Briefing?

A great many B-24s were turned out by the Henry Ford Aircraft Factory, which built 8,685 bombers in three years in Willow Run, Michigan. At the peak, the factory produced a B-24 every hour. The Willow Run facility was also the factory where cultural icon “Rosie the Riveter” worked. On the West Coast, female factory workers were known as “Janes who made the planes.”

The post Which WWII Bomber Was the Most Mass-Produced? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The invasion required advances in engineering and logistical planning as well as coordination of thousands of troops, ships, and aircraft to make it work.

To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, which many historians see as the beginning of the end of World War II (although some of the fiercest fighting in Europe would continue for another 11 months), the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) and other groups have flown vintage WWII aircraft to Europe to participate in the event.

• READ MORE: Warbirds: The Planes of D-Day

The CAF’s C-47s That’s All, Brother and Ready 4 Duty are participating in flyovers and airshows in France. The C-47, a militarized version of the DC-3, was critical in the D-Day invasion. The aircraft carried paratroopers and towed gliders.

D-Day was initially planned for May 1, but was delayed by poor weather until June 6. It was a logistical feat like no other, with the largest armada ever to take to the sea launched across the English Channel. Air cover was provided by an estimated 13,000 aircraft, ranging from bombers, transports, and fighters—all headed to France.

The invasion was executed in five phases, beginning with the midnight drop of 23,400 Allied paratroopers into Normandy. Their mission was to secure access from the beaches inland.

The next phase began at 0100 with the Allies faking an invasion at the Pas de Calais, 150 miles northeast of Normandy.

At 0300 Allied aircraft began a bombardment of German defenses in the area, and at 0500 a naval shelling commenced.

• READ MORE: American Air Flies 68 WWII Vets to France

At 0600 the Allied troops, a total of 129,400, began to land on the beaches of Normandy.

Today, there are few of these original aircraft left, but there are many of these WWII transports, fighters, and gliders making the airshow and fly-in circuits sporting the distinctive black and white stripes that adorned the aircraft that participated in D-Day.

If you have been lucky enough to hear a veteran of D-Day talk about the experiences, one of the first things they will tell you is that the black-and-white striping was done as a temporary measure.

The stripes, 18 inches wide on single-engine aircraft and 24 inches wide on multiengine aircraft, were placed on the wings and around the fuselage so they could be quickly identified as friendlies and not shot down.

According to those who painted the stripes on the aircraft (and gave the informational talks at EAA AirVenture in the Warbird area), the work was done quickly, quietly, and at the last minute lest the German Luftwaffe find out about the special markings. The paint jobs were not supposed to last long—some of the stripes were allegedly done with whitewash and shoe polish. Military brass ordered the stripes to be removed by December 1944.

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Bong, born in Superior, Wisconsin, shot down 40 Japanese aircraft during WWII.

The aircraft, christened Marge after Majorie “Marge” Ann Vattendahl, Bong’s girlfriend and later wife, is adorned with an image of her drawn from a yearbook portrait. At the time, most nose art featured scantily clad women or two-fisted aggressive cartoon characters, but Bong wanted something different.

The wreckage was found in a forest in what is now Papua New Guinea. It crashed there in March 1944 when another pilot, Second Lieutenant Thomas Malone, was flying a reconnaissance mission at night in challenging weather and experienced engine failure. Malone bailed out, evaded capture, and lived to fly another day.

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According to Pacific Wrecks Director Justin Taylan, the search team found the wreckage May 15 in Papua New Guinea’s Madang Province. Eighty years is a long time, especially when an aircraft goes down in a dynamic environment like the jungle. It takes a great deal of time to do the research, sifting through battle reports and old weather reports to find the approximate location of a crash, then traveling to the remote areas, which often can only be reached on foot because of the thick vegetation. Nothing is done quickly.

According to Taylan, the narrative of the aircraft’s loss suggested it had crashed on the grounds of a plantation.

“We have been planning this mission since October 2023 and every year conduct expeditions to locate historical sites or document crash sites,” Taylan told FLYING. “Our work is supported by donations from the public. The P-38 Marge project is in partnership with the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, that funded half of the costs. Pacific Wrecks is a charity, and our team members are volunteers.”

When the team arrived on site, locals took them to a crash site, and it turned out to be a Japanese aircraft. The team was then told about another wreck located deeper in the jungle. The team set out again, and eventually found the wreckage in a ravine. Pieces of metal were found scattered on and in the ground and at the top of the ridge they found two aircraft engines embedded in the soil, indicating the aircraft went nose-first.

In a media conference, Taylan stated that when they found the wingtips with red paint on them, they were encouraged, as Bong’s aircraft was marked in this fashion, but added that they would have to find something imprinted with the aircraft’s serial number of 42-103993 to positively identify the aircraft.

Taylan supplied photos of  a wing tip that is embossed with what appears to be “993″. Another image shows a piece of metal stamped with “Model P-38 JK.”

During a video news conference from Papua New Guinea, Taylan said that the serial number and model identification prove the plane is the one they’ve been looking for. 

“I think it’s safe to say mission accomplished,” Taylan said. “Marge has been identified. It’s a great day for the center, a great day for Pacific Wrecks, a great day for history.”

During WWII, Bong was America’s top ace, shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, three of them from the cockpit of Marge. In 1944 Gen. Douglas MacArthur awarded Bong the Medal of Honor.

Bong and Vattendahl married in 1945. Having completed three combat tours in the South Pacific, Bong was brought back to the U.S. and promoted the sale of war bonds when he was reassigned to test pilot duty in Burbank, California.

On August 6, 1945 while flying the new P-80A Shooting Star, one of America’s first jet airplanes, he ran into trouble. The aircraft took off around 2:30 p.m. and according to the accident investigation there was a problem with the aircraft’s fuel pump. Bong attempted to eject but his parachute did not deploy, and both the pilot and airplane went down in a field north of Hollywood. Bong was killed on the same day that America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The next day in some newspapers the story about his death was given higher placement than the dropping of the bomb.

According to Pacific Wrecks, the Bong family was excited to hear about the discovery of the aircraft. Bong is still celebrated in Wisconsin. There is a bridge, an airport and a state recreation area named for him.

Tribute P-38s

There are two replicas of Marge in Wisconsin. One is at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, the other in the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior.

According to Briana Fiandt, curator of collections and exhibits at the center, the P-38 they have on display was used stateside during World War II.

“In 1949 it was given to the town of Poplar, where Bong grew up, and put up on a pedestal in front of a school in 1955. In the early 1990s, it was taken down and sent to the 148th airbase in Duluth for restoration,” she said.

While all that was happening, funds were being raised to build a museum to honor Bong and others who served in WWII, as well as house the aircraft. The museum is located on the Bay of Lake Superior.

“The museum was built around the airplane,” says Fiandt. “We had it installed and the museum opened, then we built the other half of the museum.”

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Today the multi-story facility also honors the homefront during WWII, as well as the Korean  and Vietnam conflicts. There are more than 17,000 artifacts in the museum collection.

Fiandt said that the team in Papua New Guinea has sent photographs and videos of the Marge recovery site which are being added to the collection. Fiandt is not sure what will happen to the actual aircraft, but said she has reached out to the national museum in New Guinea which may take ownership of the wreckage.

Marge is also one of the most famous mass produced P-38 aircraft model kits. If you have ever built a model of a P-38, it is very likely you built Major Bong’s aircraft, which includes red spinners, wingtips and tail stubs and what looks like a photograph on the nose.

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