Lone Star Flight Museum - January 21st, 2019
Visit the Lone Star Flight Museum at Ellington Field on MLK Day
Learning about aircraft & history improves the content of your character!
One online adult ticket at $13 and free admission for school kids today
Visit Hanger 1 & the Boeing-Stearman N2S Kaydet (Primary Trainer PT-17)
1951 Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star - First US jet trainer
Polish built MiG-17 was an improved (lengthened) MiG-15
MiG-17 better at tight dogfights with F-4s from tight turn capability & cannons
1967 Cessna T-41 Mescalero is a military version of the Cessna 172
1941 Fairchild PT-19 Cornell monoplane primary trainer
English Folland Gnat T.1 trainer (1965-79) & fighter for Finland & India
The Museums' DC-3 was built in 1940 for American Airlines but purchased by Trans-Texas Airlines, the predecessor to Continental Airlines
The Douglas DC-3A revolutionalized air transportation in the 1930's
The military ordered over 10,000 C-47 Skytrains for WWII
Curtiss A-1 Triad was the first US Navy aircraft & had retractable landing gear
The 3rd Douglas Commercial design first took flight in 1935
Sikorsky S-76A built for civilian needs such as transport to offshore oil rigs
The S-76A first flew in 1977 and in production the last 39 years
This is the 35th production S-76A built in 1979 and retired after 33 years
The rotor blades have a hollow titanium spar and leading edge
Ford M151A2 MUTT replaced the Jeep in Korea & Vietnam
Grumman TBM-3E Avenger replaced the TBD Devastator torpedo bomber
The heaviest single engine aircraft of WWII & President Bush's aircraft
It first saw combat in the Battle of Midway where 5 of 6 where shot down
General Motors built Avengers as Grumman focused on F6F Hellcat fighters
It could carry a torpedo or bombs in an internal bomb bay
This GM built Avenger was delivered in May, 1945 and served until 1953
The lights go out in the hangar at the Bell AH-1 Cobra
Developed as an armed escort for transporting troops in Vietnam
This is a rare training version, a Bell TAH-1P Cobra
Armament: M197 20mm 3 barreled cannon, 2.75" rockets & TOW missiles
Climb up to the balcony and look down on the Cobra
Beyond the Cobra are the Avenger and Sikorsky S-76A
Focus in on the DC-3 across the hangar
The lights are out for a 3D virtual reality demonstration by the T-33
The girls move on to Hangar 2 with more WWII war birds on display
Start the tour with the Chance Vought F4U Corsair
Next is the Douglas A-1D Skyraider which fought in Korea & Vietnam
Built until 1957 & suited for close-air support and pilot rescue missions
Navy Skyraiders shot down two Mig-17 fighters during the Vietnam War
The last of 5 built (1953) Anderson Greenwood AG-14 pusher sport aircraft
1953 Piper J-3 Cub civilian sport aircraft, over 20,000 were built
The famous Roll-Royce Merlin engine of Hurricane, Spitfire & Mustang fame
The Piper J-3 Cub turned into the Piper L-4 Grasshopper
Used as a artillery spotter/director platform in WWII
Stinson OY-1 Sentinel delivered personel & intelligence during WWII
L-5 Sentinel used in WWII and Korea as forward air control aircraft
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was the heaviest single engine fighter in WWII
This Venezuelan AF P-47 is currently getting her annual engine overhaul
Douglas SBD Dauntless WWII dive bomber could handle a 4+ G pull up
Beechcraft Baron B-58 is one of the most popular twin engine aircraft built
This 1941 Dodge WC25 Command Car was used in Europe during WWII
Model of the USS Hornet launching General Doolittle's B-25 Raiders towards Tokyo on April 18, 1942
Beside it is a North American B-25J Mitchell in gunless Doolittle configuration
13 of 80 Raiders were from Texas, Dean Hallmark was captured & executed
North American SNJ Texan, a variant of the T-6 pilot-maker trainer
Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Kaydet army trainer or N2S navy trainer
Both Museum Stearmans served as WWII trainers & post-war cropdusters
First flew in 1932, the Beechcraft D-17 Staggerwing improved pilot visibility
The Museum's Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress was acquired in 1987, refurbished over 4 years, & painted as Thunderbird which flew 112 missions over Europe
It rolled off the assembly line on May 8, 1945, the day the Europe war ended
Used by France as a high altitude photo platform for 25 years
The maintenance crew are giving the engines an inspection today
Currently, fewer than twelve B-17s are still airworthy
Having flown overhead many times, the girls finally get an up close viewing
Climb up to the balcony overlooking Hangar 2
A crowd is always gathered around the B-17 being so famous
Can view the top & bottom turret guns & waist guns from this angle
Continue down to view the Mitchell Bomber and Texan Trainer
Look down upon the folded gull wings of the Corsair & hangar doors
Capture most of the larger aircraft in Hangar 2
Angle for the Skyraider and complete wingspan of the B-17
The girls next visit the Flight Academy with hands-on exhibits
The foundations of flight and aircraft design are introduced to visitors
Who knew that Bernoulli's principle could be such fun?
So, turbulent flow is more than just how daddy mixes creamer in his coffee
Erin takes the Stearman out for a joy ride
The Flight Academy has three replica cockpits to investigate
Hold on tight daddy! I'm going to increase our angles in the Y & Z plane!
Erin checks out the airy cockpit of a P-47
Next, let's check out the cockpit of the P-51 Mustang
Move over Erin, I'm flying this bird!
How did we both get out here on the wing?
Alex gets flight instructions on the hang glider simulator
Two glider simulators respond to how you move your body in the harness
Alex is able to follow the lead penguin to the landing zone
Erin learns that higher angles reduce to the ground reduce lift
David flashbacks Dr. Westkaemper's olives roll out of martini glass lecture
The girls rest their feet in the US Air Force very shortbed pickup
Check out the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame while the girls continue gliding
There were MANY military aviation fields established in Texas during WWII
Lance "Wildcat" Wade had 23 victories, the highest scoring Texan in WWII
Lt. Edgar Tobin, from San Antonio, scored six victories in 1918
10% of all American bomber pilots were trained at Ellington Field during WWII
Navy Blimb Base at Hitchcock was used for Gulf coast anti-submarine patrols
The US Air Force operated a diverse fleet of aircraft in the 1950's
Alex, with hand warming gloves, is ready to join the team!
The girls try a flight simulator in the Aviation Learning Center
Erin hits all the rectangles once airborne. But landing? It's yours, Alex!
Another, more realistic, simulator is set aside for the big kids
Erin checks out the Wood and Canvas of WWI Aviation Art by Jim Dietz
I like the horse pulling the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane the most
Our first visit to the museum which opened right after Hurricane Harvey
Outside, check out the KC-135 on display long before the Museum opened
Three C-131 twin prop planes and five KC-135s were used & retired by NASA's Reduced Gravity Program, which now operates a C-9 aircraft
NASA 930 KC-135A was retired in 1995 and put on display in 2000
Ellington Field was established in 1917 and renewed in 1940 for WWII
See JSC's Weightless Wonder V's flight parabola painted on the side
30 seconds of weightlessness followed by a 2.5 G pullout
The press dubbed it the Vomit Comet
The last NASA KC-135 was retired on Halloween 2004
The new Lone Star Flight Museum at Ellington Field, safe from Hurricane Ike's Galveston flood waters, is worth a visit!