flight-watch - Alan Armstrong, Attorney-At-Law

FLIGHT-WATCH
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VOLUME 216
By: Alan Armstrong, Esq.
APRIL 2010
Shirley Sturgill. Bob Reed is the Director of the
museum, and Shirley Sturgill is a devoted employee.
Due to the inclement weather, Bob excused himself,
and Shirley afforded me a brief tour of the museum.
II.
A Brief Survey of the Treasures in the Museum
A Visit to the Planes of Fame Air
Museum in Arizona
I.
The Mystique of the Planes of Fame Air Museum
Ed Maloney, the founder of the Planes of
Fame Air Museum, is an aviation legend. He
founded the first air museum west of the Rocky
Mountains in 1957. Today, the two facilities of the
museum (one in Chino, California) is home to over
150 historic aircraft. Following the 2009 International Council of Air Shows and a visit to the Grand
Canyon in between snow blizzards, I paid a visit to
the museum facility at Valle Airport near Grand
Canyon, Arizona. Sitting prominently outside the
museum was a Lockheed Constellation dressed elegantly in a mound of winter snow. On the nose of
the Constellation was the inscription “Bataan” indicating it was in the markings of the aircraft used to
provide transportation to General MacArthur. As my
wife and I made our way into the lobby of the museum, a host of historic aircraft could be seen on the
tarmac including a Navy F-11 fighter jet in Blue Angel colors.
After we made our way from the lobby into
the hangar, the first thing Shirley showed me was the
wing to a Yokosuka D4Y Comet aircraft. This was a
Japanese aircraft designed as a dive bomber. Early
models of the aircraft were employed at the Battle of
Midway as reconnaissance aircraft because of their
high speed. The aircraft featured an inline engine
which was either a German manufactured Daimler
Benz engine or a Japanese copy of that engine. Apparently, there are other components of this aircraft
that was rescued from either the central or western
Pacific. One wonders whether the Planes of Fame
Museum has aspirations of returning this Japanese
aircraft to flight status.
One of four Grumman F3F fighters recovered from Hawaii and restored to flight status were
on display. The aircraft is a magnificent specimen in
highly-polished pre-war Navy colors.
First World War aircraft are also on prominent display in the facility. These include a German
Seimens Schuckert fighter plane and also a British
After making our way through mounds of
snow, my wife and I made our way into the lobby of
the museum and were greeted by Robert Reed and
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manufactured F2B fighter. The Seimens Schuckert
had a laminated wood fuselage with a large rotary
engine on the nose. The fuselage looked somewhat
like a barrel. The F2 Bristol fighter is a First World
War two seat aircraft with a large radiator on the
nose and leather stitching employed to hold the linen
panels on the skeleton of the airplane. Another interesting First World War aircraft is a Standard aircraft
The hangar also housed a number of interesting aircraft such as a T-28, a Cessna Skymaster
and a Stinson Reliant.
Besides the aircraft collection, the walls
were adorned with a number of photographs and
artifacts concerning military aviation. Model aircraft
also adorned the facility as well as a Second World
War Link trainer.
III.
Conclusion
The enthusiasm for those affiliated with the
Planes of Fame Air Museum was apparent from my
interaction with Shirley Sturgill. She loves the old
aircraft and is very knowledgeable about them. One
can only hope that her enthusiasm is infectious. The
lobby and store of the museum include attractive
displays of memorabilia and materials available for
purchase dealing with Second World War aircraft.
The entire facility was spotless and evidences a desire to keep the museum in topflight condition.
If your travels take you anywhere near the
Grand Canyon in Arizona, a trip to the museum is
time well spent.
that sits in the facility without any covering. To be
clear, the aircraft is intact with its engine, propeller
and other systems present, but it has not been covered. The wood structure of the aircraft is pristine.
An AD-1 Skyraider is featured prominently
in the facility and is in excellent condition along with
an A-26 Invader.
Perhaps the rarest aircraft at the Planes of
Fame Museum in Arizona is a Messerschmitt Bf109G-10 fighter. The Messerschmitt was in authentic German markings looking just as it might have
looked in 1944 or 1945. In contrast to earlier models
of the Messerschmitt, the canopy of the aircraft had a
“hood effect” without all the bracing and structures
of the early model Messerschmitts.
Sitting next to the Messerschmitt was a replica Japanese Navy Type 99 Aichi D3A “Val” dive
bomber. This aircraft, like my Kate bomber, was
manufactured for the 20th Century Fox film Tora!
Tora! Tora! The Val was a relatively large aircraft,
looking larger and more robust than a stock BT-13
from which the aircraft was derived. It was quite
authentic in its appearance as a Japanese aircraft.
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Alan Armstrong is engaged in the general
practice of law with an emphasis in the following areas:
Aviation Matters, Personal Injury,
Professional Negligence (Malpractice),
Products Liability
Phone: (770) 451-0313 Fax: (770) 451-0317
Email: [email protected]
Website Addresses: www.alanarmstronglaw.com
www.flyingtigersfilm.com
Please contact us at
[email protected]
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© 2010 John Slemp
Aerographs
4778 Darlene Way
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Copyright 2010. Alan
Armstrong. All Rights
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