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view - War Eagles Air Museum
Second Quarter (April - June) 2003
Volume 15, Number 2
The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
Editorial
W
e hope you enjoy this edition
of Plane Talk. In this issue,
we’re kicking off a new feature, “Historical Perspectives,” by War
Eagles Air Museum’s Robert Haynes. In
his first column, Robert offers a new perspective on the course World War II in
the Pacific might have taken had Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto not been
killed when American pilots shot down
his aircraft in 1943. A 2002 graduate of
the University of Texas at El Paso with a
major in History and a minor in Criminal
Justice, Robert will offer fresh, thoughtprovoking, perhaps even controversial insights into aspects of World War II and
Korean War aviation history.
A couple of Museum projects were completed in the last quarter. The 1962 Aston
Martin DB4 is back after a two-year restoration in Phoenix. Our new weather
station, a KVIA-TV Channel 7 Weathernet site, is on the air and reporting conditions around the clock. Thanks to the
dedication and enthusiasm of many volunteers, we’re “exercising” the automobile collection on a schedule that cycles
through all of the vehicles in about five
months. We’re also making good progress on rejuvenating the volunteer program, with more improvements to come.
Featured Aircraft
E
dward A. “Eddie” Stinson was
born in 1894 in Ft. Payne, Alabama. Always fascinated by aviation, he learned to fly from the Wright
brothers in 1911, and soon gained fame
as a barnstormer, stunt pilot and recordsetting aviator. In 1915, Eddie, his brother Jack and his sisters Marjorie and Katherine set up the Stinson School for Aviation in San Antonio, Texas, to train U. S.
and Canadian pilots for World War I. After a failed plan to open a flying school in
his home state, Stinson founded the Stinson Airplane Company in Dayton, Ohio,
War Eagles’ Stinson Reliant (foreground)
flying in formation with the Confederate Air
Force’s Reliant, date and place unknown
(probably Harlingen, Texas, 1989).
Contents
Editorial.................................... 1
Featured Aircraft...................... 1
From the Director..................... 2
New Weather Station............... 3
Volunteer Program Update...... 4
Centennial of Flight.................. 4
Historical Perspectives ............ 5
Membership Application .......... 7
Corporate Youth Sponsors ...... 7
Project Update......................... 8
Featured Aircraft (Continued on Page 2)
1
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
Plane Talk—The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
From The Director
I
n this issue of Plane Talk, you’ll
find out about some things going on
that we hope will increase public interest in War Eagles Air Museum and
boost our attendance, memberships and
volunteers. For example, our participation in the KVIA-TV Channel 7 Weathernet program means that thousands of
local television viewers will see us each
time they tune in to watch the weather
forecast. Our new Director of Development, Terry Sunday, in addition to serving as Plane Talk editor and tackling a
variety of other jobs, is committed to
rejuvenating our volunteer program. I am
excited about Terry’s ideas for matching
up our volunteers with the tasks that need
to be done. I am sure our new structured
program, when it is running smoothly,
will benefit both the Museum and the
volunteers.
Some other things to watch for in the
months ahead—we’re in the planning
stages to host a sanctioned Chili Cookoff
in the Fall, and we look forward to some
special events to celebrate the Centennial
of Flight in December. We’re also in preliminary negotiations with the Russians
to trade one of our rare Tupolev Tu-2
bombers for another aircraft, possibly a
MiG-29, and we’re looking to replace the
engine in our Fieseler Storch, which has
a broken crankshaft, and thus restore the
aircraft to flightworthy condition. We can
use your help in all of these activities, so
please contact or visit the Museum and
we’ll put you to work.
Skip Trammell
Plane Talk
Published by War Eagles Air Museum
8012 Airport Road
Santa Teresa, New Mexico 88008
(505) 589-2000
Newsletter Editor—Terry Sunday
E-mail address:
[email protected]
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
Featured Aircraft (Continued from page 1)
in 1920. Five years later, he moved to
Detroit, Michigan, with its more attractive business climate. His factory, southwest of the city, is now the site of Detroit
Metropolitan Airport.
Second Quarter 2003
on a trip to Chicago in a new Model R,
he crashed and was killed during a forced
landing attempt after running out of fuel.
He was 38 years old. At the time, Stinson
had logged over 16,000 hours of flight
time—more than any other licensed pilot.
The most famous Stinson aircraft arguably was the Reliant. Introduced in 1933,
the Reliant traced its ancestry to the 1931
Model W and the 1932 Model R-2/3,
which offered the same qualities that
made the Reliant so popular—reliability
combined with opulence. From 1933 to
1941, Stinson delivered 1,327 Reliants in
ten models, from SR-1 to SR-10. Each
offered upgraded engines, improved performance and design refinements over its
predecessor.
Stinson’s initial design, the six-seat SM-1
Detroiter, first flew on January 25, 1926.
Presaging more than 13,000 Stinson airThe first Reliants, now very rare, had a
craft built over the next 30 years, the Destraight wing, but from 1936 on all new
troiter was popular in the growing civil
Reliants left the factory with an elegant,
aviation market. With $150,000 in public
graceful, tapered “gull” wing. A new Recapital raised from the Detroiter’s sucliant in 1933 was a bargain at $3,995. A
cess, Stinson incorporated his company
few months after entering the market, Reon May 4, 1926. Sales
increased from 10 Detroiters in 1926 to a
mix of 121 Detroiters
and SM-2 Juniors in
1929, when Stinson’s
company attracted the
attention of automobile
mogul Errett L. Cord.
In September 1929,
Cord acquired 60 percent of Stinson’s stock,
thus providing the investment capital needed
for the young company
to ride out the Depression with a lineup of six
aircraft models, including the Stinson 6000 trimotor airliner. In 1931, Stinson SR-10 Reliant Cockpit, ca. 1940.
Cord merged Stinson
with AVCO (the Aviation Corporation),
liants outsold all other makes of two-,
with Stinson becoming a division of the
four- and six-place cabin aircraft comAviation Manufacturing Corporation, an
bined. The 1938 SR-10 was the ultimate
AVCO subsidiary. That year, three“limousine class” of personal air transfourths of all four-seat cabin aircraft, and
port. It featured fine leather upholstery,
70 percent of all airliners sold in Amerwalnut-faced instrument panels, rollica, were Stinsons.
down automobile-style side windows and
Eddie Stinson did not live to enjoy his
company’s success. On January 26, 1932,
Featured Aircraft (Continued on page 6)
2
Second Quarter 2003
New Weather Station
Up and Running
L
ocal television viewers may notice a new site on the KVIA-TV
ABC Channel 7 Weathernet—
War Eagles Air Museum. Thanks to a
cooperative effort by the Museum, Channel 7 and Mexus Communications, the
weather conditions at the Museum now
appear on morning and evening Channel
7 news broadcasts, and around-the-clock
on the station’s internet site www.kvia.
com and the Museum’s site www.wareagles-air-museum.com.
Getting the Weathernet site operational
was not easy because there were no highspeed communication services between
El Paso and Santa Teresa. An earlier look
at the idea showed the need for a new,
dedicated telephone line—a solution with
technical and cost problems. Enter Mexus Communications, a relatively new El
Paso company offering wireless communications services. By a stroke of luck,
The Weathernet site installation team—
(l to r) Javier Garcia and Omar Pineda of
KVIA-TV, ABC Channel 7, and Albert
Lepe, Jr., of Mexus Communications.
Plane Talk—The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
That morning, Javier
Garcia and Omar Pineda of KVIA-TV arrived bright and early
with the weather instruments, mast, cables
and software. Built by
Texas Weather Instruments of Dallas, the
instrument set includes a temperature/
humidity sensor, a
rain collector, a barometric pressure sensor, an anemometer
and a wind direction
sensor. Albert Lepe,
Jr. showed up with a
Mexus Communications technician Albert Lepe, Jr., installs
communications
dish
antenna at War Eagles Air Museum, March 10, 2003.
and connecting hardware. Working nearly
all day in the hot sun, Javier, Omar and
Mexus reps Teresa Guerra and Albert
Albert installed their equipment on the
Lepe, Jr., called on the Museum in Febroof of the Museum’s office wing. After
ruary. The wireless connection they ofa short burn-in period and some adjusting
fered seemed to be just the thing for the
and fine-tuning over the next few days,
Weathernet site. The problem was that
the station and communications link were
the Museum is located right at the maxiup and running reliably by March 14.
mum allowable line-of-sight range from
the antennas on Coronado Tower in El Paso.
After the Museum furnished Mexus with the
precise coordinates of
the center of Runway
28/10, and accounted
for the relative position
of the Museum with
respect to the runway,
the answer came back
— it should work.
So the Museum ordered the meteorological
instrument set. Meanwhile, hardware whiz
Dan Taylor prepared The weather instrument mast and communications antenna
the Museum’s 500- add a new high-tech look to War Eagles Air Museum.
MHz Hewlett Packard
Pavilion computer to
On April 15, KVIA-TV ABC Channel 7
receive data from the instruments and
Chief Meteorologist “Doppler Dave”
transmit it to KVIA-TV. Dan took off old
Speelman did “live remotes” from the
data and applications, formatted the disk
Museum on the 5:00 and 6:00PM news
drive, re-installed the Windows 98 operbroadcasts to highlight the latest addition
ating system and tweaked some parameto the Weathernet.
ters. By March 10, the system was ready.
3
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Plane Talk—The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
Second Quarter 2003
Volunteer Program Update
T
he first quarter was great for the
War Eagles Air Museum’s volunteer program. Thanks to all of
the volunteers who filled out a “profile”
sheet and indicated which Museum functions they want to help out in. These profiles will be important in the future as we
expand our efforts to match up volunteers
with jobs that need to be done.
We’d like to welcome new volunteers
Bret Chidester, Veronica Guevara, Morris Lauwereins, Ed Lopez, Bill Loveless
and Matt Lynch, and welcome back former volunteers Bob Magruder and Roy
Sinclair. We look forward to seeing all
“new” and “old” volunteers often.
We think 2003 will be a banner year for
volunteer recruitment and involvement.
Here are some of the volunteer activities
going on:
1.
2.
3.
Our prioritized and expanding list of
volunteer projects has over 30 tasks
on it. No matter what your skills,
background and interests are, there’s
a way you can get more involved in
volunteering at the Museum. The
next time you visit, even if you just
stop in for lunch on Thursday, check
the list and see if you can find a project that appeals to you.
Volunteers John Gantt and Jim Velia
are assuring that RV parks in El Paso
and Las Cruces are well-stocked
with Museum brochures and our new
special 2-for-1 admission flyers.
Museum members Annaline and Ernie Rettig are taking care of flyer
distribution in Alamogordo and Ruidoso, Johnny Williams is covering
Alpine, Ft. Davis and Marfa, and
Darwin Vetter is doing the same
thing for T or C and Elephant Butte.
RV-ers are always looking for things
to do in the area, and our goal is to
increase visits by those who might
otherwise just pass us by.
ed by a person in Tucson. When
Frank has the engine cleaned, painted and mounted on a stand, we will
display it next to our 1937 Piper J-3
Cub. Remember, the Museum’s aircraft is the oldest flyable J-3, and the
oldest flyable Piper aircraft, in the
world.
4.
We have set up a schedule to “exercise” the Museum’s automobile collection. Volunteers Frank Harrison,
John Gantt, Veronica Guevara, Damon Loveless, Bob Magruder and
Dario Toffenetti, along with Jack
Bell, Tino Lara, Bill Swartout, Terry
Sunday, Skip Trammell and Carl
Wright, have signed up to take some
of our historic vehicles for a spin
around the airport. Plenty of cars do
not yet have drivers signed up. If
you’re interested, stop in and add
your name to the list.
These are just a few of the things happening in the volunteer area. As we continue
to refine the volunteer program and expand the project list,
we hope to see many
more volunteers regularly, working together
to make War Eagles
Air Museum even better than it is. Remember, volunteers are the
backbone of Museum
operations. If you think
you want to volunteer
but don’t know how to go about it, just
visit or call and we will set you up with
everything you need to know. The only
qualifications required for volunteering
are enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and
a desire to help.
Frank Harrison has tackled the job of
restoring a 1934 Continental A-40
four-cylinder aircraft engine, donat-
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
Ideas Are Needed for
Centennial of Flight
Celebration
T
his year marks the 100th anniversary of Orville Wright’s first official powered flight over the Kill
Devil Hills sand dunes near Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
With War Eagles Air Museum’s focus on
historic aircraft, it makes sense for us to
observe this event in a special way. But
we need your help. Do you have ideas for
activities, displays, celebrations, services
or other things that we can do in honor of
this occasion? For example, we’re considering flying our Piper J-3 Cub (the
world’s oldest flying Piper aircraft) on
December 17, 2003 at 8:35AM—the exact
local time of day that Orville Wright first
flew. This could be a real crowd-pleasing
event. But we need some other ideas also. Please contact Skip or Terry if you’d
like to help plan our Centennial of Flight
celebration. For more information, go to:
www.centennialofflight.af.mil
4
Second Quarter 2003
Plane Talk—The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
Historical
Perspectives
better than anyone else in a position of
authority in Japan. Yamamoto’s views
about America were quite moderate compared with other members of the Japanese command structure. It has clearly
been shown, by many recorded sources,
that Yamamoto had doubts about the war
before it had even started. He was also
highly respected by the Japanese people
and the Japanese government.
by Robert Haynes
T
his column, “Historical Perspectives,” is intended to generate debate and discussion about historical events involving aircraft and their wider effects on the course of world history.
It will appear in each issue of Plane Talk,
and I hope to use it to generate feedback
and intellectual discussions about the
times and events in which the Museum’s
aircraft played a role.
Before beginning this issue’s discussion,
let me introduce myself. I started working part-time at War Eagles Air Museum
in July 1999 while earning a B.A. degree
in History at the University of Texas at
El Paso. I came on full-time after graduating in December 2002, and now have
the opportunity to work in research and
collections for the Museum.
Drawing on Museum holdings and other
research sources, I will cover a different
historical event in each issue. Each column will include questions for discussion. I invite readers to respond to these
questions. The opinions, viewpoints and
perspectives offered are intended to stimulate debate, and may or may not represent my personal viewpoints or those of
other Museum employees or volunteers. I
simply ask you to keep an open mind,
and realize that the complete history of
any event will never be written. For instance, a house on the Rue Volta in Paris
was for many years commonly believed
to be the oldest medieval house in the
city. However, improved scientific dating
techniques, and a better understanding of
medieval building methods, recently disproved this “accepted” wisdom. It is now
clear that the house is actually a 17th century imitation of a medieval house. Thus
the writing of history continues.
In this issue, we examine the events of
April 18, 1943. On that date, Japanese
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was killed in
an Allied air attack while he was enroute
from Rabaul to Ballale Island. Yamamoto’s Mitsubishi Betty bomber, one of two
in a flight with several Mitsubishi Zero
fighters escorting, was downed by Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters flying out of
Guadalcanal. U. S. decryptions of Japanese radio communications had revealed
Yamamoto’s itinerary, and allowed military planners to devise a mission to intercept his aircraft. At about 9:34AM on
April 18, in a pitched air battle, Yamamoto’s Betty was shot down. His body
was later recovered by Japanese personnel, positively identified, cremated and
the ashes returned to Japan.
With these facts in mind, I do not believe
it was wise for U. S. authorities to approve the personal attack on Yamamoto
that resulted in his death. In doing so, the
U. S. government killed a moderate Japanese leader with great influence, moderate views and a deep understanding of
American philosophy. He was a person
whose role in peace negotiations within
the Japanese government, prior to the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima, will never
be known. However, I believe the preponderance of evidence clearly shows
that Yamamoto could have been able to
help persuade other Japanese moderates
to negotiate an end to the war before September 1945. I also believe Yamamoto
could have served as a useful and effective liaison between the American occupation forces and a newly formed Japanese government. Therefore, I consider
the attack on Yamamoto to be more of a
failure than a success, especially considering that the attack was intended to
“profoundly shock the Japanese psychology,” which it did not do.
I encourage you to respond to this column. Please send your comments via email to [email protected],
or write to Robert Haynes, 8012 Airport
Road, Santa Teresa, New Mexico 88008.
Selected responses may be published in
the next issue of Plane Talk.
Sources
The question I raise for discussion is this:
was it wise for the U. S. to eliminate Yamamoto in this fashion?
The Secret War; Francis Russell, TimeLife Books (1981)
Lockheed P-38 Lightning; Steve Pace,
Motorbooks International (1996)
Consider that Yamamoto had attended
Harvard and served as the Japanese naval
attaché in Washington before the war. He
was a man who knew America, and the
ways of the American people, perhaps
The Rising Sun; John Toland, Random
House (1970)
5
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
Plane Talk—The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
Second Quarter 2003
Stinson Reliant Characteristics
War Eagles Air Museum’s Reliant arrives at Santa Teresa Airport, August 3, 1994.
Featured Aircraft (Continued from page 2)
state-of-the-art navigation and communications equipment. The later versions
were much more expensive. New SR-10s
went for between $10,000 and $18,000.
This was out of the reach of most potential private owners, but not for commuter
airlines and corporations such as Gulf
Oil, Shell Oil and Pepsi Cola.
A 1940 merger with Vultee Corporation
made Stinson part of the Stinson-Vultee
Division of AVCO. The company built
SR-10 Reliants until the beginning of
World War II.
In July 1942, under the Lend-Lease Program, the British Royal Navy ordered
500 militarized SR-10s, designated Model V-77 (it was Vultee’s 77th aircraft design) for delivery in the next two years.
The Army Air Corps called this rugged
aircraft the AT-19. For the last year of
the war, they served as instrument trainers, utility transports and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. By war’s end, they had
seen service in Ceylon, Trinidad, Australia, China and India.
In February 1946, 415 of these “war surplus” veterans returned to Norfolk, Virginia. The Stinson plant in Wayne, Michigan (by then the Stinson Division of the
Consolidated-Vultee Corporation) took
out the military gear, “re-manufactured”
the aircraft to meet civil type certificate
requirements and sold them on the civilian market for as little as $1,500. With
excellent reliability, a large cargo space
and readily available engines, many of
these ex-Royal Navy Reliants found their
niches operating from short gravel runways in the Alaskan and Canadian bush.
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
The Reliant is a rugged, solid airplane
made mostly of welded chrome-molybdenum steel tubing covered with fabric.
It is big, massive and impressive, yet
graceful and very well proportioned. One
doesn’t really appreciate its size until one
stands next to it—the entry ladder on the
left side of the fuselage has two steps.
Equally capable of operating on wheels,
skis or pontoons, the Reliant has excellent performance and a “deliberate” character. Control forces are light and response is good, but the aircraft can never
be said to be “quick.” In normal flight,
Reliants are stable and predictable, with
no serious vices, and they fly quite well
“hands-off” for the longest time if properly trimmed.
War Eagles Air Museum’s AT-19/V-77
Reliant, USAAC serial number 42-46713
and Royal Navy serial number FK887,
was one of the second batch of 250 that
Stinson delivered under Contract DA1072. The Air Corps accepted the aircraft
on June 23, 1943. After arrival in Britain,
FK887 served with the Station Flight at
Royal Navy Air Station (RNAS) Sydenham, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from
March 1944 to September 1945. In addition to training, observation and communications missions, FK887 also was used
in covert operations in northern Europe.
In demilitarized form, and much in need
of repair, our Reliant was spotted in 1969
at Cox Sky Ranch, in Knoxville, Tennessee. After a post-war photo mapping career, she had sat unused and exposed to
the elements for years. USAir pilot Steve
Sevier bought the hulk in December 1986
and spent nearly three years doing a complete restoration. Steve first flew the likenew Reliant on October 10, 1989.
6
Powerplant
300-HP Lycoming
R-680-E3B 9-Cylinder
Air-Cooled Radial
Cruising Speed
120 MPH at 7,000 feet
Maximum Speed
145 MPH
Range
815 miles
Service Ceiling
14,000 feet
Weight (empty)
2,810 pounds
Weight (loaded)
4,000 pounds
Length
29' 4-1/4"
Wingspan
41' 10-1/2"
Stinson Reliant AT-19 Three-View
General Arrangement Drawing
In 1992, Apollo 8 mission Commander
and Las Cruces neighbor Colonel Frank
Borman bought the aircraft. Two years
later, in 1994, he traded it to the Museum
in partial exchange for the P-51D Ghost
Rider. Since then, Stinson Reliant AT-19
number FK887, in full Royal Navy regalia, proudly has been on display in the
hangar, a fine example of a lost breed
from the days when a person like Eddie
Stinson could put his unique personal
stamp on the company, and the aircraft,
that carried his name.
Second Quarter 2003
Plane Talk—The Newsletter of the War Eagles Air Museum
Membership Application
War Eagles Air Museum
The War Eagles Air Museum collects, restores and displays historic aircraft, mainly from the World War II and Korean War time
periods, to encourage awareness and appreciation of military aviation history through exhibits, educational programs and special
events. The Museum is a non-profit organization as defined by the United States Internal Revenue Code. Operated by staff and
volunteers, the Museum is supported by funds obtained from admissions, memberships and contributions. All dues and contributions
are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
War Eagles Air Museum memberships are available in six categories. All memberships include the following privileges:
Free admission to the Museum and all exhibits.
Free admission to all special events.
10% general admission discounts for all guests of a current Member.
10% discount on all Member purchases in the Gift Shop.
In addition, a Family Membership includes free admission for spouses and all children under 18 living at home.
To become a Member of the War Eagles Air Museum, please fill in the information requested below and note the category of membership you desire. Mail this form, along with a check payable to “War Eagles Air Museum” for the annual fee shown, to:
War Eagles Air Museum
8012 Airport Road
Santa Teresa, NM 88008
Membership Categories
NAME (Please print)___________________________________________________
STREET ____________________________________________________________
CITY ______________________________ STATE _____ ZIP _________—______
TELEPHONE (Optional) _____—_____—____________
Individual
$15
Family
$25
Participating
$50
Supporting
$100
Benefactor
$1,000
E-MAIL ADDRESS (Optional) ___________________________________________
Will be kept private and used only for War Eagles Air Museum mailings.
W
ar Eagles Air Museum sincerely thanks the following organizations for their
2003 support of the Corporate Youth
Sponsors Program. Because of their
support, student groups in the El Paso/
Juarez area can learn about the contributions of military aviation to America’s history. For many students, visits
to the Museum made possible by donations from these sponsors kindle interest in aviation and related fields as
possible career choices.
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Alamo Industries, Inc.
Advanced Aircraft
Services West, Inc.
Jobe Concrete
Products
El Paso Aero, Inc.
Frank Borman
El Paso Electric Co.
Robert F. Foster, Inc.
Hunt Building Corp.
Coronado Cleaners &
Laundry
Jon T. Hansen
C. F. Jordan, L.P.
Swifco
Hussman Ventures,
Inc.
Southwest Aircraft
Sales
J. Cesar Viramontes
7
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
War Eagles Air Museum
Santa Teresa Airport
8012 Airport Road
Santa Teresa, NM 88008
(505) 589-2000
Project Status
“
Bond...James Bond.”
How often have you heard that immortal phrase at the start of a new
cinematic adventure featuring the dapper,
sophisticated British secret agent created
by writer Ian Fleming? Just as familiar to
James Bond fans is his long association
with one particular marque of automobile—the quintessentially English Aston
Martin. And without a doubt the most
famous Bond Aston Martin is the gadgetladen silver birch DB5 originally seen in
the 1964 release Goldfinger.
Many Museum visitors immediately recognize the Museum’s 1962 Aston Martin
DB4… “Oh, that’s the James Bond car!”
Well, yes and no. Externally, the DB4
and DB5 are nearly identical, except for
the DB5’s faired headlights. In fact, the
DB5 was originally called the DB4 Series 6. However, with more than 170 detail changes from the DB4, Aston Martin
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
decided in 1963 that
the car deserved a new
name, so they called it
DB5. The main difference is in the engine
compartment, or “under the bonnet,” as the
English say. The Museum’s DB4 Series 4
sports a three-litre, sixcylinder engine rated
at 240 horsepower—in
the DB5, the engine is
a “special series” fourlitre that makes 325
horsepower.
Looking good next to the shop, the 1962 Aston Martin DB4
Restoration of the Mu- poses after a quick run around the ramp.
seum’s DB4 was a
this year, the blue coupe returned to the
long process. The car had been partly reMuseum, where Carl Wright finished the
stored in New Jersey before owner Glenn
restoration work. Today it is proudly on
Hoidale, on his death in 1999, donated it
display in the automobile lineup.
to the Museum along with five other cars
and three motorcycles. After sitting in the
South Hangar for two years, it was turned
For more information, visit:
over to a shop in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Another two years passed. Finally, early
www.war-eagles-air-museum.com
8