Canada 2009

American Airpower Museum Farmingdale,NY

Copyright Ruud Leeuw Photos © R.Leeuw

Thursday 15Oct09 we crossed, by carferry, from New London,CT to Orient Point on Long Island. When we disembarked, it started to rain. It would continue to rain all day.
We drove the entire length of Long Island, traffic delayed us, the area was bland and uninteresting. The rain made it worse and slowed us down even more.

When we arrived at Farmingdale's Republic Airport (KFRG), we didn't see any signs of the American Airpower Museum. We asked someone for directions, but he couldn't help us. As it turned out, we circled the airport the wrong way around.
Since this visit was merely a stop en route to visiting the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation at New York's Floyd Bennett Field, I was frustrated by the loss of time. I had also hoped we could have lunch here, killing 2 birds with 1 stone, but was disappointed that to learn that such a facility did not exist at the museum nor nearby...

The weather played a negative part in the visit to this museum, but it wasn't only the weather...
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Many of the exhibits of this museum are airworthy and flyable.
That includes this Douglas C-47B N15SJ '476717/Z-D8' (c/n 16301/33049).
Previous identities of this 'Skytrain' have been:
44-76717, KN512, K-29 (Belgium), 476717 (France), 4X-FNK/006 (Israel) and N135SJ.

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Majestic WACO UPF-7 N32006 (c/n 5637), registered to T-28 INC of Dover,DE on 11Aug2008

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Unidentified....

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Two cockpit sections of Beech C-45s, unidentified...
A look inside..
And in the other one..
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Click on the thumbnail for a larger image..
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Unidentified Douglas DC-3A-467 (C-47B) Skytrain, front fuselage only
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale

This Consolidated Vultee PBY-6A was registered to the American Airpower Museum (Farmingdale,NY) on 24Jan2006. The FAA N-inquiry website for N7057C also lists its year of manufacture as 1942 and it is equipped with P&W R-1830 Series engines.
Its serial is listed as 64072, but this is not the manufacturer's serial (which is 2142), but rather its former US Navy registration.
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
 'Cat News' in 2008 on www.catalina.org.uk proclaimed the following:
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale "News about the American Airpower Museum’s PBY-6A N7057C (c/n 2142).
They acquired this Catalina from the National Warplane Museum and flew it to their base at Farmingdale,NY.
It is intended to be kept/made airworthy and used to offer ‘rides’.
However, a recent inspection has revealed that the wing centre section around the fuel tanks has severe corrosion in it. Renovation is to be carried out free of charge by a repair shop and it is hoped that N7057C will be flying again by the Spring of 2009."


Obviously, now by Autumn 2009, it is still a long way off from flying... I was told the fueltanks had been sent away for refurbishment and hopefully 2010 would see catalina N7057C go airborne again.

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale

PBY-6A N7057C on Airliners.net
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
The amount of space is limited in the hangar, resulting in a very cramped display.

One of WW2's finest fighters: North American P-51. Here seen is a replica (scale 1:1, actually a P-51D) of
P-51C-10NT N1204 / 42-103831 "Ina, the Macon Belle"...
Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz flew the real deal as NX1204, raced it as #46, #60 ! See the website P-51 Mustang Survivors, it is listed to reside with Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight in Florida (PHOTO).
Back to this replica, the museum has scanned the article about its dedication here in Acrobat Reader (.pdf) format, see LINK HERE...

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Curtiss P-40M Kittyhawk II, NX1232N (c/n 27483) 'The Jacky C.'
Once part of Harrah's Aircraft Museum in Reno,NV, this P-40 was rebuilt by the well-known racing pilot bill Destefani at Minter Field,CA, before joining the Lone Star Flight Museum at Galveston,TX.

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
North American NA-88 (AT-6D) Texan, N27409 on the right: 49-3829 is not a T-6 serial

For much of the identification of these warbirds, plus comments, I have copied from Bob Ogden's masterful guidebook: Aviation Museums and Collections of North America (Air-Britain, 2007)
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
North American NA-88 (AT-6D) Texan, N27409 'Double Trouble'
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
North American NA-88 Texan, N9523C 'Deb' 'TA-349' (c/n 88-12349)

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Vought FG-1D Corsair, NX83JC.

After disposal by the US Navy in 1958 this Corsair flew with several owners and for a period in the early 1980s was raced by a team based in Wyoming.

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, NX1345B
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale

This P-47D Thunderbolt was built at Farmingdale and was acquired from the Museum of Flying in California in 2000.
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Republic Airport (IATA: FRG, ICAO: KFRG) is a state-owned public-use airport located in East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is one mile east of the central business district of Farmingdale

Republic Airport was developed by Sherman Fairchild as the Fairchild Flying Field in East Farmingdale on Long Island, NY in late 1927 as his flying field and airplane factory on Motor Avenue in South Farmingdale was inadequate to support the mass production of his FC-2 and Model 71 airplanes. Fairchild purchased property on the south side of Route 24-Conklin Street and had the airport's original layout plan prepared on November 3, 1927. The 77.967-acre (315,520 m2) flying field was developed in the late winter and early spring of 1928 and was originally owned and operated by Fairchild Engine & Airplane Manufacturing Company. The first flights from the Fairchild Flying Field took place in late spring of 1928 after the Fairchild Airplane and Airplane Engine factories and hangar were completed and aircraft were produced in the new factories. After Fairchild moved to Hagerstown, Maryland in 1931, Grumman Aircraft Engineering built planes at the airport from 1932 until the spring of 1937.
[Wikipedia, more...]

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
'TLC' = tender loving care!

The hangar's crowdedness unfortunately made it impossible to take a decent shot of the B-25 Mitchell.
This B-25 is believed to be the oldest surviving Mitchell bomber.
Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
The museum's centerpiece is the WWII B-25 Mitchell, "Miss Hap", which was the personal transport used by General 'Hap' Arnold. It has also been owned by Howard Hughes for a period after WW2.

Following was available at www.warbirdregistry.org
This B-25 Mitchell, modified to RB-25 at some point was delivered to the USAAF as 40-2168 (c/n 62-2837) and went through civil registries as NL75831, N75831, XB-GOG, N2825B.
Its detailed history according to Warbirdregistry.org:
Delivered to USAAF as 40-2168.
- BOC: Feb. 1941.
- Assigned to 17th Bomb Group.
-- Used as Gen. Hap Arnold's RB-25 VIP transport, 1943-1944.
Charles R. Bates, Chatanooga, TN, Jan. 22, 1947-1948.
- Registration XB-GOG reserved but not taken up.
-- Issued ferry permit but not used.
- Registered as NL75831, Apr. 1947.
Bankers Life & Casualty Co, Chicago, IL, Nov. 4, 1948.
- Registered as N75831.
Hughes Tool Co, Houston, TX, June 28, 1951-1962.
Hughes/Acme Aircraft Co, Lomita, CA, June 1962-1964.
- Last FAA inspection, Nov. 1956.
- Removed from USCR as salvaged, Mar. 1965.
JRT Aero Service, Wichita Fallsm TX, Oct. 1966-1971.
- Registered as N2825B.
John P. Silberman, Savannah, GA, Aug. 25, 1971-1974.
SST Aviation Museum, Kissimee, FL, Oct. 8, 1974-1979.
Chuck Thompson/Mustang Productions Inc, Polk City, FL, June 1975-1976.
Grover R. Summers & Samuel E. Pool, Lake Wales, FL, Feb. 1977.
Charles "Dewey" Miller, Mobile, AL, Aug. 28, 1977-1983.
- Delivered from Kissimee, FL to Mobile, AL, Dec. 12, 1978.
- Restored to airworthy, first flight Sept. 9, 1980.
- Flew as "Proud Mary".
Alan Clarke/Fighting Air Command/Flytex Inc, Dallas, TX, July 1983-1987.
- Solid nose replace with glass nose.
- Flew as 02168/The General.
Jeff Clyman/TBF Inc, Tenafly, NY, Nov. 1989-2002.
American Airpower Museum, Farmingdale, NY, 2002-2006.
- Flown as 02168/"Avirex Express" on starboard side and "Miss Hap" on port side.

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Lockheed T-33A 56-1747; we used to refer to them as 'T-birds'

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Republic F-84E Thunderjet, 49-2348

Airpower Museum, Farmingdale
Aero L-39C Albatros N139AJ

LINKS:
http://www.americanairpowermuseum.com/Website/OurPlanes.html
http://www.williammaloney.com/Aviation/AmericanAirPowerMuseum/index.htm

 

 

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