Pima Air & Space Museum - Saturday, March 16, 2019

Normally, I don't walk two 10k Volksmarches on the same day. I feel quite proud of myself for doing a 10k and an 11k yesterday. Bob said I walked a half marathon distance. Wow. We planned it that way so we could spend Saturday at the Pima Air & Space Museum.

At 9:00 a.m. when the doors opened, we were there ready to check in. When we paid our admission the clerk asked us if we wanted to pay for a tram tour. We said we'd think about it. She told us not to think too long because the tours would sell out quickly for the day. Since we could walk through the outdoor exhibits just fine, we did not pay extra for a narrated tram tour.

If you're not familiar with the Pima Air & Space Museum, it is one of the largest of its type in the world. There are 150+ airplanes in six indoor hangars, 175+ aircraft in the Arizona sunshine. You are treated to over 100 years of aviation history. Also included is the 390th Memorial Museum which houses a B-17. 

Not included is the "Aircraft Boneyard" with 4,000+ stored aircraft on 2,600 acres at the U.S. government's 309th AMARG. The reason we did not do the Boneyard is that you have to apply for a government-issued photo ID at least ten days in advance. We did not plan that far in advance. It gives us a reason to go back. 

There were plenty of exhibits to keep us occupied all day, everything from nose art and insignias to a Hoppicopter. Let's get going.

Not all the exhibits are airplanes. One of the first exhibits that caught my eye (besides all the planes everywhere) was the lakester, a type of hotrod. 

World War II helped expand the hotrod movement in the U.S. when young men were exposed to high-performance vehicles and equipment.

Lakester hotrod.

The lakester was designed by hot-rodder Bill Burke. When he was serving on a PT-boat in the South Pacific, he saw aircraft drop tanks being unloaded at Guadalcanal. He was impressed with their aerodynamic design and knew a Ford engine would fit in one.

After the war, Burke worked for the So Cal Speed Shop and experimented with using drop tanks as race cars. His design, Sweet Sixteen, used a 315-gallon tank used by Lockheed P-38 Lightnings. It reached a top speed of  164.83 mph. Others later broke that land speed record. 

I was particularly fascinated by a Hoppicopter which is a personal, helicopter-like flying machine. Horace Pentecost of Seattle marketed them to the U.S. military to replace the parachutes used by paratroops. The power came from a 20-horsepower motor powering two counter-rotating sets of rotor blades, strapped to the back of the pilot. Weight of the unit was 88 pounds. They were tested, but the tests did not go well. The biggest weakness was that the pilot's legs were used as landing gear. If he stumbled during take-off or landing, the blades would quickly pound themselves into the ground, sending thousands of potentially lethal shards into the air. This was seen as ridiculously hazardous and the idea was quickly abandoned.

Pentecost E-III Hoppicopter.

The number of airplanes and exhibits was overwhelming. Everywhere we looked--up, down, and around--was something new and different. All the information was worth reading. 

Huey helicopter used extensively in Vietnam.

Below is an airplane for the do-it-yourself market. This plane could be built for $7,500 and used a 1,600 cc Volkswagen engine, 36 hp.

Flaglor Sky Scooter do-it-yourself plane
(hanging from the ceiling).

Lockheed SR-71 which would become the Blackbird. 

The Blackbird is the last of the reconnaissance aircraft built by Lockheed's famous Skunk Works. They started designing this plane in 1958 for the CIA to replace the Lockheed U-2. Further development resulted in the A-12, YF-12, M-12, and finally the SR-71. From the museum display:

"It is hard to overstate the technological achievement represented by the Blackbird. It holds world speed and altitude records and is the only manned, jet-powered aircraft to routinely exceed Mach 3."

A brief list of the records held by the Blackbird is:

• July 28, 1976: World absolute speed record - 2,193 mph
• July 28, 1976: World absolute record for sustained altitude - 85,069 feet
• September 1, 1974: New York to London - 1 hour, 55 minutes, 42 seconds
• March 6, 1990: Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. - 1 hour, 4 minutes, 20 seconds.

Next, we enter the realm of light anti-submarine helicopters. These were designed to be operated from smaller warships such as destroyers and frigates. They remain in limited service today.

Kaman SH-2F Seasprite

One exhibit Bob and I found rather unique was the Parachute Bridal Dress. During World War II, it was common to see brides wearing gowns made from parachute material. Parachutes were made from either silk or nylon, which due to their military use were not readily available for civilian users. Paratroopers and airmen often returned from the war with a parachute as a memento of their wartime service. Other servicemen came home with captured German or Japanese parachutes. Many of these servicemen would offer their parachute as fabric for their brides' dresses.

Parachute bridal dress.

Me goofing around on the plane.

General Motors Wildcat

Boeing B-29 Superfortress.

Edwin Link and his Simulator.

Simulator Link Trainer.

Another exhibit I found entertaining was "Nose Art and Insignia." The guys could really show their personalities when they designed nose art for their planes.

Brooks AFB, Texas.

Good to the last drop.

The PT-19.

We had finished four buildings and it was time for lunch. We ate in the museum's cafe. Then, we went outside to walk around the acres of planes. It was a very pretty sunny day, but windy. Here's a sample of what you will see outside, but there is so much more.

Sikorsky Mojave Heavy Assault Helicopter.

Planes made into psychedelic art and returned from the Boneyard. (www.ericfirestonegallery.com).

Naughty Angels, 2012, by Faile.
Acrylic on Beechcraft UC-45

Boeing B-52D Stratofortress Bomber.

Aero Spacelines B377-SG Super Guppy Cargo Transport.

Dreamliner (back).

Dreamliner (front).

We still had two more buildings to go in and spent another hour doing that. At the end of the day, we were exhausted mentally from so much looking and learning. It was time to go home and relax, but it wasn't to be.

The truck had been in covered parking all day, so it wasn't super warm when we got in. After settling into our seats and remarking what a great day we'd had, Bob put the key in the ignition and turned it. The dash lights came on, his seat automatically readjusted itself, but no one was home. There was one slight try at turning over, then nothing. Seriously?? It was Saturday and we needed our truck to pull our 5th wheel from the campground we were in to the Pima County Fairgrounds the next day for the RV rally. This was around 4:30 p.m.

A call was placed to Good Sam Roadside Assistance, the problem was explained, and they sent a guy out with jumper cables and battery-testing equipment. He was there in a reasonable amount of time, but time was of the essence. The museum was closing at 5:00 p.m.

The batteries tested at 75% or higher. Jump-starting the batteries did absolutely nothing. Now what? Another call was placed to Good Sam Roadside Assistance. We explained that we needed a tow truck right away to get us out of the parking lot at Pima Air & Space Museum because they lock their gates at 5:30 p.m. and we have to be out (not the truck, mind you, but us). She was supposed to call us back but did not do so in a timely manner. We had to cancel the tow truck for Saturday evening because he would not be able to get through the locked gate.

Soooooo, we grabbed our essentials out of the truck as we were being forced to leave the parking lot. Museum policy, you see? They locked the gate behind us and there we were, standing next to a busy road with no ride. 

Security locking the gates behind us.

At least the truck is safe overnight.

Bob signing up for Uber after being locked out
of Pima Air & Space Museum's parking lot.

We had never used Uber before, so luckily our cell phones worked and Bob signed us up. That took a good 15 minutes. Within five minutes after requesting a ride, we had a wonderful driver pick us up. "Take us to the car rental counter at the airport," we told him.

At the airport, we rented a Kia Soul to get us around. Next stop, Auto Zone to purchase two new batteries. Our batteries, however, were drained. We had dinner at fast food and then headed back to the 5th wheel. It was dark by the time we got there.

Plan for tomorrow: Get to the museum parking lot as soon as they open the gate and put in the two new batteries. Hopefully, that will fix the problem and we can move our 5th wheel to Pima County Fairgrounds.

Check back tomorrow for "the rest of the story."