Welcome to the Texas Air Museum!

17 August 2010

The first 2011 air show meeting was held on August 7. The 2011 air show will be on June 4, and with a tentative budget and a date, we are on the way! During the meeting the first donation for the show was received from Mr. Curtiss Thomas. In addition to the FW 190A-8N, 2 Tora aircraft have already committed to appear and a P-40 has requested an invite.

 

The next air show meeting will be held on September 11 at 4:00 PM. The topics will be the head liner act, fund raising and general job duties. Please plan to attend!!

 

The Stinson 10A/L-9 was picked up by volunteers Steve Oldham, Billy Turner, Cody Dean and Randy Moore on August 28th. After discussion, it was decided that it will be painted in the Civil Air Patrol - blue over red, which was original for the aircraft. Restoration will begin upon completion of the T-6.

 

Speaking of which, the T-6 left wing has been completed and set aside. Work is continuing on the center section flap rods and volunteer Ned Shannon has been making good progress on the electrical wiring. We are now waiting for the sheet metal work to be completed on the right wing.

 

The T-28 made its first post restoration flight on August 14, 11 months since it was picked up in Tucson. No major problems were encountered and the aircraft has made several flights since then.

 

The paperwork has arrived for the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the OV-1 Mohawk has been assigned. Plans are now being worked out for its recovery in the next few months.

 

And last, but not least, the tail wheel was installed in the C-45 with a rebuilt shock strut. The interior of the tail cone is ready for primer and several volunteers have been working on restoring the emergency access door.

 

15 July 2010

The Texas Air Museum volunteers have been very active the past few months. Volunteer Steve Oldham has completed more of the display area in the main flight hanger, with 4 display cases and a wall full of photographs that is looking great.

 

The Museum is in the process of acquiring a Stinson 10A/L-9, which may have been used during WWII by the Civil Air Patrol, and it will be completed in a Civil Air Patrol paint scheme. Photographs of the recovery with be posted when we have it in the hangar.

 

Volunteers Billy Turner, Cody Dean, Brian Laing and several others have been working on the C-45. The majority of the work has been in the tail section of the C-45, with cleaning and the repairs aft of the passenger door nearing completion. The Museum has located all the elevator brackets that we needed and the tail wheel should be reinstalled in the next few weeks.

 

We are still waiting to hear back from the Naval Museum on the OV-1 Mohawk loan, the crew that is to move this unique aircraft is standing by for word that they can begin.

 

The T-28B has completed it's high speed taxi tests, and an FAA representative is scheduled to inspect it on July 24. If all goes well, it's first flight since 1978 will follow shortly thereafter. As many of you may know, this aircraft was trucked in from Tucson in September of last year, Skip Kelley has worked magic (with a little help from most of the regular volunteers) getting it ready.

 

The left wing for the T-6 has had the flap well and flap painted and installed with new rollers, and the electrical rewiring is complete. The aileron is being covered and the wing tip repaired. When complete it will be set aside while we work on the right wing. Everything continues to look like we will have the T-6 flying by the next air show in June 2011.

 

The Museum volunteers had a great time at the Snyder fly in on June 19th, with 5 museum and member owned aircraft attending. The Museum hopes to take 6 aircraft to the Midland CAF Airsho in October.

 

The first AIR SHOW 2011 meeting for all volunteers will be on August 7, 2010 at 4:00 pm in the BOQ. If you are interested in volunteering or being a sponsor for one of the acts, please plan to attend. The date for the show will be confirmed and a tentative budget set. A number of fighter aircraft have requested that they be invited, and the FW-190A8/N has already been booked.

 

5 June 2010

Looking forward to the South Plains Air Show? The Texas Air Museum puts on a great show in odd numbered years. The 2009 Air Show was a great hit, and planning for the 2011 Air Show will be ramping up in the fall. Check back here for updates, and if you are interested in becoming a sponsor please email the webmaster.

 

7 May 2010

Here is a slideshow of Texas Air Museum volunteers assembling the F-18 at the museum:

6 April 2010

The Texas Air Museum had its play day on March 27, 2010 and while the flying was non-existent due to the winds, the fellowship was great. We had a good group attending who ate burgers and hot dogs, and it was also good to see the wives and families show up too. During the play day we were able to show off the completed renovations of the restrooms and the display area in the flight hanger, they all look great, thanks to James Clark and Steve Oldham.

 

The F-18 Hornet is on its pads at the north side of the Museum, welcoming those who come to the museum from the north on FM 400. The Boy Scouts of Troop 406 did a great job on the pads and moving the aircraft onto the pads went without a hitch.

 

The Museum is now in the process of accepting an OV-1 Mohawk for display and updates will come as we know more. As is normal for any new aircraft coming in, we will need some help to retrieve it. If you are interested, please contact the webmaster for more information on how you can volunteer to help.

 

As most of you now know, the third and last "Sonia" is now flying and should go into the paint shop in the next few months. This has allowed more work to be completed on the Museum T-6. We have installed the restored seats (with belts and bungees), installed the instrument panels and have begun putting in instruments, all under the watchful guidance of Mike Bryant (AI), who also completed the repairs to the left wing. The right wing is now in his shop for its minor repairs. The electrical rewiring on the T-6 is also underway.

 

In related news, Skip Kelly's T-28B is now on its landing gear, with the engine and propeller hung on it. The outboard wings are in place and he is hoping for an engine run later this month. The Me-108/Nord is still waiting on an oil hose, which is coming out of France, so that it can return to airworthy status.

 

Looking ahead, Malcolm Laing plans to attend the Tora formation practice in the T-34A on April 16-17 in Conroe, the Museum plans to send 4 or 5 aircraft to the Levelland fly-in on April 24 and to the Snyder fly-in on June 19. We are still waiting on information about invitations to the Dyess AFB air show on May 1.

 

20 January 2010

The Texas Air Museum volunteers continued the activities of 2009 by completing the reassembly of the F-18 "Hornet" that is on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Currently it is awaiting the completion of the Boy Scout Troop 406 Eagle Scout project that is to provide the concrete pads for proper display of the aircraft. The metal pads that get placed into the concrete were donated by TAM member Sandy Kimball. The aircraft will then be placed on the pads and the display should now be completed by March 1, 2010, visible to visitors arriving at the museum from the north, as it is going next to the Cobra Attack Helicopter north of the ramp.

 

The third Japanese Ki-51"Sonia" replica has been signed off and is awaiting the weather to cooperate so that it can take its first post "restoration" flight with TAM member Malcolm Laing at the controls. It will not be painted until it has had a few flights to confirm everything is rigged correctly. This was also the last Ki-51 replica that will be constructed.

 

The T-6G will be moved to center stage within the next few weeks, and the restoration which has been ongoing in fits and starts will begin in earnest. The goal is to have the basic airframe completed within the year. Also of note is that there has also been some progress on the C-45, with the left nacelle assemblies being completely removed for restoration by TAM member Mike Peterson.

 

The restrooms in the BOQ are scheduled for painting and renovation, with completion by mid February; TAM member James Clark is in charge of the work. The displays in the flight hanger will be updated when TAM member Steve Oldham completes the sheetrock backboard being installed at the entrance from the ramp area.

 

As a break in the work and a chance to all get together, a PLAY DAY has been scheduled for March 27, 2010. If the weather is good, we will be flying all the museum aircraft, giving volunteers rides and eating hamburgers and hotdogs. If the weather is bad, we'll move it all inside the flight hanger. We look forward to seeing all the volunteers there!

 

16 November 2009

The Texas Air Museum volunteers have been exceptionally busy these past few months. It started with the National Museum of Naval Aviation giving its approval for the loan of an F-18A "Hornet". This was followed by a flurry of calls, emails and personal contacts to get a team of volunteers in place to dismantle the aircraft for shipping, scheduling a good time with Brookes Airfield to be on base during a weekend and getting a crane located and scheduled.

 

All this came together thru the efforts of Craig Hannah who helped the museum get the aircraft on loan, Mike Delano, Museum President, who ended up as the leader of this merry band, Steve Oldham, treasurer, Chris Mills, webmaster, and Stephanie Delano. After arriving on Friday afternoon, November 6, the crew immediately began the process of dismantling the aircraft. After the now normal problems encountered anytime the museum has moved an aircraft, (ie, screws that will not unscrew, panels that will not budge, the wrong tools, wasp nests, etc.) the aircraft was loaded onto the Les Chapman Trucking's truck and moved off the base. Buddy Chapman then noticed that he was over height, so the team removed the vertical stabilizer tips in the parking lot of a Lowes store.

 

The aircraft arrived safely at the Texas Air Museums ramp on Sunday afternoon, and Trimble Crane was already on site to unload. With approximately 12 volunteers on site, unloading went quickly and everyone was able to head home by 4 pm.

 

The wings were reinstalled on November 21, and the aircraft rolled onto the display pads being constructed by Boy Scout Troop 406 as an Eagle Scout project. The aircraft display should be completed by January 1, 2009, visible to visitors arriving at the museum from the North, as it is going next to the Apache Attack Helicopter North of the ramp.