9/11 Visit to the Flying Heritage Museum

Steve Podradchik Uncategorized

9/11 is clearly about remembering victims and the heroes who gave their lives while saving so many others plus doing everything necessary to ensure that this horrible act cannot be repeated.  It’s a day that no American living 17 years ago will ever forget and I definitely remember exactly where I was when it unfolded.  I’m sure you do, too.

Yesterday, I spent several hours with my friend Marc Merlin (in from California) visiting Paul Allen’s amazing Flying Heritage Museum and being reminded of the heroes of another generation – often called the Greatest Generation.  Here, most of the planes, generally WWII-era, are still in flying condition (hence the museum’s name) and actually fly a few times a year.  Moreover, especially when seeing mock-ups of the German V2 missile and the first two atomic bombs (Little Man and Fat Boy), it was quite sobering.  If you’re in the Seattle area one day, I very strongly suggest a visit.

The British Mosquito. Larger than I expected.
German ME 163 Komet rocket plane
B25
Mosquito
A mechanic (forget his name) who was working on the engine in this P40. Very interesting.
F105
Our new friend Tom the docent. He spent a lot of time with us. Marc is on the right.
105
German V2 rocket. Not as tall as I expected. Engine on the bottom, fuel tanks on the top.
Tom and Marc
Name this plane!
V2
Marc and the 105
Huey!
Little Boy (front) and Fat Man – mock-ups of the only atomic weapons ever used in a war. Very sobering.
Infamous SCUD missle and launcher.
V2

 

12 thoughts on “9/11 Visit to the Flying Heritage Museum”

  1. Steve,

    Plane 4 is a B 25.

    Take care,

    Ron

    “In our arrogance of the present we have rejected the wisdom of the past as stated by our forefathers.” Gouverneur Morris, 1752-1816; Attorney, soldier, diplomat, penman and signer of the Constitution

    “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson

    “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Abraham Lincoln

    Please note: message attached

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  3. Steve, that looks like, without seeing the tail section, a B-25 J Mitchell. Here’s a photo I took of the B-29 “Doc” when it flew into Whiteman AFB summer before last. That’s my dad and friend who were special invited guests that day of Major Paul Tibbets IV, then base commander and grandson of Paul Tibbets Jr. who flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima and back. My dad was on Tinian and calibrated Norden bombsights on the B29, though not the Enola. Another great museum is in Pueblo, CO, and a B-29 you can go into the fuselage and cockpit.

    >

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  6. Hi, I’m having issues with the ADS-B receiver. How can I get it serviced or are there instructions about the lights steady/blinking meaning? Thanks.

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