Gerald W. Yagen Virginia Beach, Virginia

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Gerald W. Yagen Virginia Beach, Virginia 1994 Gerald W. Yagen and his wife attended a dinner-dance at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario which housed a large collection of historic airplanes. That moment planted the seed that Yagen grew into one of the country’s true aviation hidden jewels, The Military Aviation Museum in Pungo. Housing the world’s largest collection of flying historic military airplanes, it is one of the Tidewater area’s best kept secrets. Yagen began searching for a World War II era aircraft to acquire, but quickly learned that such airplanes were quite difficult to locate and buy. Eventually, he settled on the wrecked remains of a Curtiss P-40E Warhawk recovered from north of the Arctic Circle in Russia. A deal was quickly struck, and the P-40 was moved to Norfolk to begin restoration. This airplane was the nucleus for what was to become the Military Aviation Museum. Yagen acquired the Pungo Airport in Virginia Beach, Virginia and began collecting historic airplanes and building his museum. Yagen’s collection has grown to over 50 airplanes spanning the time from WWI through the end of WWII. The museum’s facilities consist of over 100,000 sq. ft. of museum buildings and period hangars depicting WWI and WWII aviation facilities. Today, these rare airplanes have been saved and preserved and are on display and fly from the Virginia Beach airport for future generations to enjoy and marvel. Beginning at age 23 in 1969, Yagen founded Search and Recruit International, a recruiting business specializing in placing military veterans into technical jobs with defense contractors. Over the years this original business grew into training schools to upgrade the skills of veterans moving into the age of digital electronics in aviation. From this small beginning, the schools have grown into a nationwide network of technical schools known as Aviation Institutes of Maintenance. Headquartered in Virginia Beach, the Aviation Institutes of Maintenance eleven schools train students to become FAA licensed aircraft mechanics and is the largest private training firm of aircraft technicians in the world. .

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The Messerschmitt That Crashed Twice and They Struggled Onwards in a South Eastern Direction
The Messerschmitt that crashed twice and they struggled onwards in a south eastern direction. The crew knew that they would not make it back to France and were also aware that they would have to make an emergency landing sometime soon. Landing on one engine could be very hazardous, let alone the possibility of having to come down on uneven farmland. At about 04.25 hours an unidentified aeroplane was seen in close proximity to a Hurricane and Blenheim that were circling Steeple Morden airfield. It was a bright moonlit night, but no positive identification could be made of this unannounced visitor. A signal lamp was used to challenge the aircraft, whereupon it almost immediately fired a red/yellow coloured flare and proceeded to make a landing. Just after it came down the starboard undercarriage collapsed, slewing the aircraft round slightly and damaging the starboard radiator, wing tip, propeller and tail plane. RAF personnel ran over to assist and then made the incredible discovery 19 JULY 1941 that it was German Junkers 88 and proceeded to gather and disarm the crew. Some publications incorrectly state that the crew tried to take off and that they landed by Messerschmitt Bf 109F-2 Pilot: accident due to being disorientated. ES906 Flying Officer M. J. Skalski - killed It is also mentioned that the Junkers 88 was fired upon by an Armadillo Air Fighting Development Unit armoured car, and was thus damaged, preventing take off, this is also incorrect. Location: Although there may well have been just such an armoured car on the airfield it was Fowlmere not used in action.
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Prop Noise-Issue3-2010 Color.Indd
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Of Wild Cargo
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