The Membership Newsletter for The Military Aviation Museum August 2019 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Brewing Passion for History, One Flight at a Time Bell P-39 ‘Airacobra’ 2 Fieseler Fi 156 ‘Storch’ 3 New Museum Staff, Part I 3 Thomas-Morse S-4 ‘Scout’ 4 Expanded Summer Camp 5 New Museum Staff, Part II 5 Warbirds Recap 7 Summer of Flight Wrap-Up 7 Flying Proms in Review 8 All American Air Show 8 Military Aviation Museum www.MilitaryAviationMuseum.org Virginia Beach Airport www.VBairport.com Fighter Factory www.FighterFactory.com Biplanes and Brews www.BiplanesandBrews.com Join us October 5th - 6th Experience this unique WWI air show spectacle showcasing the Military Aviation Museum’s expansive WWI aircraft collection. Watch the skies with your family as historic biplanes and triplanes soar overhead with live vintage musical performances filling the air. For adults, sample the many craft beers from across the state and region from some of Virginia’s finest local breweries. You can even experience the thrill of flight yourself, with rides offered on the museum’s two open cockpit biplanes. Vintage WWI air show, live music and entertainment, free on-site parking, food trucks, re-enactors and more await you at Biplanes & Brews. q Get Your Tickets www.BIPLANESANDBREWS.com PAGE 2 VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3 New Arrivals The Bell P-39Q-5-BE ‘Airacobra’ is back in America Compiled By Felix Usis Top: Bell P-39F Airacobra fuselage emerging from the trailer; Above: Airacobra in the hangar ready for flight Returning to American soil for the first time in Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, US Army Air Force almost 78 years is the newest aircraft for the museum, (USAAF). On the 1st of May 1942, it was being flown a Bell P-39 in the livery as 42-20341, a Bell P-39Q by Lieutenant Walter Harvey and was one of a flight of ‘Airacobra’. It has been under restoration for many six that crash landed in Australia. "Returning to American years. The restoration to airworthiness first began at the late Murray Griffith’s Precision Aerospace Now that all of the actual history of the aircraft has soil for the first time in almost workshop in Wangaratta, Australia back in the early been mapped out, with a data plate to confirm it, it is 2000s. A report stated that at that time the airframe indeed an F model. Even though the true history is 78 years is the newest aircraft was thought to have been a “Q” model that served now known, its livery will remain as P-39Q, 42-20341. in Russia and this is where it received the paint with for the museum, a Bell P-39 the serial number (s/n) 42-20341. This paint scheme The aircraft’s first post-restoration flight was on the in the livery as 42-20341, a probably created the confusion over its actual identity afternoon of the 26th of February 2019. Frank Parker for many years. took the fighter up for a 14 minutes flight. After a few following check flights, it was released to be shipped to Bell P-39Q ‘Airacobra’." Following Murray Griffith’s death in May 2015, the project moved on to Pioneer Aero Ltd. It turns out the United States. It now resides in our Army hangar. that this airframe was actually a Bell P-39F-1-BE, 41- It is reported to be one of only three airworthy P-39s 7215 (msn 15-554), which was flown by 36th Fighter in the world. q VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3 PAGE 3 The Fieseler Fi 156 ‘Storch’ has Landed at the Museum Compiled By Felix Usis Just days before this year’s Warbirds Over the Beach Air Show, a surprise package arrived. A Fieseler Fi 156 ‘Storch’ suddenly appeared in a box. In 1935, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), Reich Aviation Ministry issued a request for a new Luftwaffe aircraft suitable for liaison, army co-operation (Forward Air Control), and medical evacuation. To meet this request, Fieseler designed the Fi-156 Storch (Stork). The first Storch prototype flew in 24 May 1936 and was accepted for use, with the first production aircraft going into service in mid-1937. The Storch achieved incredible short take-off and landing (STOL) performance by using a fixed slat over the leading edge of the wing and full length slotted camber-changing flaps along the trailing edge. In a light breeze, the Storch could take off in just 200 feet and land in about 66 feet. In flight, the long main landing gear hung down, giving the aircraft the appearance of a very long-legged, big-winged bird, hence its nickname, Storch. Because of the unique flight qualities of the Fieseler Storch, this aircraft was found on every front throughout the European and North African theaters of operation in the Second World War. In April 1942, the French company, Morane-Saulnier, now operating under German control, began to manufacture a number of German aircraft types. The Morane-Saulnier plant at Puteaux, in the suburbs of Paris, France, was directed to build the Storch. In October 1943, the Fieseler Werke in Kassel, Germany started producing the Folke Wulf FW-190 and production of all Storch types were shifted to France. At the same time, production was commenced at Leichtbau Budweis in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (better known as Czechoslovakia). Leichtbau Budweis built one Storch in 1943 and 72 the following year, before production was transferred to another Czech firm, Benes-Mraz in Chozen, where it was built under the name K-65 Cap. Some 141 aircraft were built before the end of the Second World War, and a total of 925 aircraft were built before the end of the production by Morane- Top: Fieseler Fi-156 Storch; Middle: Storch fuselage emerging from its shipping Saulnier in 1965. q container; Bottom: Storch wings being unloaded from the trailer If you haven’t been to the museum lately let’s update New Things are Happening at the Museum, Part 1 you on the latest changes with our staff. First, an update on the Director’s position… it has been filled!! Current Director Jarod Hoogland will stay with the museum and work with staff and volunteers to continue expanding the museum’s projects, programs and visitation. Please welcome our new Education Coordinator, Ms. Abigail “Abby” Fulton, who recently arrived from Yuma Arizona. She spent the last 4 years teaching a Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) based curriculum at the Crane School Dist. Abby arrived just in time to help conduct our first session of the Warbirds Aviation Summer Camp, and the newest addition to our education curriculum, Ace Drone Camp. Abby will be expanding our education outreach, field trip experiences, educational exhibits, summer camps and all things education. Her teaching expertise has already had an Director Jarod Hoogland with Volunteer Joe King Abby Fulton works with a camper on his drone skills impact here and her infectious smile around the kids and staff has made her a welcome addition to the museum. PAGE 4 VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3 Thomas-Morse S-4 ‘Scout’ is Ready to Fly at the WWI Air Show Compiled By Felix Usis When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, the US Army lacked a practical scout plane to span the gap between primary trainers, the Curtiss JN-4 and front-line fighters like the Sopwith, Spad, and Nieuports. That deficiency and the need for a practical American-made fighter served as the primary motivation for the development and fast- tracked production of the Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout. The Scout was designed to fill the void. The Scout was the standard single-seat advanced-trainer used by the US Air Service (USAS) during the Great War (1914- 1918). Dubbed the "Tommy" by pilots who flew it, the aircraft became the favorite single-seat training airplane produced in the U.S. during World War I. The museum’s Thomas-Morse S-4C was likely built in early 1918 with plate number 481. It has been restored to its original form as an S-4C pursuit trainer with an 80 horsepower Le Rhône 9-C 9-cylinder rotary engine. It is now in an airworthy condition with a tail number of N38663. It has been painted in what is believed to be its original colors as USAS 38663. Its flight history is still being researched. When it was declared surplus at Rockwell Field, in San Diego, it had only 29 hours and 32 minutes of flight time. Above: A close up of the According to previous owner Roger Freeman, Thomas-Morse 'Scout' by artist this “Tommy” was first acquired by his father, Terry Jones. Get your copy of the painting at our Biplanes Ernest M. Freeman and others. They began and Brews Air Show; restoration about 1955, finishing it 17 years later. Left: The Thomas-Morse 'Scout' “All the Tommy stuff he had was passed on to me hanging out in the museum's upon his [Ernest’s] death, and I was able to piece WWI Hangar together this complete original airframe from the parts he had left over," said Freeman. q VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3 PAGE 5 Expanded Warbirds Summer Camp New Things are Happening at the Museum, Part 2 With the rapid expansion of summer camp programming this year, the museum welcomed longtime volunteer Stan Bialas as a seasonal Summer Camp Coordinator for 2019. With more than double the number of campers, nearly 80 children learned about and experienced piloting, drones and aircraft handling. Stan Bialas greets the pilots from WAVY News Chopper 10 during Warbirds Summer Camp in July The Gift Shop has added two new part-time staff to help during the summer tourist bustle.