The Membership Newsletter for The Military Aviation Museum Summer 2013 Warbirds Over the Beach - 2013 By Boom Powell Photos by Art Norfolk and Spectrum Photography Is thirteen an unlucky number? Events of the week- taxied to their show ready area and made deep, muddy end suggest, yes. ruts in the turf. Thursday was a fun day for everyone at Pungo. The Friday, was, well, Friday. The fi eld was wet and only massively elegant Lancaster arrived in style and her a few airplanes got airborne. That night it rained and attending C-47, er, Dakota, fl ew in soon after. The rained and rained into the small hours of Saturday— “Dak” was painted as she would have been as a plat- show day. form for paratroopers in Southeast Asia in 1944. A Military Aviation Museum BBC fi lm crew had hired IIf the airfi eld was wet Friday it www.MilitaryAviationMuseum.org a helicopter for a feature wwas sodden Saturday. The diffi cult on the Mosquito and ddecision was made not to risk the Virginia Beach Airport fl ew alongside, behind, hheavier aircraft. This was espe- www.VBairport.com in front as the “Mossie” ccially disappointing for Mosquito performed touch-and- ffans that came from far away. The Fighter Factory goes, er, circuits-and- lilight on their “feet” Trainer/Liaison bumps. Several “lighter” SStaffel (L-5, Chipmunk, Storch, www.FighterFactory.com airplanes like the Storch RRapide, PT-22, and Tigermoth) made warm-up fl ights ddid fl y their part of the show. The and discovered the fi rst The Lancaster on airshow day aairplanes which were to fl y started sinister omen when they Continued on page 3 Inside this Issue: Flying Proms 2 We Are But Stewards and Caretakers By Jonathan R. Lichtenstein, Museum Event Coordinator The Museum’s Future 2 The aircraft of the Military Aviation Museum have she was pensioned off in 1959, sold to the American The Museum Used to Train passed through the hands of many mechanics, pilots, Compressed Steel Corporation, and changed hands Pilots 3 owners, and operators in their long and sometimes several more times until 1963, after having been con- Aviation Summer Camp 3 convoluted careers. The Boeing B-17G-70-VE Path- verted to fl y freight. fi nder (PFF), 44-8543, better known as “Chuckie,” is Guided Tour of NAS Oceana 4 no exception. Dothan Aviation in Alabama then acquired the air- Nadia Popova and the frame and adapted the B-17G for use as a large pes- Polikarpov Po-2 4 Following delivery to the USAAF in 1944, “Chuckie” ticide sprayer; tanks and spray bars were added. Un- endured numerous modifi cations and the odd fender- der contract to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Animals, Birds & Bugs” bender, in government service. After a fi nal stint Dothan then operated the plane until 1976, spraying Lurk Here 5 with the Federal Telecommunications Corporation, for fi re ants in Florida and Georgia. When operations Group Captain Clive ended, the plane sat idle until 1979. Caldwell 5 In October of that year, Dr. William Hospers, who had Event Calendar 6 long dreamed of owning a B-17, found and rescued Hangar Happenings 7 the plane from abandonment in Dothan, Alabama. His efforts led to the Boeing’s restoration, painted in the In Memory of Captain Photo by Art Norfolk colours of the 486th Bomb Group. The plane’s no less William E. Crooker III 8 colourful moniker was inspired by Dr. Hospers’ wife, The Boeing B-17G, better known as “Chuckie” Ms. Chuckie Hospers, from whom the plane was even- Continued on page 7 PAGE 2 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3 The Museum’s Future The Flying Proms By David Hunt, Museum Director By Jonathan R. Lichtenstein, Museum Event Coordinator Prom is short for promenade concert, a term Mark Whall regaled the audience with bons Many members and visitors have voiced whose origins may be traced to the 18th- mots a-plenty. Encamped on the Museum’s concern over the future of the Museum as century pleasure gardens of London. Such crosswind runway, with the sun setting be- rumors of our collection of planes being outdoor concerts afforded audience mem- hind the marquee, the crowd thrilled to the sold and the Museum closing continue to be bers the freedom to stroll the exquisitely appearance overhead, of a hand-picked se- widespread. Not true. manicured lawns and avenues, observing lection of the MAM’s catalogue, comple- However, outside constraints and fi nancial such choice elements of sculpture and soci- mented by an appropriate program of musi- restrictions have necessitated that a small ety as might then be seen, to the accompa- cal scores. Painstakingly compiled over the portion of the collection be sold. And yes, niment of canorous entertainments. On 10 preceding months, the diverse assortment seeing Chuckie, our B-17 bomber and the August, 1895, the fi rst of a series of indoor included the themes from such motion pic- beautifully restored De Havilland “Dragon promenade concerts, in the Queen's Hall, tures as, “The King’s Speech,” “The Great Rapide” fl y off into the sunset has been Langham Place, was inaugurated. Today, Waldo Pepper,” and “Where Eagles Dare.” somewhat traumatic to those who have they are among the most well-known in The latter opened the Proms, in a recreation maintained and fl own them. the world: The BBC Proms, alternately The of the fi lm’s opening title sequence – to the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, named in strains of Ron Goodwin’s score – with the On a positive note, one can take some grati- honour of their most illustrious conductor, Aviation Museum’s Junkers Ju 52 front row tude that these wonderful examples have the late Sir Henry Joseph Wood. As one of and center; we were unable to replicate the been returned to their original fl ying condi- the world’s largest classical music festivals, Alpine peaks featured in the movie. Henry tion and that other admirers in various parts today the Royal Albert Hall hosts annually Mancini’s up-tempo march from “The Great of the country can now also enjoy them for more than 70-concerts, but the outdoor com- Waldo Pepper” showcased the Museum’s many years to come. ponent is continued through Proms in the Great War collection. A last-minute substi- Park performances. The rich and variegated tute, the Sopwith 1½ Strutter, stood in for The Museum is home to over 60 amazing heritage of the BBC Proms inspired the gov- Waldo Pepper’s Sopwith Camel, with Ernst bombers, fi ghters and trainers and consid- ernors of Great Britain’s Shuttleworth Col- Kessler having his pick of Fokker Dr.I tri- ered by many to be the best fl ying collection lection to create the original Flying Proms planes. “The King’s Speech” struck a somber in the world. But even though the loss of in 1997. Subsequently, in 2010, the Virginia chord, with the Allegretto from Beethoven’s a few may hurt, the Museum will continue Arts Festival, among the most ambitious Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. For to display a wonderful collection of planes contemporary festivals of classical music, their beauty and appropriateness to the fi lm’s covering the fi rst 50 years of aviation. came to appreciate the Military Aviation setting, two of the Museum’s contingent of Museum's potential to host the fi rst and, so de Havillands, the Dragon Rapide and Ti- It may be that for a while it will be neces- far, only Flying Proms in North America. ger Moth, were shown off to good advan- sary to suspend fl ying these wonderful ex- Taking a leaf from those original promenade tage. In fact, it was de Havilland that would amples; however, it is the Museum’s inten- concerts of Cremorne, Marylebone, and have the fi nal say in these proceedings. The tion to continue in 2013 and 2014 with its Vauxhall Gardens, this year’s edition of the saxophone exhausts of her twin Rolls-Royce many successful events and programs. For Proms was, as in years past, peerless in its Merlins heralding her approach, KA114, the the remainder of this year we have booked consummate blend of pitch and prop. world’s only fl ightworthy de Havilland Mos- more than 25 events including car shows, quito, arrived on the scene to the accompa- WWI Radio Control air show, plane pulls, a Benjamin Rous, Associate Conductor, Vir- niment of Ron Goodwin’s music from 633 5k run and our very popular “Trains, Planes ginia Symphony Orchestra, once again as- Squadron. The concert performance at an and Santa” with Santa fl ying in over the cended the podium to lead the evening’s mu- end, seen in silhouette against a backdrop of Thanksgiving weekend. sical component. From across the pond, in fi reworks, the stilled aircraft of the Military his role as host, raconteur, and veteran com- Aviation Museum and musicians of the Vir- We also have several events booked sup- mentator of the Shuttleworth Flying Proms, ginia Symphony Orchestra acquired an in- porting many charities as Operation Smile, candescentc quality. We trust Wounded Warriors, Disabled American Vet- thisth year’s Flying Proms was erans, SPCA, Toys for Tots and Mercy Med- conductedc in accordance ical Airlift. So please come out and support withw a great tradition, and your favorite charities. serveds as a memorable last nightn for the Virginia Arts During the last two months, the Museum has Festival,F 2013. been visited by a record number of visitors and tourists from almost every state in the USA as well as from Europe, South America and Canada.