Museum Public Opening Planned                                            July 2012

Initial Opening Planned for Summer 2012

Work is underway for a summer opening of the National Museum of World War II Aviation.  With no shortage of visitors, reunion groups, and organizations requesting to visit the campus and learn more about the home front, technological advances made during the war, and the total commitment of the population to win the conflict; volunteers have embarked on getting the museum doors open with educational displays as we work to get the funding for the final two museum buildings.

Individuals, educators, military organizations, retirees and people throughout the region are excited by the prospect of a museum focusing exclusively on World War II aviation, the homefront, and the educational underlying components of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  The potential for our 20 acre site on the Colorado Springs Airport is an exciting work in progress.

Because the National Museum of World War II Aviation owns the three existing hangars in the upper left of this drawing that are a part of the museum campus, and because the museum has acquired important artifacts and collections relevant to the Homefront theme, the museum's Board of Directors see no reason to delay opening facilities to the public while funding the final museum hangars.

Monday through Thursday and Saturday at the Colorado Springs museum site are filled with activity as volunteers from all walks of life meet at the museum hangars to move airplanes, hang plywood and drywall, gather supplies, and build displays.  With the public opening scheduled for late summer, drywall screw guns and paint brushes are the tools of choice.  Those who elect to apply mud and work with paint have clear evidence to take home that they have been hard at work bringing the museum to life.

If you live in the Colorado Springs area and want to make a difference, come to the museum site and plan to use those construction, electrical, woodworking, and sheetmetal skills that may have been dormant for years.  In the museum hangar area under modification will be a theater, recessed display areas, physical displays which demonstrate the importance of World War II ingenuity, and graphics which show the education facility design yet to be constructed.

Our group of volunteers is growing rapidly.  Their commitment and energy is contagious.  They all realize the importance of this initial development as a stepping stone to securing the funding and support for the full educational facility yet to be built.  In future newsletters, we will highlight some of our volunteers and hear their perspective on this educational complex development.

The near term museum experience currently under construction will include many exhibits, school and community educational programs, ongoing community led restoration activities, and a guided tour of actual World War II aircraft in restoration to flying status.  We must emphasize that our initial museum experience currently under construction is not the final design which will encompass two aircraft hangars with extensive mezzanines.  Opening this initial museum in the summer will give us a strong and continuing public presence as well as being the focal point for an aggressive fundraising effort to bring the full museum to reality.

Link Trainer on Permanent Loan to Museum

Edward A. Link began working at age 23 with his father in the musical organ business.  After receiving his pilot's license in 1927, he soon realized that there had to be a better way to train pilots particularly in the skills required to fly in the early navigation system that existed in the United States. Using the technologies he had seen as a child including bellows and electric motors, Ed was able to create the trainer which bears his name.  Sometimes feared but always revered by pilots of all skill levels, the "Blue Box" allowed students to train solely on the generic instrument displays inside the trainer.  The bellows provided basic motion, a motor and belt system provided heading change, and the control desk provided a record of the student's flight path while in the trainer.  It is not hard to find pilots today who say the experience in the Link trainer saved their lives on more than one occasion.

The Link trainer just received by the museum spent the last few years in the corner of a hangar fighting off the ravishes of time.  Mr. Ian Wayman and his son Iain brought the trainer to the Museum where volunteers with woodworking, electrical, and avionics skills will begin the process of bringing the Link trainer back to pristine condition.  You may not know that Army Navy Aeronautical Standard AN2550 approved August 29, 1942 is still available for review concerning the description and construction of the Link Trainer.  With the information available on the internet, detailed drawings from government documents, and the talents of our volunteer restoration team, we expect to see the Link Trainer on display in the near future.

This may be the only Link trainer in Colorado and the surrounding states with the accompanying desk.  There is a Link on display at the United Airlines Training Center on the old Stapleton Airport property in Denver but it does not include the desk.  If you have information on the location and condition of a Link trainer, let us know.  If you have items that might be associated with Edward Link's flight trainer which could be a part of our display, please let us know.  Our volunteers plan to turn the trainer you see here into a better than new unit.  Email us at jim@worldwariiaviation.org if you have information or would like to enhance this World War II display.

There are some operable Link Trainers at museum locations around the world but you have to travel a great distance to see a working example.  Reportedly the best example of the Link trainer is in the Roberson Museum of Science Center in Binghamton, New York, where the trainer was developed.  It is surrounded by 6000 items which were significant to the trainers history.  If you or someone you know has talents which could assist in the Link trainer restoration, we would like to hear from you. 

Hell Hawk Hero Remembered

Franklin P. Luckman, Jr., was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 26, 1923 and attended Pilot Training Class 43-J where he trained in the P-47 Thunderbolt flying with the 365th Fighter Group, 388th Fighter Squadron of the 9th Air Force.  Frank flew many of his 103 combat missions in "Lucky Lady" over France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.  He was most proud of the contribution his unit made in support of the Battle of the Bulge.  The Hell Hawk alumni are strong supporters of the National Museum of World War II Aviation.  Frank took his last flight April 13, 2012 and this American Hero will be truly missed.

Museum Hosts 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron

Pilots, wives, and guests of the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron during the Vietnam era held their biannual reunion in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and spent some time with the Board Members, staff and friends of the National Museum of World War II Aviation.  The squadron was activated at Seymour Johnson Field, North Carolina on October 15, 1944, flying the P-47 Thunderbolt.  The 34th saw combat service in the Western Pacific from May 1945 to August 1946.  After the war, the squadron was activated at George Air Force Base, California, in the day fighter role flying the F-86 Sabre and the F-100 Super Sabre.  The Vietnam era saw the 34th Fighter Squadron flying the F-105 Thunderchief and later the F-4 Phantom II.

The Rude Rams were excited to see the flyable P-47 which is a part of the museum visit experience.  They also learned additional facts about their World War II history and service.  Their visit to the National Museum of World War II Aviation was the high point of their reunion itinerary.  The Rude Rams did not live up to their name and were really a great bunch of folks who have served our nation with honor.