Hello all, this will be one of the few times I (Eric) actually contribute more than just relaying information to Laura for this post.
The Hellcat on the truck
Yesterday as I was leaving the museum restoration and repairs hanger I passed a truck going the opposite direction, on it was a F6-F Hellcat. This particular aircraft was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan, which is where carrier qualifications and practice was held during WW-II. You may have heard about it in the news recently as there are several hundred aircraft of this era that have been located and are starting to be recovered from the Great Lakes. This aircraft is special because the first man to sit in it, literally as it was still being brought ashore, was the son of the man who put the plane in the water in the first place. It has been explained to me, by the truck driver who was there and drove the aircraft down, that the son is also the owner of Enterprise Rental Cars who is paying for the restoration by his donation of around 10 million to the museum. As we were picking the Hellcat off the trailer, we were still finding fish in the wing roots of the aircraft (imagine whatelse could be in there). Marines were called for and needed to help steady the aircraft as it was being lifted (we made the Navy kids "squids" scrape the crap off the trailer, haha)
We are in the process of boxing and shipping out a SBD Dautless Dive Bomber to the WW-II museum in Hawaii, which was also pulled out of Lake Michigan (and still sports the original paint job). Its amazing to me the shape these aircraft are in when we pull them out, many of the vaccum tubes in the radios are still usable, there sometimes is still fuel in the tanks, hydraulics in the various systems, and as stated earlier the paint is in decent shape (although you can't always tell right away). Its a true credit to the Navy's corrosion resistent materials and practices (even though it was in cold fresh water). The landing gear (on one side) still moved and many of the hydraulic pistons looked new when released.
Lt. Cannon (who also works at the musuem with me) with the Hellcat
The Hellcat on the truck
The engine cowl, full of mud,
was face down in the lake.
The Hellcat being stabilized by Marines.
The cockpit of the Hellcat
SBD Dauntless being packed up to be shipped off to Hawaii
RF-8G, project I'm assigned to
RF-8G cockpit
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