April 15, 2023 - Alaska Air Museum
Today I'm checking out the Alaska Air Museum, with daughter and grandaughter.
   
A Travel Air 6000, capable of carrying six passengers in comfort.  Travel Air was one of the largest and most popular producers of commercial airplanes in the 1920s and 1930s.  The 6000 could operate on wheels, skiis or floats.  It was powered by a Wright 9-cylinder radial with a cruising speed of 110 mph.  150 or so were built.  Only about 11 still exist, although most of those are airworthy.  Manufactured in the late 1920's, this particular plane arrived in Alaska in 1939.
 
The Travel Air is restored to its 1944 colors when it was owned by Al Jones.
   

The Travel Air excelled operating off the water; a nice quality to have in Alaska.  Here is a painting of how it must have looked back in the day.

The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman.   With Walter Beech as its last President, the company was acquired by Curtiss-Wright Corporation, and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, before production ceased in the Great Depression. However, Beech returned to Wichita in 1932, acquired the abandoned Travel Air factory, and resumed production under his own name, with the Beech Aircraft Corporation — producing what would have been the 17th Travel Air model, but as the Beech Model 17 "Staggerwing."
   
Some Alaskan aviation history.
   
I was wondering why famous Alaskan bush pilot Don Sheldon wasn't in the Hall of Fame.  But his autobiography was for sale in the gift store.
   
1939 Waco YKC.
   
 
   
Parker quickly discovered the museum's kids area.
   
Let's go flying!
   
Looks like the kids have taken over Bob Reeve's workshop.
   
1928 Stearman C2B
   
Big, beautiful 1941 Stinson Vigilant L-1, military version of the Stinson Model 74.  This particular aircraft was stationed in Alaska during WWII.
   
Rear-view of the Stinson.
   
During World War II, the Japanese occupied to American islands:  Attu and Kiska.  An airstrip was built at Adak to counter the Japanese.  In the 1960s, my Dad did two Adak deployments, for a total of 15 months, in a P-3 Orion squadron.  It was the Cold War and the adversary was the Soviet Union.
   
Japanese mountain gun recovered from Kiska Island.
   
Captured Japanese artifacts from World War II in the Aleutians.
   
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was a workhorse in the Aleutian air battles.
   
P-40 instrument panel.  Where's the EFIS?  EIS?  GPS?
   
Allison V-1710, the liquid-cooled engine that powered the P-40 Warhawk, as well as the P-39 Airacobra, P-38 Lightning, and A-36 Apache.
   
Aleutian Island base during WWII.
   
Model of a P-38 Lightning.  Of interest, since I am also currently building a P-38 plastic model.
   
1943 Taylorcraft L-1
   
Pretty little 1944 Taylorcraft L-2
   
A 1943 Grumman "Super Widgeon"
   
The famous Piper Super Cub.
   
1931 American Model 100A Pilgrim
   
 
   
 
   
1943 Grumman Goose
   
Goosetail
   
1944 Stinson V-77 Gullwing
   
1927 Fairchild 71
   
 
   
1929 Keystone Loening -- sans wings.
   
1933 Waco UIC  -- sans wings
   

I did not know of this, but in 1924 the Army Air Service did an "Around the World" Flight Link

They did it using four Douglas World Cruisers.  Only two made it the entire way around the world.  One crashed in Alaska.
   
This is all that's left of the 1924 Douglas World Cruiser (DWC)  that crashed in Alaska.  It was named "Seattle".
   
In 1967, the Seattle's forward fuselage, long range fuel tanks and water-cooled Liberty engine were recovered from the crash site.
   
One of the Douglas World Cruisers on floats.
   
One of the two planes that finished the flight -- The "Chicago" --  at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.
   
We outsides to see the airplanes there.  This F-15 is suffering from sitting outside in the elements.  F-15s were based at nearby Elmendorf AFB for many years.
   
A Helio Courier, a high-wing light STOL utility aircraft designed in 1949.  Interesting airplane.
   
Big Alaskan Air 737.
   
One of my favorite airplanes:  the Republic SeaBee.
   
Head on shot.
   
The Piasecki H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee is an American helicopter, the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki Helicopter (later Boeing Vertol). Commonly called "the flying banana", it was a multi-mission helicopter, using wheels, skis and floats.  It's first flight was in 1952.  It was retired in 1967.
   
A Twin Beech on floats overlooking Lake Hood.
   
P58
   
P59
   
A PBY Catalina, called "The Queen of Dago Lake".  In 1947, it had to make a forced landing in Dago Lake.  With much effort, it was airlifted to its present position in 1987.
   
Overlooking Lake Hood, the largest and busiest sea plane base in the world.  On average there are 200 daily takeoff and landings.  On a busy day, it might be 400-600.  It is also used in the winter, when the lake is frozen, by planes on skiis.  It's hard to tell, but on the other side of the lake is a marina, only it's used by airplanes, not boats.  There is also a gravel runway over there as well.  Check out Lake Hood on Google Maps; it's amazing.
   
The Tower I'm in is between the N and the NW on the below map.
   
Maggie and Parker enjoying the Alaska Aviation Museum!
   
A better look at the old PBY.
   
I noticed a lot of planes have a little wooden shelter like the one below.  I'm guess it's a mini-hangar to work on airplane components.
   
As we drove away from the Alaska Air Museum I was amazed at how many general aviation airplanes were parked outside. Clearly there is a shortage of hangars in Alaska.
   
More airplanes.
   
Another big GA parking ramp at Ted Stevens International.
   
 
   
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