The Aero Experience Mid-West Tour 2016: Salina and Fort Riley, Kansas

By The Aero Experience Team

Day 7 was the last day of our trip but we could not leave Kansas without a few more aviation stops as we headed East.  Our first stop was the Salina Regional Airport, which during World War II was known as Smoky Hill Army Airfield and was used to train B-29 crews throughout the war.  After the war, the field became a Strategic Air Command base, initially equipped with B-29s and later two Bombardment Wings of B-47 Stratojets.  Renamed Schilling Air Force Base in honor of Col. David Schilling, the field remained in use until its closing in 1965.  Today, the airport is home to the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus with its large flight training facility and an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program, complete with a large, netted area to fly various drones on the airport grounds. 

On the north end of the ramp stood the primary purpose of our visit, a Lockheed L-749 Constellation.  Originally acquired by the U.S. Navy as a PO-1/WV-1, the Connie was later surplused and taken up by the FAA before ending its government career and being flown to Salina in 1967 where it has resided (or been stuck!) ever since. Maybe one of these days she'll fly again. The Aero Experience thanks David Surrell for granting us ramp access to photograph the Connie.

Eastbound for home, our last aviation stop was Fort Riley, home to the 1st Infantry Division "Big Red One" and the 1st Army Aviation Brigade.  We had the opportunity to visit with the C/2-1 Air Ambulance who fly the UH-60M Blackhawk.  Fred Harl met members of the unit when they were swapping their previous L model Blackhawks with a unit at Fort Campbell and making stops at Farmington, MO for fuel, food and a pit stop.  The C/2-1 is famous for its time in Vietnam, and as you can see from their unit logo, working with the Aussies.  Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on October 2, 1969 flying a UH-1 medevac, saving 29 South Vietnamese soldiers while under heavy fire from the North Vietnamese units in the area.  He was also wounded during the extractions.  Novosel later wrote the book, Dustoff - The Memoir of an Army Aviator.

The Aero Experience thanks the members of the C/2-1 for allowing us to visit the unit and to take these photographs.

The Aero Experience Mid-West Tour 2016: The Airline History Museum at Charles B. Wheeler Airport in Kansas City

By Mark Nankivil

The Aero Experience tour through western Missouri and Kansas continues with a stop on the west side of Charles B. Wheeler  Airport at the Airline History Museum.  It is easy to find as there is a Lockheed L1011 outside the hangar!

Many of you have seen their Lockheed Constellation either in the days when it was flying under the "Save-A-Connie" title or in its more familiar TWA markings.  She fills the main hangar space, which she shares with a Martin 404 (also in TWA markings), a DC-3 in WWII era TWA markings and a variety of other aircraft, artifacts and airline memorabilia.  A replica of the TWA Moonliner rocket, inspired by Walt Disney, is also conspicuously present in the hangar.

An exciting "find" at the Museum was the 1934 Northrop Delta 1D which is planned for restoration to flying collection.  It is a fascinating aircraft to view, and I look forward to seeing it restored and in the air.  Also new since our last visit is a Boeing 727 flight simulator which happens to have been manufactured by Conductron Missouri.  Coming to the Museum in the not too distant future is an American Airlines Boeing 727 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62, donated by ATI.

The Aero Experience wishes to thank John Roper for the personal tour of the
Museum.

Captain Jack Nankivil checks out the cockpit

 

 

The Aero Experience Mid-West Tour 2016: TWA Museum at Charles B. Wheeler Airport in Kansas City

By The Aero Experience Team

This year for my son Jack's Spring Break road trip, we decided to make a spin through Kansas with our first day's visit to Kansas City, taking in the TWA Museum. It is located on the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, across the Missouri River just north of downtown Kansas City. The TWA Museum is located on the east side of the airport in the Signature Flight Support FBO facility which, in fact, was the Kansas City TWA maintenance hangar from before WWII. A fitting location for the Museum!

The TWA Museum is well presented with many artifacts and photos that tell the story of TWA at the very personal level of the employees that made the airline great. The docents during our visit were wonderful and friendly, and made the visit all the more enjoyable. Jack had fun flying the simulator set up for a TWA Connie at this very airport.



A most welcome site on the ramp is the TWA MD-83 Wings of Pride, N948TW. Originally paid for by TWA employees, it was painted in a scheme where the red and white of the standard TWA scheme was reversed, which made for a standout look in the air and on the apron. Thanks to TriStar History for making this great aircraft available for all to see again.  Here's hoping she can make it to the Spirit Airshow at Spirit of St. Louis Airport this coming May.

 

Midwest Aviation Treasures: Touring the TWA Martin 404 and Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience recently visited a Midwest Aviation treasure - the National Airline History Museum at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City, MO.  The museum originally began as Save-A-Connie, a group dedicated to restoring a Lockheed Super Constellation to flying status in Trans World Airlines colors.  This effort has grown into a significant aviation museum that not only has its Super Constellation, but also a Douglas DC-3, Martin 404 and Lockheed L-1011 Tristar under restoration to represent some of the aircraft types flown by TWA.  Our hosts at the museum were courteous and professional, and made our visit a valuable aero experience.  Come into the aircraft with us and experience the museum yourself when you are in Kansas City.

Martin 404

 Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation