ISSUE 696 - July 20, 2021 • Over 9,000 Total Ads Listed • 1,000+ NEW Ads Per Week |
Hangars, History, and Heroes |
Ben Keirn, Contributing Writer & Photographer |
Columbia City, Indiana |
The Marblehead Peninsula in Northern Ohio has a lot to offer. For one, it is the last bit of solid ground before Put in Bay (3W2). There is a great airport there, where you can make your final preparations and refuel your plane before venturing out over the water toward 3W2 or beyond. And, of course, there is the fantastic Liberty Aviation Museum. Dispersed throughout their sizable hangars are the tales and artifacts of history and heroes, both local and world renowned.
The joys of the Erie-Ottawa International Airport (KPCW) include crossing runways to ease your life in varying winds, nearby attractions, and a local air charter service that should help to keep the airport operating for years to come. Our focus, however, is the museum that lies at the southeast corner of the airport property, at the dogleg in taxiway Echo. Last August, Richard Murray wrote a short review of his trip to the Liberty Aviation Museum after COVID had shut down the EAA Airventure (eFlyer 649). In the halls and hangars of this fine museum are pristine planes and artifacts of locally and internationally known pilots. Not to mention a sizeable and well-maintained collection of local historical memorabilia. It deserves both this follow-up story and, if you're in the mood, a visit in person.
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Local racing history includes the Thompson trophy replica. |
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Race memorabilia includes this print of the fateful flight that ended air races in Cleveland. |
Long ago at an airport not so far away, there was a hotbed of aviation innovation and competition. The displays at the Liberty Aviation Museum begin with a history of the Cleveland Air Race. A replica of the famed Thompson Trophy is surrounded by images of the planes that raced, as well as a good deal of the collectible trinkets and ticket stubs from the race years.
One notable inclusion in the collection is a print of the ill-fated Beguine, race #7. This P-51 was modified to move the oil cooler and radiator out to the wing tips; those aren't ramjets, though they might easily be confused as such. This plane was owned by famed aviatrix Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran, who planned to fly the aircraft in the 1950 Bendix race. Alas, the pilot in the 1949 Cleveland Air Race lost control of the plane, which crashed into a local house, taking the lives of the pilot and a mother and child at the crash site. The crash brought the very real risks of air racing into the public eye and ended the air races until they were restarted in the much more remote location of Stead Field near Reno Nevada.
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Island Airlines, the charter company that started it all. |
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A local pilot and hero with many hours, though not in so many miles. |
Quite a bit of the space in the main display room is dedicated to the Ford Tri-Motor. And rightly so, as the history of air charter to the Lake Erie islands finds its start with the Ford Tri Motor and Milt Hersberger. Milt started reaching out to the Lake Erie islands with a fleet of Ford Tri-Motors that he built up through the 1930's and 1940's. The collection at the museum includes a uniform and information on one Island Airlines pilot, Harold Hauck. According to the display, Hauck flew over 14,000 hours in the Tri-motors over his lengthy career, all within a 10 mile route, giving a whole new meaning to regional airline. There are also several photos of the airline in operation, some parts from a Tri-Motor being restored onsite by the Tri-motor Heritage Foundation, and even a few examples of Tri-Motor memorabilia from Byrd's Antarctic flight utilizing the Tin Goose.
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Another local hero display, though his "special deliveries" were of a different ilk. |
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And a not so local hero display. |
Several displays in the main building include uniforms and information on local military heroes and pilots. Included are the flight suit, Air Medal citation, and photos of Sergeant James A. Meek. Sgt. Meek served for twenty years in the Air Force, flying on 25 bombing missions over Iraq as a gunner on the B-52G. Across the room there is a display of another group of heroes, Hogan's Heroes. The display includes a flight jacket of the army air corps pilot played by actor Bob Crane and several other collectibles and uniforms from the show. Crane wasn't a pilot, "but he played one on TV."
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The next-door neighbor's plane. |
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That's no Air Tractor, but an interesting farm tractor of the other variety. |
Out in the hangar bay, the aircraft collection very nearly includes a Texan. Instead, this trainer is a Harvard, painted in the colors of the museum's neighbors to the north, the Canadian RCAF. Hangar one also includes a diminutive looking Taylor E-2 aircraft, predecessor to the Cub and just about every other high wing, tail-dragging Piper ever built. And over among the local history on display, the hangar includes a collection of very well restored classic cars, several old fire engines, and an interesting tractor once built in the region by The Dauch Manufacturing Company of Sandusky Ohio.
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The amazing Avenger and the former president. |
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No sneaking up on FDR's bomber! |
Across the museum's ramp lies an even bigger hangar with several attached buildings. The Liberty Aviation Museum collection includes an impressive amount of flightworthy aircraft. This immaculate Avenger looks gorgeous enough on the ground. But there is every possibility you may see it in the skies around the museum or around the country at air shows. Though not this plane, the museum's website mentions the fact that former President George Bush (Sr.) once flew Avengers while serving in the Navy. On the other side of the aisle is a link to another former president, the B-25 Mitchell. Georgie's Gal is undoubtedly as imposing a presence in the sky as it is here in the hangar bay. The bomber that answered FDR's call to retaliate for Pearl Harbor, these slight aircraft posed a significant threat when combined with Doolittle's wits and American ingenuity.
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Slightly less polished airframe. |
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A 1:1 scale "ship in a bottle." |
Not all of the displays are highly polished or flight worthy. One craft in the hangar is awaiting the TLC necessary to turn it back into an air-craft. While on the other side of the hangar wall, something akin to a Guillow kit is coming together. A PT boat which has been a labor of love in these parts for years is in the midst of a fairly extensive restoration. "Insert tab A into slot B, glue #14 Starboard, this side forward."
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Crew cars for every occasion. |
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The Wrights would be proud; this museum has all the Wright stuff! |
The museum's generous donors have left them with quite the collection of military vehicles. This lineup of personnel transport would make just about any FBO envious. In the next room over, the museum houses some paraphernalia of daily military life on both sides of the front. Orville and Wilbur would be happy to see this old bicycle included in an aviation museum. Far from being a prop, however, this bicycle is a collector's item in its own right; a Patria WKC Solingen all dolled up in German camo paint. And in a nearby display case, the story of a hero two ways. Actor Clark Gable not only played the military man on film, he also served in active duty in real life. Oh, and the second "hero two ways?" Major Clark Gable's discharge papers were signed by actor, former president, and, at the time, Captain Ronald Reagan.
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The parting shot goes to the PT. |
Always a sucker for a taildragger...and a radial...and a biplane. Suffice it to say the Liberty Aviation Museum has something for everyone, including a tail-dragging, radial powered biplane in the form of a Boeing PT-17 Stearman, or Kaydet if you prefer. This PT-17 is painted in the livery of the U.S. Army Air Corps. And of course, there are plenty more sights to see, planes to gawk at, and collectibles to admire. If you are in the area, or even if you aren't, make it a point to stop by the Liberty Aviation Museum up at KPCW. And if any of these aircraft have piqued your interest, perhaps it's time to take a look at the ads on barnstormers.com. No, you likely won't find the B-52 of Sergeant Meek. But you might just find a Stearman of your very own (or five).
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By Ben Keirn, Contributing Writer & Photographer Columbia City, Indiana
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