# USAF Museum Experimental section



## Geedee (Jan 28, 2009)

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## Geedee (Jan 28, 2009)

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## Micdrow (Jan 28, 2009)

Sweet shots there Gary, many thanks!!!


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## rochie (Jan 28, 2009)

very nice Gary, some interesting aircraft there !


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jan 28, 2009)

Hey Gary, those are great. The place looks like it's packed. I had not ever seen a 107 before. Checking your 6 would be a bit tough. Thank you for sharing.


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## Bill G. (Jan 28, 2009)

Great Pictures!

The Air Force Museum is raising money to build a fourth large hanger. The plan is to place the X-Planes and Presidential planes in the new hanger.

Two years ago when I was there, I tried to get onto Wright-Patterson AFB to go the this annex. The fliers and even the sign where you sign up said all you needed was a valid Military ID (which me and my girl friend had) to go over on your own. We tried and were turned away because my car didn't have a Wright-Patterson AFB sticker on it. The security forces (Air Police) are polite, but very serious about security. 

It is for the reasons you cite and my failure, that the Museum wants to have the collection all on the same side of the fence. That will be super when it happens.

The problem is that the Museum already has enough planes to fill a fifth hanger! And the XC-99, when it is done, will take up a lot of room. And with the airplanes that still sit outside on the ramp, they have a large problem of lack of room.

The good news is that they do have the XB-70 inside. When I first went there, this plane was sitting outside.

Bill G.


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## Gnomey (Jan 28, 2009)

Excellent stuff Gary! 

Definitely got to get over there at some point, would love to see the XB-70.


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## SoD Stitch (Jan 28, 2009)

Bill G. said:


> The good news is that they do have the XB-70 inside. When I first went there, this plane was sitting outside.
> 
> Bill G.



Yes, it made me feel much better seeing the one-of-a-kind _Valkyrie_ inside finally, instead of outside exposed to the elements.


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## Flyboy2 (Jan 28, 2009)

Ok maybe these are stupid questions but what is that plane in the second picture down on the second post?
And what modification of the F-16 is that?


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jan 28, 2009)

Flyboy2, I believe it is the same as the first photo, the F107A. I could be mistaken though.


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## Bill G. (Jan 28, 2009)

I just checked the Air Force Museum web site. It is the AFTI F-16. AFTI means Avdanced Fighter Technology Integration.

Here is the Museum Writeup.

The USAF used this highly modified fighter for more than 20 years to test new and award-winning ideas in flight control, electronic targeting and cockpit design. A one-of-a-kind aircraft, the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 made more than 700 flights in 10 different research programs between 1978 and 2000. 

AFTI F-16 programs developed targeting lasers and computers, and new autopilot and ground-avoidance systems allowed pilots to fly faster and lower while seeking and attacking targets. Other AFTI advances included digital flight controls, a voice-activated maneuvering system that allowed the pilot to “point” the aircraft in unusual flight attitudes, and touch-sensitive cockpit displays. 

The aircraft’s last project contributed to the Joint Strike Fighter design by reducing aircraft weight and increasing maneuverability. One of this program’s most significant achievements was the first-ever use of all-electric “power by wire” flight controls, with no hydraulic or mechanical backups to move the aircraft’s control surfaces. This milestone won the AFTI team the 2000 Aerospace Industry Award for Engineering, Maintenance and Modification. 

The AFTI F-16 was retired Feb. 11, 2001, when it was flown to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Bill G.


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## Graeme (Jan 28, 2009)

Flyboy2 said:


> what is that plane in the *second* picture down on the *second* post?



G'day Flyboy2. This one?...









...it's the...

COMPASS COPE

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=607

(Many thanks for photos Gary!)


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jan 28, 2009)

Bill G. said:


> I just checked the Air Force Museum web site. It is the AFTI F-16. AFTI means Avdanced Fighter Technology Integration.
> 
> Here is the Museum Writeup.
> 
> ...



Sorry, my dumba$$ was looking at the first post!


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## Heinz (Jan 28, 2009)

Wondeful shots Gary thanks mate!


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## Trebor (Jan 28, 2009)

is that a turboprop Mustang?


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## Venganza (Jan 29, 2009)

Trebor said:


> is that a turboprop Mustang?



You got it Trebor. It was an attempt by Piper to turn a Mustang, yes, that Mustang (the P-51) into a COIN aircraft, with a turboprop engine replacing the Merlin, along with general strengthening of the airframe and many other changes, large and small. By the time they got finished modifying the plane, it didn't have that much in common with the original P-51, but still looked somewhat like it. An interesting concept, but it never made it past the prototype stage. I'm glad it's been preserved. I believe somewhere out on the Internet ether there is (or was) a conversion set available to convert a normal P-51 into the Piper Enforcer, in 1/72nd scale If I remember correctly. I'd love to make the pilgrimage to Wright-Patterson, especially when they get the XC-99 restored and inside. I saw it over 30 years ago when it was outside of Kelly AFB in San Antonio, sitting outside and already in not so great a shape. I was mightily heartened to hear that the USAF got ahold of it and intended to restore it. Great pictures, Gary, keep 'em coming mate!

Venganza


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## Trebor (Jan 29, 2009)

wow! quite interesting. I wonder ho well that bird would have performed?


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## Flyboy2 (Jan 29, 2009)

Ok thanks Graeme and Bill G. 
Mucho Gracias!


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## evangilder (Jan 30, 2009)

Nice stuff Gary. It's great to see the Valkyrie in a hangar. I last visited there in 1980 and it was parked outside. I was hoping they would get it out of the elements. 

As an aside, it was that very airplane that sparked my interest in aviation. I was very young, almost three, when my father took me to see the final landing of the XB-70 at Wright Patterson. It is one of my earliest childhood memories and something I will never forget. To see that big white plane go right over our heads and the roar was deafening. But I was in love.


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## Geedee (Jan 30, 2009)

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## evangilder (Jan 30, 2009)

I wish I had seen the takeoff, but I only saw the landing. Those 6 engines made a lot of noise. I remember a long line of cars parked beside the road near the runway and tons of people looking skyward as it came in. It was a graceful looking bird.


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