Geedee and Rocketeers Collings Foundation Tour 2014

[Geedee]

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[Airframes]

Lovin' it !

 

[Gnomey]

Great shots Gary!

 

[Crimea_River]

Agreed.

 

[Shinpachi]

 

[Geedee]

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[Geedee]

And somehow the photo's are now out of order ! ....Grrrrrr

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Excellent shots Gary!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Awesome!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

And then it was on to the 'Intrepid' a floating museum in the heart of NY.

I have to say that getting up close and personal with a carrier for the first time, the overriding thought is how the 'ell does something that large float ?. Its big !. At the museum there was also a submarine that you could go on and there is also a Concorde sat outside. We didn't do the sub or Concorde but went straight through onto the Intrepid. This thing is huge on the inside and there is a lot of empty space, so ignoring the kids stuff we went up through and onto the flight desk to see what there was on display.

Walking up some of the gang-walks / stairs (whatever they call 'em on Carriers ! ) its not something to do if you suffer from vertigo as you are literally on the outside of the ship and you can see down to the water a hundred feet or so between the stairs...now throw in being in the middle of an Ocean with swell, the ship at action stations and it makes you think how lucky you are to be able to walk around in t-shirt and shorts with an ice cream or whatever in a safe environment. The living quarters and some of the stations inside the ship have to b seen to be believed...cramped ?...too righty and you would be living there for months on end...very brave men !

On deck was a small selection of Naval 'planes, a large tent housing the renovation works and a large building housing a space shuttle. And yes, there were also the obligatory Mig's that every museum seems to need.

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I thought the Intrepid was big but in the photo of the Concorde, you will see a large white 'block of flats' in the background. that is the 'Norwegian Breakaway' that has NY as her home port. She is 3 time the size of the Titanic. She's 1068.3 feet long, 167.9 feet wide, cruises at 22.5 knots and weighs in at 146,600 tons !. I ask you...146,600 tons ?...what the 'ell where they smoking when they dreamed that one up ?

I was quite excited to go into the space shuttle section and my advice to you is ...don't bother !. The way she's presented with nice new shiny tiles and the rear section covered up, to me she looked like a glass fibre / MDF copy... too clinical. Sorry, not impressed at all, you 'll see why later on in this thread when I go somewhere else

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Then it was back outside for a final quick look around.


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My overall impression on the Intrepid is that its not being used to its best, there's a poor mix-match of airframes on show, huge areas that are empty inside and there is a space shuttle eye-sore on the stern deck. There doesn't seem to be a clear direction for the airframe collection and it could so easily be made into a World Class Naval museum. Would I pay to go there again ?...in her present display state, I would not.

Then it was back to the hotel for a few drinks and a cigar with Jim and the two Roberts...


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Now then....an important tip to you who are thinking of getting on the Tour...in the evenings when you're out with the crew chatting up the bar-staff etc etc, do not under any circumstances leave your camera unattended. Had some fun explaining this one to the missus when I got back home and went through the pictures on the big tell for her to see, I can tell ya' !

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Appreciate the heads up Gary, but I don't have to worry about that seeing as I'm not married.

 

[Airframes]

Great stuff Gary! It may be a mix-match collection of airframes, and the Shuttle might be underwhelming, but the sheer size, and with something as large as the Shuttle on board, lost in its own pavilion, is just staggering !
As for that floating city block - that's just wrong !
BTW, what was the name of those ti ... er ... the young lady, who 'somehow' got captured on your camera ?

 

[Wayne Little]

Fantastic Pics no matter what the order!

 

[Crimea_River]

Agreed! I've chucked my name in the hat for a tour but have not heard anything back.

 

[Geedee]

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[Airframes]

So much enjoyment should not be allowed - you now owe at least 2 lb of bacon to every member !

 

[Shinpachi]

Making movie

 

[Crimea_River]

A joy looking at these pics Gary! Thanks for posting.

 

[Wildcat]

Looks like you've had an amazing time Gary!

 

[Wurger]