To start the day off I watched my boss teach one of my fellow volunteers about the P-40 Warhawk we have, Evergreen's P-40 is painted to look like the AVG Flying Tigers group stationed in China. Anyway....Then my boss, the venerable Robert, told me to teach another volunteer with us about the P-40 for forty minutes and have him ready to give a five to ten minute tour on it. Regrettably, even with a docent giving us some stories to tell about it and all the information I gleaned from the awesome tour Robert gave on it, it's not an easy fit for the fellow, and he was only about to squeeze out 3 minutes of tour. I came him some more advice and then we headed back to Robert at the Space Museum, and for myself, lunch!
After having lunch I surveyed the models from the event Evergreen hosted today for the model makers in the Northwest. During this time I met up with another Discovery Ambassador and we were walking back to the front of the Aviation Museum when we were asked by the nice older gentleman if we could let him behind a chain to look at a simulator from the time around 1943, I learned mounds about it!! When the design first came out, well, first of all, it was built by the son of some organ repair folks, when he couldn't afford flight school but wanted to get a feel for flying. It was so good, that in 1938 his first few he sold to Japan and they used them to train fliers. Some of the absolute historical humor of him selling them to Japan got to me there, I was shocked! But at the same time I knew there was no reason yet for him not to.
Anyway....the man was so interesting, and I had such a good time talking to him, pretty soon twenty minutes was up! Then thirty! And then I met his friend also about 70. The man I first started talking to was from Minnesota and had visited many air museums, and since we'd both visited Seattle's we had great fun talking about it! His companion was from Washington, and they both had incredible amounts of aviation knowledge.
After having the extreme pleasure of talking to them I got to do something that I considered amazing! Until this point I didn't think the P-38's inside was cleanable, I didn't think they allowed volunteers to clean it, but...Robert said i could! And he let me do it by myself whiles he walked away and did a few things :D
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| In the P-38!!! |
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| See that smile? That's a plane smile.. |
I also sat in a P-40 today...but you know..(smiles) that's old news ;)
I got to do many other things including having more awesome conversations with patrons, but the P-38 and those two gentlemen were my highlight :D
Millard
3 comments:
Those are some pretty awesome pictures! I don't know a whole lot about planes, but aside from the technology and gadgets (which I find very interesting) the actual layout of a plane is what draws me :P
I was in Las Vegas with my dad for a competition and we were driving down the main highway out of the city. We had our windows kinda down and we heard this really really loud noise. Now the highway is kinda adjacent to the takeoff point of the runway for the international airport there; so we looked to the left and two super awesome fighter jets (they were a P something, can't remember the numbers) came streaking overhead. They had their afterburners on...nearly blew my ears apart lol, but it was sweet. By the time one minute had passed they were already invisible on the distant horizon.
Squeaks.
Wow, that's really cool! I am glad you had a great time! In a P-38? That's awesome!! Nice pics too!
Glad you had such an experience Squeaks! I *love* seeing and hearing jets!! But I am thinking the plane was probably an F-___ the signature "P" that I know of at least, hasn't been used alot recently :) But they mean the same thing! It's just the letter, P=Pursuit, F=Fighter.
Thanks for checking the blog!
Millard
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