# Tillamook Air Museum



## hobbyheater (Jun 1, 2013)

In April we did a mini holiday trip down the Oregon Coast and seen the sign for an air museum and could not pass it up. I would like to know which aircraft this is as I lost my notes.



And also this one.



The PBY I know by heart.




Lost my notes as to which one this is.


Could not believe how small the ME 109 is.




The hanger is just simply huge, huge, huge and totally made of wood.




Self with my bride of 41 years. Our interest in aviation stems from growing up on the BC coast long before roads to the outside world existed. Elizabeth won her wings long before she got her driver's license. There's a joke amongst family members that she still flies the car!


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## fishingpol (Jun 1, 2013)

That hangar is amazing.  Nice view of the coast too.


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## ScotO (Jun 2, 2013)

Thanks for sharing the trip with us, HH!  I'm not real knowledgeable on airplanes, but there are some on here that know their stuff and hopefully they will chime in soon.  I do love the old planes, like the biplanes and WWII fighters, as well as the water planes....


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## stoveguy2esw (Jun 2, 2013)

not sure on the first one though i think its either a hellcat or bearcat (grumman product) wing mounts are confusing me, looks like a hellcat but should have 6ea .50 cals in the wings(3 per wing) ,im thinking the bearcat had a version which carried 20mm's there 2 per wing

the biplane is a nieuport 11. it carries the "indian head' markings of the lafayette escadrille plane was used circa 1916, later the squadron started flying spad's  in 17. the unit was absorbed into the US military as the 103rd fighter squadron i think (would have to look that up) among other groups. nice plane , very few of them are still in existence

great pic's


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## Jags (Jun 4, 2013)

I believe the first one is the hellcat.  The bearcat wore pants on it legs (panels so that when folded created a smooth underneath).


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## hobbyheater (Jun 4, 2013)

Jags said:


> I believe the first one is the hellcat. The bearcat wore pants on it legs (panels so that when folded created a smooth underneath).


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## fishingpol (Jun 7, 2013)

I had to look up why the hangar is so big.  Just what I thought.


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## charly (Jun 7, 2013)

Nice planes.. I had an opportunity to fly with Randy Brooks in a Stearman Bi-plane,, Red Baron Pizza.. He took me up and we did all kinds of acrobatics... A beautiful plane.. I love those radial engines..Like a bunch of Harley motors put together.. Lots of nice low end torque.. Also got a ride in the B17 Liberator... 4 radials = heaven ..
Here's my plane


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## hobbyheater (Jun 8, 2013)

charly said:


> acrobatics.... I love those radial engines... Lots of nice low end torque..


 





On the low end torque these big radial engine fighters must have been a handful.  In the early part of the war, a lot of the pilots had minimum air time and were expected to fly off of carriers so no easing the throttle in to keep them going in a straight line.







Me 109  From what I have read, just about as many were destroyed in take off and landings than were shot out of the air.  Lots of power and a narrow landing gear made them difficult to handle in take off and landings.


On the aerobatics I done some minor stuff but as a passenger, I start turning green pretty fast.

I would like to learn where more of these museums are located and include them in future holidays.


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## hobbyheater (Jun 8, 2013)

fishingpol said:


> I had to look up why the hangar is so big. Just what I thought.


 
   There were 2 big hangers built at Tillamook, 1 of which has since burnt. The blimps they housed were used as anti-submarine coastal patrol and convoy escort.

The hangers were 1,072 feet long, 296 feet wide, and 192 feet high.  The catwalks visible in your picture were 137 feet above the hanger floor.


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## fishingpol (Jun 8, 2013)

Right about the B-17.  One does a fly in a the a local airport.  When they give tour rides, you can hear it flying over the valley around our area.  I makes you stop what you are doing and look at it, since the engines sound so different than other planes. 

The one we toured almost had to make an emergency takeoff due to the approaching thunderstorm with hail.  They were concerned the hail would damage the skin of the plane.  It skirted north but we stood under the wing to get out of the rainshower.


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## charly (Jun 8, 2013)

fishingpol said:


> Right about the B-17. One does a fly in a the a local airport. When they give tour rides, you can hear it flying over the valley around our area. I makes you stop what you are doing and look at it, since the engines sound so different than other planes.
> 
> The one we toured almost had to make an emergency takeoff due to the approaching thunderstorm with hail. They were concerned the hail would damage the skin of the plane. It skirted north but we stood under the wing to get out of the rainshower.
> 
> ...


They left the top open on the fuselage on the B17 I was on so you could smell all that fuel on start up one engine at a time... One engine, then the next and the next and by the time all four were going I was in my glory... Looking around inside as you were flying really gave you a sense of how closely bonded the crew had to be... I could understand why they painted and named their planes once up and flying... The pilot said once the wheels leave the ground go where ever you want in the plane.. Glass nose where the bombardier sat had quite the view.. It was amazing the craftsmanship that went into building those planes, as I looked around at all the flying cables etc.. Guess that's why they are still flying today... I helped push through each engine before our flight as to clear any oil in the lower cylinders as to not blow off a cylinder on start up... Funny , the guy who flew the B17 was about 30 years old and a jet airliner pilot.. He said there was nothing like flying the B17...It was something I'm glad I did...got to feel some history...


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## fishingpol (Jun 8, 2013)

I've read stories that many of the crew members were 18 - 24 years old.  They were an amazing generation.  The one that flew in a few years back gave rides to former veteran B-17 crew members.  The guys were in their glory getting back up into the air in one.


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## charly (Jun 8, 2013)

fishingpol said:


> I've read stories that many of the crew members were 18 - 24 years old. They were an amazing generation. The one that flew in a few years back gave rides to former veteran B-17 crew members. The guys were in their glory getting back up into the air in one.


I can only imagine how spiritually rewarding that had to be.. beyond words...........


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## Lumber-Jack (Jun 9, 2013)

Thanks for posting HH, but I have to say, I always find static aircraft displays kind of sad. Something about all that potential power and freedom being trapped inside like that just doesn't sit well with me, kind of like looking at a cheetah in a cage. Give me an old fashion airshow any day. Mind you, last time I went to an airshow it seemed the pilots had their hands so tied with rules about how they were allowed to fly their planes it kind of took the thrill out of it. 
The days of watching jets doing low knife edge passes over the spectators, being hit by wing vortexes and seeing lawn chairs, hats and potato chip bags getting flung into the air are gone. Those were the days. 

Here's what I flew up until last fall. Sold it to buy a couple motorcycles for me and my son.


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## charly (Jun 9, 2013)

Lumber-Jack said:


> Thanks for posting HH, but I have to say, I always find static aircraft displays kind of sad. Something about all that potential power and freedom being trapped inside like that just doesn't sit well with me, kind of like looking at a cheetah in a cage. Give me an old fashion airshow any day. Mind you, last time I went to an airshow it seemed the pilots had their hands so tied with rules about how they were allowed to fly their planes it kind of took the thrill out of it.
> The days of watching jets doing low knife edge passes over the spectators, being hit by wing vortexes and seeing lawn chairs, hats and potato chip bags getting flung into the air are gone. Those were the days.
> 
> Here's what I flew up until last fall. Sold it to buy a couple motorcycles for me and my son.



I think you'll miss flying after a while...I rode myself for years as well.


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## hobbyheater (Jun 9, 2013)

Most of the aircraft at Tillamook are in flying order. Your  video looks a lot like the Keremeos area?







This picture is some 40 years old, taken at Mattaha River on north western Vancouver Island. The runway was a  widened section of logging road. This was Elizabeth coming home from a shopping trip.  We sold the "Mouse" in 1981 when mortgage rates hit 21%. It is a hobby we enjoyed when we were young and glad we did it!


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## Lumber-Jack (Jun 9, 2013)

charly said:


> I think you'll miss flying after a while...I rode myself for years as well.


 
I miss it already.  But I've been getting a lot more use out of the motorcycles, and it's something I can do with my son. I'm not too worried yet, I'll be flying again one day, even if I have to dust the old hang glider in the garage off. 



hobbyheater said:


> Most of the aircraft at Tillamook are in flying order. Your video looks a lot like the Keremeos area?
> Good guess , just North of Keremeos in Olalla area.
> 
> 
> This picture is some 40 years old, taken at Mattaha River on north western Vancouver Island. The runway was a widened section of logging road. This was Elizabeth coming home from a shopping trip. We sold the "Mouse" in 1981 when mortgage rates hit 21%. It is a hobby we enjoyed when we were young and glad we did it!


 
Boy, I'd be more willing to go shopping with my wife if we could fly to the mall. I'm not sure i'd feel comfortable with my wife at the stick though.  You obviously have a special one there HH, no wonder you hung on to her so long.


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## charly (Jun 9, 2013)

Lumber-Jack said:


> I miss it already.  But I've been getting a lot more use out of the motorcycles, and it's something I can do with my son. I'm not too worried yet, I'll be flying again one day, even if I have to dust the old hang glider in the garage off.
> 
> 
> 
> Boy, I'd be more willing to go shopping with my wife if we could fly to the mall. I'm not sure i'd feel comfortable with my wife at the stick though.  You obviously have a special one there HH, no wonder you hung on to her so long.


I think it's in ones blood to love flying.. I just love being up there... Can't tell you why,, but it just brings me a beautiful peace of mind.. I would say it's the most enjoyable thing I do...  I think that's why old pilots you see interviewed are not in nursing homes... they are old but still all there mentally.. I think flying soothes your soul...


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## jharkin (Jun 15, 2013)

Thanks for sharing some great photos Allan!! You guys got most of them...


#1 – *Douglas AD-6 Skyraider *in Navy colors. Probably from 1950s, Korean war carrier service. The Hellcat did not have a bubble canopy, and the Bearcat had main LG that folded in, not out.

#2 - Stumped on this one. Have to research.

#3 – *PBY Catalina* as you guessed, most likely a *PBY-5* since its amphibious.

#4 – French* Nieuport 11 ‘Bebe’* fighter, 1915 - though this example is an obvious reproduction.

#5 – Its dressed up in German colors, but its _not_ a Messerschmitt Bf. 109. It’s a *Spanish Hispano HA-1109/1112*, a licensed built copy of the Bf.109 but powered with either Spanish Hispano Suiza or later British RR Merlin engines. The dead giveaway is the high exhaust location of the upright V-12 engine (The German 109 was powered by an interted Daimler DB601/605 V-12)The Franco regime had bought 109s from the Germans during their alliance in the Spanish civil war, but after WWII started the Germans couldn't keep up supply and instead gave them rights to build copies.

Many more of these Spanish copies survived than real 109s and a lot of them were repainted in German colors for use in Movies such as _The Battle of Britain_.


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## jharkin (Jun 15, 2013)

jharkin said:


> #1 – *Douglas AD-6 Skyraider *in Navy colors. Probably from 1950s, Korean war carrier service. The Hellcat did not have a bubble canopy, and the Bearcat had main LG that folded in, not out.


 

I wasnt 100% sure so I looked it up.  I was wrong on this one too. Its a Martin Mauler...  Thats a really rare one!


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## hobbyheater (Jun 15, 2013)

Thank you for the in-depth information.


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## Defiant (Jun 15, 2013)

Great post hh


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## hobbyheater (Jun 15, 2013)

jharkin said:


> I wasnt 100% sure so I looked it up. I was wrong on this one too. Its a Martin Mauler... Thats a really rare one!


 







Out of 151 Maulers built, only four are known to exist:
On display
AM-1

22275 - Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon[13]
122397 - National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.[14]
In storage or under restoration
AM-1

22260 - in storage at the Glen L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum in Maryland. This aircraft formerly belonged to the Commemorative Air Force (formerly the _Confederate Air Force_), and was kept in flying condition until the 1980s.[15]
122403 - in storage at the Planes of Fame in Chino, California.[16]
*Specifications (AM-1 Mauler)*







Line drawings for an AM-1.
_Data from_ American Combat Aircraft, Third Edition[17]
*General characteristics*

*Crew:* 1 (2 in AM-1Q)
*Length:* 41 ft 2 in (12.55 m)
*Wingspan:* 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
*Height:* 16 ft 10 in (5.13 m)
*Wing area:* 496 ft² (46.1 m²)
*Empty weight:* 15,257 lb (6,935 kg)
*Loaded weight:* 22,323 lb (10,146.8 kg)
*Max. takeoff weight:* 25,737 lb (11,698.6)
*Powerplant:* 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-4 Wasp Major radial engine, 2,975 hp (2,219 kW)
*Performance*

*Maximum speed:* 367 mph (323 knots, 618.57 km/h)
*Cruise speed:* 188 mph (165 knots, 302.6 km/h)
*Range:* 1,437 mi (1,260 nmi, 2,334 km)
*Service ceiling:* 27,000 ft (8,320 m)
*Rate of climb:* 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)


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## jharkin (Jun 16, 2013)

hobbyheater said:


> Me 109 From what I have read, just about as many were destroyed in take off and landings than were shot out of the air. Lots of power and a narrow landing gear made them difficult to handle in take off and landings.


 

Not quite that bad, but they did have a lot of training accidents. That narrow gear was due to a design requirement that the wings be removable but the gear stay on for rail transport. The small rudder made things even worse.

Interestingly the Spitfire had the same problem...

This is one of the few flying real 109s left. More where built than any other WWII fighter (35000) but only a handful survived.






Thanks for sharing. Those airship hangars are just amazing, would love to see it someday myself.


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## hobbyheater (Jun 16, 2013)

jharkin said:


> #2 - Stumped on this one. Have to research.


 







  Nord Noralpha  You got me doing some research .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Noralpha


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## Jags (Jun 17, 2013)

Nice post Jeremy and HH.  I like the detail in your posts.


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## charly (Jun 17, 2013)

hobbyheater said:


> View attachment 104582
> 
> 
> Nord Noralpha You got me doing some research .
> ...


Looking at the length of the fuselage nose, bet that thing had quiet the motor and again looking at how streamlined the rest of the canopy is ,, I'll bet that had quite the cruise speed for a single engine plane.. Sharp!


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## jharkin (Jun 17, 2013)

charly said:


> Looking at the length of the fuselage nose, bet that thing had quiet the motor and again looking at how streamlined the rest of the canopy is ,, I'll bet that had quite the cruise speed for a single engine plane.. Sharp!


 
Reading the wiki on it was interesting - a *French* built copy of a Messerschmitt Bf.108 - now that's weird.

If any of you have seen the movie _The Great Escape_, the Bf.108 is the plane that James Garner's character tried to fly to Switzerland in...


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## charly (Jun 17, 2013)

jharkin said:


> Reading the wiki on it was interesting - a *French* built copy of a Messerschmitt Bf.108 - now that's weird.
> 
> If any of you have seen the movie _The Great Escape_, the Bf.108 is the plane that James Garner's character tried to fly to Switzerland in...


Whoops, should have read the Wiki!


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## Blue2ndaries (Jun 18, 2013)

HH, if you enjoyed the Tillamook Air Museum, I think you would REALLY enjoy the Evergreen Air & Space Museum in McMinnville, OR which isn't too far from Tillamook.  They have the Spruce Goose there.  http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/


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## fossil (Jun 18, 2013)

Guy named Jack Erickson owns the collection of WWII aircraft housed in the blimp hangar in Tillamook.  He's also founder of Erickson Aero Tanker and has purchased a number of MD-87 passenger planes from a Spanish airline to convert to tankers for forest fire service.  He's basing the whole operation in Madras Oregon, where the first two MD-87's are now. His ultimate plan includes moving his historic collection from Tillamook into a new display facility at the Madras airport, as well.


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