If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Airline History Museum, Kansas City, MO PIREP
http://www.airlinehistorymuseum.com/
So we used our own webpage today, trying to find something new to do with the kids. My first plan had been to fly to Rantoul, IL (the old Chanute Air Force Base), which has an outstanding aviation museum on the field -- but my kids whined so much about having been there too many times that I dug around the webpage, looking for other fly-in destinations nearby. Flying south seemed better than east, given Saturday's gigantic snowstorm, and Kansas City's connection to the new movie about Howard Hughes ("The Aviator") that the kids had just seen made Kansas City Downtown Airport sound a lot more exciting than Rantoul. It turned out to be a delightful place to visit! Kansas City was the home to TWA, owned by Hughes, and there were once many Lockheed Constellations based on the field. TWA's old world headquarters building is still on the field, right across from the museum, and Howard Hughes' office is now prominently pointed out during the tour. Flying into the museum is very simple. Downtown (MKC) is under the Class Bravo veil of Kansas City International, so by using Flight Following all the way we naturally ended up talking with Kansas City Approach. Traffic was light, and after being handed over to Downtown Tower by KC approach, we were cleared for a sort-of straight-in to Rwy 19. The whole, incredibly smooth flight took just a shade over 1.6 hours, bucking a moderate headwind. With progressive instructions we were able to easily find the museum (which is not clearly labeled from a distance -- just look for the big number "9" on the hangar) in short order, and were pleased to find that we could park right outside the museum entrance! Now THAT is an aviation museum! The museum itself consists of an exhibit area, a gift shop, and a very large hangar (which was World War II surplus, and brought here from Texas after the war!) that houses their three prop-liners -- a Douglas DC-3, a Martin 404, and a Lockheed Super G Constellation . The DC-3 is undergoing a ground-up restoration, while the 404 is currently grounded with tail spar corrosion that will likely mean the end of its flying days. (It's made of magnesium, and no one knows how to work on them anymore.) The centerpiece of the museum is the "Save-A-Connie" Constellation that is a regular on the airshow circuit. Purchased from a desert graveyard in the 1980s for the unbelievable sum of just $4000 (its scrap value alone was four times that amount!), it has been lovingly restored by former TWA employees and hundreds of volunteers to pristine condition. We were lucky enough to visit during the Connie's certification checks (basically an annual inspection on a grand scale), so every access panel was open or removed. Talk about an unusual tour! We were able to see many fascinating internal structures and systems that are usually hidden from view when the Connie is on tour. You're allowed inside the Connie and the 404, and it's just amazing to see the luxurious passenger livery -- imagine, real silverware, and real food! Admission is reasonable, at just $7 per person, and a personal tour guide was assigned to my family. He gave us a terrific tour, literally taking as long as we wanted at each exhibit . The tour guides are all volunteers, too, and giving tours is clearly a labor of love for them. We arrived right after noon, and were famished. To our disappointment, we found no restaurant anywhere on the field, but after some consultation with the museum folks we were able to call a Pizza Hut that would deliver lunch to the museum! The kids were ecstatic, and our tour guide kindly interrupted our tour when the pizzas arrived, giving us a chance to eat while the food was hot. Our visit lasted around 3 hours, which allowed us time to see everything (although I would have liked to spend more time perusing the exhibits), and made for a great day trip. Why in the world we've never flown to Kansas City before is beyond me -- at just 1.5 hours, it's closer than many of our "regular" flights. (I suppose it's because it's off our "home" sectional...) Reluctantly saying goodbye to our friends in the museum, I went out to pre-flight and take some pictures of Atlas against the city backdrop. The airport really IS "downtown", and the big buildings are quite close-by, visually. It makes for an almost "Meigs-like" panorama, which we really enjoyed. Upon departure on Rwy 19, I was cleared for a northeast departure. When I inquired as to whether they wanted me to do a right- or left-hand departure, the controller replied (to my surprise) "Your choice." Upon hearing this, the kids begged me to do a left-hand departure, as this would take us literally right over (at?) the big downtown buildings -- so I announced my intention to do so. It was AWESOME! However, with many giant towers and buildings all around, I was glad it was cold, we were light on fuel, and we had 235 horses pulling, cuz those buildings looked MIGHTY close. I know one thing's for sure -- I wouldn't try that on a hot summer day! All in all, I highly recommend this museum. It's small, but intimate, and if you're at all interested in TWA, Howard Hughes, and the pre-jet airline days, this is *the* place to visit. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"Jay Honeck" wrote:
Reluctantly saying goodbye to our friends in the museum, I went out to pre-flight and take some pictures of Atlas against the city backdrop. The airport really IS "downtown", and the big buildings are quite close-by, visually. It makes for an almost "Meigs-like" panorama, which we really enjoyed. Upon departure on Rwy 19, I was cleared for a northeast departure. When I inquired as to whether they wanted me to do a right- or left-hand departure, the controller replied (to my surprise) "Your choice." Nice report, Jay. As you probably are aware, before KCI opened (in '72), the downtown airport handled all the commercial traffic, so those downtown, between the buildings approaches must have been pretty exciting in the big iron. Mike |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Jay,
Thanks for the review. I've always liked Downtown Airport. It's a perfect location for an air museum, being close to where the people are as well as being on an airport (don't know how many air museums that I've visited that are located on airports that simply can't make it because no one is willing to drive out to them - just at the one at Charles Schultz Airport at Santa Rosa, Ca., and it's in very sad shape). In the '70s I flew freight into Downtown and Fairfax (the airport that was located immediately across the river from Downtown, their patterns intersected - in fact, they shared a common ILS landing to the north, at the middle marker you made a left turn if you wanted to land on Fairfax). First time in there in the middle of the night, it was kind of odd breaking out of the clag and seeing the buildings of K.C. off the right wing. I always wondered how the old piston airliners came out of there, with their flat climb gradient. I'd like to have been around when the DC-3s were coming out of Downtown and all the B-25s were coming out of the North American factory across the river at Fairfax. Must have been something. As a kid, I rode Braniff through Downtown a couple of times in either Martins or Convairs (don't recall) but I wasn't old enough to understand how the airpot was in a bowl and what was involved in getting in and out. BTW, how did you enjoy landing over the levee that keeps the Missouri River off the airport? Wonder how many heavily loaded airplanes have it it on takeoff. Warmest regards, Rick |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
BTW, how did you enjoy landing over the levee that keeps the Missouri River off the airport? Wonder how many heavily loaded airplanes have it it on takeoff. Mary was PIC, and we came in really high. In fact, on short final I commented to her (rather wryly, I thought) that we could "land anytime now" after we had floated some 2000 feet down the runway. From that altitude, I didn't notice any levee, but we had plenty of runway to spare. I think perhaps we were just too awestruck by the proximity of the downtown buildings, and the size of the huge railyard that is adjacent to the airport, to notice the levee! I found the whole experience to be enjoyable, and I suspect we will be visiting Kansas City often! -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
In article .com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote: Mary was PIC, and we came in really high. In fact, on short final I commented to her (rather wryly, I thought) that we could "land anytime now" after we had floated some 2000 feet down the runway making that kind of comment sounds dangerous. or Mary is a saint. -- Bob Noel looking for a sig the lawyers will like |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Bob Noel wrote: making that kind of comment sounds dangerous. or Mary is a saint. One of the benefits of owning a hotel. When Mary makes him "sleep on the couch", he just moves into a suite for a while. :-) George Patterson He who marries for money earns every penny of it. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
"Bob Noel" wrote making that kind of comment sounds dangerous. or Mary is a saint. -- Bob Noel Are you kidding? If you have met Jay, you *know* Mary is a Saint! Bfg -- Jim in NC |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
A much smaller and down home exhibit is at Wheeling, WVA (HLG). This was
a stop on the original TAT/TWA route via ZZV, CMH, etc. The old terminal is now beautifully restored with a neat exhibit of TWA era schedules/uniforms/relics. Excellent stop at a non busy, friendly, controlled GA airport. Nothing fancy, but you would love it! Jay Honeck wrote: http://www.airlinehistorymuseum.com/ So we used our own webpage today, trying to find something new to do with the kids. My first plan had been to fly to Rantoul, IL (the old Chanute Air Force Base), which has an outstanding aviation museum on the field -- but my kids whined so much about having been there too many times that I dug around the webpage, looking for other fly-in destinations nearby. Flying south seemed better than east, given Saturday's gigantic snowstorm, and Kansas City's connection to the new movie about Howard Hughes ("The Aviator") that the kids had just seen made Kansas City Downtown Airport sound a lot more exciting than Rantoul. It turned out to be a delightful place to visit! Kansas City was the home to TWA, owned by Hughes, and there were once many Lockheed Constellations based on the field. TWA's old world headquarters building is still on the field, right across from the museum, and Howard Hughes' office is now prominently pointed out during the tour. Flying into the museum is very simple. Downtown (MKC) is under the Class Bravo veil of Kansas City International, so by using Flight Following all the way we naturally ended up talking with Kansas City Approach. Traffic was light, and after being handed over to Downtown Tower by KC approach, we were cleared for a sort-of straight-in to Rwy 19. The whole, incredibly smooth flight took just a shade over 1.6 hours, bucking a moderate headwind. With progressive instructions we were able to easily find the museum (which is not clearly labeled from a distance -- just look for the big number "9" on the hangar) in short order, and were pleased to find that we could park right outside the museum entrance! Now THAT is an aviation museum! The museum itself consists of an exhibit area, a gift shop, and a very large hangar (which was World War II surplus, and brought here from Texas after the war!) that houses their three prop-liners -- a Douglas DC-3, a Martin 404, and a Lockheed Super G Constellation . The DC-3 is undergoing a ground-up restoration, while the 404 is currently grounded with tail spar corrosion that will likely mean the end of its flying days. (It's made of magnesium, and no one knows how to work on them anymore.) The centerpiece of the museum is the "Save-A-Connie" Constellation that is a regular on the airshow circuit. Purchased from a desert graveyard in the 1980s for the unbelievable sum of just $4000 (its scrap value alone was four times that amount!), it has been lovingly restored by former TWA employees and hundreds of volunteers to pristine condition. We were lucky enough to visit during the Connie's certification checks (basically an annual inspection on a grand scale), so every access panel was open or removed. Talk about an unusual tour! We were able to see many fascinating internal structures and systems that are usually hidden from view when the Connie is on tour. You're allowed inside the Connie and the 404, and it's just amazing to see the luxurious passenger livery -- imagine, real silverware, and real food! Admission is reasonable, at just $7 per person, and a personal tour guide was assigned to my family. He gave us a terrific tour, literally taking as long as we wanted at each exhibit . The tour guides are all volunteers, too, and giving tours is clearly a labor of love for them. We arrived right after noon, and were famished. To our disappointment, we found no restaurant anywhere on the field, but after some consultation with the museum folks we were able to call a Pizza Hut that would deliver lunch to the museum! The kids were ecstatic, and our tour guide kindly interrupted our tour when the pizzas arrived, giving us a chance to eat while the food was hot. Our visit lasted around 3 hours, which allowed us time to see everything (although I would have liked to spend more time perusing the exhibits), and made for a great day trip. Why in the world we've never flown to Kansas City before is beyond me -- at just 1.5 hours, it's closer than many of our "regular" flights. (I suppose it's because it's off our "home" sectional...) Reluctantly saying goodbye to our friends in the museum, I went out to pre-flight and take some pictures of Atlas against the city backdrop. The airport really IS "downtown", and the big buildings are quite close-by, visually. It makes for an almost "Meigs-like" panorama, which we really enjoyed. Upon departure on Rwy 19, I was cleared for a northeast departure. When I inquired as to whether they wanted me to do a right- or left-hand departure, the controller replied (to my surprise) "Your choice." Upon hearing this, the kids begged me to do a left-hand departure, as this would take us literally right over (at?) the big downtown buildings -- so I announced my intention to do so. It was AWESOME! However, with many giant towers and buildings all around, I was glad it was cold, we were light on fuel, and we had 235 horses pulling, cuz those buildings looked MIGHTY close. I know one thing's for sure -- I wouldn't try that on a hot summer day! All in all, I highly recommend this museum. It's small, but intimate, and if you're at all interested in TWA, Howard Hughes, and the pre-jet airline days, this is *the* place to visit. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Why in the world we've never flown to Kansas City before is beyond me -- at
just 1.5 hours, it's closer than many of our "regular" flights. (I suppose it's because it's off our "home" sectional...) Jay, Glad you had fun in our city. Come back in the summertime and catch a baseball game or head to the Worlds of Fun Amusement Park. I'm sure your kids would like it. I drive by MKC every day on my way to work and have questioned weather the museum was worth a stop. Now I know. From a hopeful future student who will park and plane watch at MKC dreaming of the day his wife will let him learn to fly. Matt |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
making that kind of comment sounds dangerous. or Mary is a saint.
One of the benefits of owning a hotel. When Mary makes him "sleep on the couch", he just moves into a suite for a while. :-) Luckily it hasn't come to that yet... I must admit that my mouth gets ahead of my brain every now and then. Luckily for me, Mary and I will be celebrating 20 years of marriage this year (and THIRTY years together, counting dating, next year!) -- so I think she's thoroughly used to me by now... ;-) -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Here's the Recompiled List of 82 Aircraft Accessible Aviation Museums! | Jay Honeck | Home Built | 18 | January 20th 04 04:02 PM |
Here's the Recompiled List of 82 Aircraft Accessible Aviation Museums! | Jay Honeck | Piloting | 16 | January 20th 04 04:02 PM |
Compiled List of Aircraft-Accessible Aviation Museums | Jay Honeck | Home Built | 23 | January 17th 04 10:07 AM |
Compiled List of Aircraft-Accessible Aviation Museums | Jay Honeck | Piloting | 29 | January 17th 04 10:07 AM |
Enola Gay: Burnt flesh and other magnificent technological achievements | me | Military Aviation | 146 | January 15th 04 10:13 PM |