Five years ago, I got into aviation photography and planespotting and started my aviation photo collection with a visit to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Last weekend, I figured it was about time for a revisit and I'm glad I went! Since my first visit to the museum five years ago, a lot of new aircraft have been added to the exhibit and this time, I had a better camera to take pictures with! And I am generally pleased with my photo results.
Follow this link to see my album from the museum:
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (Revisit)
I sure wished the weather was better for the sake of lighting, but that's Oregon for you... Like I mentioned earlier new things have been added to the exhibit since I first went five years ago. Back then, the space exhibit was open but was really bare and not much to offer. And of course some things have been rearranged to make room for the latest additions. Additions to the museum complex continues... Here are some of the highlights from my recent visit:
 |
| The hardest thing to do is getting the entire airframe of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (a.k.a. the Spruce Goose) in the shot. This time around, I was more successful in doing so, minus some of the wingspan. |
 |
| This is actually a reproduction replica Focke-Wulf Fw-190 (known as 'Red 13') built by Legend Flyers, based in Everett, Washington. |
 |
| Also built as a reproduction replica by Legend Flyers (from the Me-262 Project) is 'Yellow 5', a Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe (Swallow). The museum now has the largest aircraft (Hughes H-4) designed during World War II, as well as the fastest aircraft designed during World War II (Messerschmitt Me-262). |
 |
| At first, I thought this was an F-111 Aardvark when I saw the variable-sweep wing until I noticed the 'Red 339' on the fuselage and it only had one engine, when I realized it was actually a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 'Flogger'. Apparently, this is one of the latest additions to the museum. |
 |
| Something I don't want to EVER see in my rear view mirror is the Northrop Grumman RQ-8A Fire Scout. |
 |
| This is a mock-up of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk which the museum received from the manufacturer. This mock-up was originally used by Northrop Grumman to show off the design of the Global Hawk to the United States Air Force. Ironically, it ended up on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio before they ended up receiving an actual RQ-4 from the Air Force and returned the mock-up to Northrop Grumman, who in turn donated it to Evergreen. |
 |
| A unique design in general aviation has to be the Beechcraft 2000A Starship (N74TD/cn NC-27). Such a shame that it wasn't a commercial success due to a lousy economy in the late 1980s. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful aircraft and was for 1980s-standards, ahead of its time. |
 |
| McDonnell Douglas VC-9C (DC-9-32) once used for executive transport by the United States Air Force. This is 73-1683, one of three used by the USAF from 1976 until recent retirement. Occasionally used by the Vice Presidents with 'Air Force Two' callsign. |
 |
| Another aircraft that wasn't here five years ago is this PBY Catalina nicknamed 'Killer Cat'. This airframe is actually a Canadaian-built Canso A, acquired by the museum in August 2011. |
Unrelated to my visit to the museum is the recent
news of Evergreen International Airlines announcement of shutting down at the end of this month. Evergreen operates a fleet of Boeing 747s for their cargo operations.There's not a lot of places in the world where you get to see two Boeing 747s at one museum complex, unless you're at Evergreen!
 |
| N482EV, a Boeing 747-212B(SF) sits engine-less in front of the museum, having once served Evergreen International Airlines. |
 |
| N481EV, a Boeing 747-132(SF) stands as part of the main attraction of the Evergreen Wings & Wave Waterpark. |
No comments:
Post a Comment