The Legacy Flight Museum: Perks of Being a Volunteer

On my previous post, I did say I started volunteering at the Legacy Flight Museum located at Rexburg, Idaho. I started volunteering earlier this month and I wanted to do so while I'm here for part of the year while studying at Brigham Young University-Idaho. That way, I can learn more about aviation, be around the aircraft, and hopefully, make a small contribution (namely my time) to promote aviation and some of the history behind it. I love being around planes since I was a kid and needless to say, I have been enjoying every minute of volunteering thus far. I was told there are a few perks from being a volunteer. Though I haven't been working at the museum as long as others have, I have found enjoyment out it because every time I'm there, I learn something whenever I'm around the aircraft and the displays and I get to meet people as well.

Meeting People

Responsibilities as a volunteer varies, but one of my favorite things to do is give museum patrons a tour of the place (if they desire) and tell them about the aircraft and artifacts. Since volunteering, I've given tours to fellow college students who happened to find out the museum, scouting groups, families, and even fellow aviation enthusiasts. Just being able to talk to people about these sort of things overall have helped me to venture a little further out of my comfort zone (more or less because I have to if I'm going to give visitors tours!). And of course when I first started volunteering, there are the people who work at the museum as well; so I've already met good people when I started volunteering. As I've gotten to know the people who are dedicated to the Legacy Flight Museum, the greater the motivation I've gotten, to pursue my ambitions related to aviation. Since meeting the staff, I've come to respect them as well. To me, they are my superiors; they're the ones I answer to whenever I take time to volunteer there and I have nothing but respect for them.

Learning Backgrounds and Hearing Stories

What's considered the "centerpieces" of the museum regarding aircraft are the few World War II-era aircraft displayed such as the three P-51 Mustang fighters (Bob Hoover's famous Ole Yeller, the Mormon Mustang, and Section Eight) as well as a rare, flying example of the P-63 Kingcobra, an aircraft that saw more service in Soviet hands through the Lend-Lease program. The Kingcobra is considered rare because there are not many airworthy examples of it in the world out of about 15 total airframes that are still intact. Every single aircraft has a place in history as well as more personalized stories behind them.

I mentioned before that Ole Yeller was the pace plane for many years at the Reno National Championship Air Races:

Ole Yeller as it's seen in 2013. 

Section Eight as it's seen in 2009.

The Mormon Mustang as seen in 2014.

The museum's P-63 Kingcobra as it's seen in 2014, along with everything else currently housed and displayed.

Of course, the museum houses other aircraft as well. Some are non-military and I learned some things I didn't know before about these kinds of aircraft. Examples include the Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing:

The museum's Staggerwing

The Staggerwing was the premier corporate aircraft back in the day, just like how we see the Lear Jet is fulfilling that role today. It also got the name Staggerwing because the of the atypical negative stagger in its wings (the lower wing is farther forward than the upper wing).

Another aircraft I learned more about since volunteering is the Howard DGA-15:

The museum's DGA-15

It's an interesting story on how the DGA-15 got its designation... Whether it's true or not, legend says a Chicago bootlegger asked the Howard Aircraft Corporation (Not Howard Hughes, mind you; it would be Hughes Aircraft if it was designed by Howard Hughes!) during the Prohibition  to make an airplane that can haul 15 cases of whiskey, hence the 15 in the DGA-15 designation. It makes sense it was a Chicago bootlegger because the factory that made the planes was based in Chicago at what's now the Chicago Midway International Airport (formerly Chicago Municipal Airport). The company presented the aircraft that was hoped to meet the requirements and bootlegger took the aircraft for a spin. Once he finished the flight, the bootlegger said "That's a damn good airplane!", hence the letters, DGA (standing for "Damn Good Airplane"). Did I know that before? Not until I started volunteering.

A Labor of Love/Being Around What I Love

I volunteered because I just love being around airplanes. My grandfather loved it, two of my uncles (who still fly privately) love it, and my dad loves it as well. My grandfather even volunteered at the museum a few years back. What's unique about the Legacy Flight Museum is that all the aircraft housed there is operational and they can be seen flying at one time or another. Of course, it is costly to keep these sort of pieces of history flying. But those who contribute their time and/or money do it out of love for these airplanes. The Mormon Mustang, which was acquired not too long after the museum was opened suffered a mishap and crashed on the U.S. 20 highway median that goes through Rexburg back in 2006. But the aircraft was properly restored and brought back to airworthy status.

One aircraft with a story in how it came to the museum is the Grumman Tracker which was acquired by the museum in the summer of 2013:

The Grumman Tracker on display

Museum staff flew the aircraft from Ontario, Oregon to Rexburg with the landing gears down because not everything was all-systems-go with the aircraft. Before coming to the museum, it sat in a hangar in Ontario dormant for a few years, with wings folded. The owner who previously owned the aircraft had made plans to donate it to the Legacy Flight Museum because he knew the aircraft would continue to survive there rather than be possible parted out or scrapped. However, the man died before he got see it go to the museum. It was his wife who made sure the Tracker would get to the museum, fulfilling the previous owner's desire for the aircraft.

It's stories like these that make me appreciate the people who dedicate their lives to preserve historical aircraft, whether they're airworthy or static museum pieces. For me it's easy to experience the perks of volunteering because I love it. I love meeting people who come to see the museum, I love giving these people tours and explaining what I know about these planes, and of course, I love being around these planes.