WIX Archives
The last built B-36.....
Posted by Tony C on Tue Nov 05, 2002 08:45:35 AM
In reply top null posted by null on null
Have just been browsing Internet Modeller and there is a mention of the the last built B36 Peacemaker, which I have copied below.
Moving from models to the world of historic aircraft preservation, you need to become aware of a situation that is rapidly coming to a head. It's probably best described by a letter I wrote that appeared in the Letters To The Editor page of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram on October 20, 2002. Subject? Saving the last B-36 ever built. The letter reads as follows:
"It's been thirty years since efforts were first begun to preserve the Consolidated B-36 Peacemaker that was profiled in J.R. Labbe's Oct. 6 Weekly Review article. The goal was multifold. First, rescue the aircraft from the clutches of vandals and the ravages of time. That was done and even redone. It was moved several times with one move being all the way from Greater Southwest Airport to vacant land outside the General Dynamics (now Lockheed/Martin) plant. The last move occurred ten years ago when it was brought into the Lockheed plant for it's definitive restoration.
Along the way there has been support in many forms from a variety of companies, along with numerous promises. And that's the sticking point. Most of the load has fallen on the shoulders of one organization and one company. Specifically, the Aviation Heritage Association and Lockheed/Martin. AHA has worked tirelessly toward the goal of an aviation museum in the North Texas Area that would have the B-36 as it's centerpiece. Lockheed/Martin has provided support beyond belief. Without AHA and Lockheed/Martin, this B-36 would either be in a facility far removed from it's birthplace or melted down to create a few thousand more soft drink cans.
Well, it's been restored but not reassembled. This is due to the fact that, like the boll weevil, it's still 'just lookin for a home'. Why doesn't it have one yet? Because one association and one corporation simply cannot do the job alone. Other corporations and companies have promised to help but those promises have yet to be fulfilled. In many cases, that promised support has been contingent on the others doing their part. But, each seemingly is waiting for someone else to be the first to step up to the plate..
What is needed is for those unfulfilled promises to be redeemed and for others who have declined to rethink their decision. One or two companies/groups can't get the job done, no matter how hard they try. But spread the load among ten, fifteen, even twenty, supporting companies and/or groups and a world class aviation museum with the B-36 at its core would take wing in very short order."
For more information on what is being planned by the Aviation Heritage Association, along with color sketches of the proposed protective canopy, check out their website at http://www.aviationheritagemuseum.com . I'd hate to be writing, a few months or years from now, that there are only three surviving B-36s while you drink from a can produced from the smelted remains of the fourth one.
Not my particular cup of tea and not sure if this has been mentioned before, but thought some of you, especially from the west side of the pond, who may be.
Tony