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USAF Museum looking at reclaiming more aircraft
Posted by B Darnell on Thu Sep 04, 2003 01:21:21 PM
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ONCE-PROUD Warbirds
Because the aircraft at a small museum have fallen into disrepair, the Air Force plans to find them new homes
By Chris Vaughn
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON
The Pate Museum of Transportation can't afford to restore the aircraft and may return them to the U.S. Air Force Museum.
STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON
The windows of this 1950s-era HU-16 Albatross amphibious aircraft on display at the Pate Museum of Transportation are bashed in. Bill Peter, above, manager of the Pate Museum, stands under the tail boom of a C-119 Flying Boxcar.
CRESSON - When sailors went overboard and pilots ditched their planes in Korea and Southeast Asia, it was often the amphibious plane known as the Albatross that came to their rescue.
A troop transport known as the Flying Boxcar evolved into an offensive weapon in the skies over Vietnam. A helicopter known as the Flying Banana was part of the air corps during Vietnam that changed how wars are fought.
Today, versions of those proud aircraft are falling into ruin along U.S. 377 near Cresson, sitting among 11 Air Force planes beaten up by weather and vandals. The head of the U.S. Air Force Museum, stunned by their condition, has warned the caretakers of the Pate Museum of Transportation that he will take them back if they aren't repaired.
As it turns out, the Pate family agrees. Pat Pate, son of museum founder Aggie Pate Jr., told the Air Force that he will not spend the "tens of thousands" of dollars needed to restore the aircraft.
"We're a small-town outfit," said Pat Pate, whose museum doesn't charge admission. "We don't have the resources to do that. I hate to see them in that kind of condition myself. What probably will happen is, they'll find better homes for them."
Retired Maj. Gen. Charles Metcalf, director of the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, sees it happening more in recent years: Second-generation leaders in organizations do not always bring the enthusiasm for military aircraft that their predecessors did.
He said more museums are returning airplanes to the Air Force Museum because they do not, or cannot, keep them in good condition.
"It's not a condemnation of anybody," Metcalf said. "It's a reflection of reality."
Stephenville resident Dan Stanford, who has taken his two sons to the Pate Museum dozens of times over the years, said he wishes the Pates had asked the public for help.
"It's three-dimensional history for your kids," he said. "I would see grandparents and parents showing the aircraft to their children and grandchildren, saying, 'I remember when ... .' Talking to the visitors out there is half the fun."
Museum manager Bill Peter said he received little response to his requests for donations of paint, money, time -- anything to improve the appearance of the aircraft.
But the Pate family says it might not have mattered anyway because the museum's foundation lacks the resources to meet the Air Force's standards or to properly secure the site at night.
"We knew the planes were theirs," said Sebert Pate, Aggie Pate's brother. "I signed the piece of paper that they could have them back when they wanted. We've had them 35 years."
Curators at the Air Force Museum are examining requests from other museums and organizations that have expressed interest in adding aircraft.
"You're not going to see a big hiatus occur," Metcalf said. "You'll see an airplane gone one month and another gone the next month. They'll remain on display [at Pate] during that period."
Opened in 1969, the Pate Museum was the passion of Sebert Pate and Aggie Pate Jr., a prominent businessman and philanthropist in Fort Worth until his death in 1988.
The co-founder of Panther Oil and Grease, which later became Texas Refinery Corp., Aggie Pate was an avid car collector. He wanted a site to store and exhibit his collection and chose the sprawling former ranch in Johnson County, about 12 miles south of Benbrook, where he threw lavish parties for employees and friends.
He also started the Pate Foundation to donate to favorite causes, including the museum. But in recent years, the Pate Foundation, led by Sebert and Pat Pate, has scaled back its donations because of a drop in funding.
The foundation is unrelated to the A.M. Pate Jr. Charitable Trust, which was established after Aggie Pate died.
The centerpiece of the museum is a steel building housing about 30 vintage cars, such as a 1929 Rolls-Royce Tourer, a 1937 V-12 Packard sedan and a 1956 DeSoto hardtop.
Outside sits a 1952 minesweeper, an armored personnel carrier and about 15 aircraft.
Among them are fairly rare pieces such as the 1950s-era HU-16 amphibious aircraft and the F-86 Sabre, the first swept-wing jet fighter in the Air Force and a plane that racked up a 10-to-1 shoot-down ratio during the Korean War.
Also on display are the C-119 Flying Boxcar, which was developed in the mid-1940s; and two tactical workhorses of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the F-105 and F-4.
But the aircraft are far from pristine.
The HU-16's cockpit windows are bashed in. The C-119 has several holes in its windows and a ruined cockpit dome. The CH-21, nicknamed the Flying Banana because of its unusual shape, has a large hole in its front window.
There are other problems -- faded paint, holes and tears in aircraft skin, and fungus growing on some aircraft.
The building with the antique cars has an alarm system, leaving the planes and outer buildings as better targets for thieves and vandals.
"I have no idea why people do this," Peter said. "It's ridiculous. This museum is about our country."
An average of 30 to 40 people visit the museum daily. Many visitors come on weekends.
Charging admission is out of the question because it would violate his father's wishes, Pat Pate said. But giving the aircraft to other museums would not, he said.
"I don't have any qualms about that at all," he said. "He was a smart, practical businessman. He would understand."
Losing the aircraft, in Pat Pate's view, could be good for the rest of the museum.
"I'm more interested in reducing our scope so we can spend a little more time, effort and money on the automobiles," he said.