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Museum Reviews: 82nd Airborne W. M. Museum & Airborne Ops

Posted by Mike Henniger on Fri Jan 04, 2002 10:09:35 AM

During a recent trip to North Carolina I went on the hunt for warbirds. I thought you might be interested in what I was able to find.

With the post September 11 increased security measures, I was not able to access the airparks at Seymour Johnson AFB and Pope AFB. However, after submitting to having my car inspected by the nice gentlemen with the automatic weapons, I was able to visit the 82nd Airborne War Memorial Museum located inside Fort Bragg. To be honest I wasn't interested in stepping inside the museum building since I was mainly interested in the warbirds, so I didn't go in. I went straight to the museum's small airpark which is arranged so that obtaining photos of the aircraft is easy. I was able to get some good photos. The airpark has the following aircraft; C-46, C-47, C-123, C-119, C-7 and a UH-1. Also nearby on the street to the museum is a AH-1 on display. The only aircraft that can't be well photographed is the C-7 since the tail of the C-123 would cast a shadow across it most of the day. Actually a cloudy day would be favourable for photographing the C-7.

Fort Bragg is located near the city of Fayetteville. Also located in Fayetteville not far from the Fort Bragg is the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. If you are looking for warbirds this is not a great place to start. The museum's aircraft includes; C-47, UH-1, CG-4 and an AH-6. All aircraft are indoors and the lighting is poor. If you are a serious photographer bring a tripod. I don't like to use a wide angle lense, but in this case I might recommend it. It is difficult to photograph the C-47 and AH-6 since they are suspended from the ceiling and there are many objects obstructing the view of the aircraft. I didn't even bother trying take a photo of the C-47. Besides the difficulty of photographing the warbirds (not the major focus of the museum) this is an excellant museum with many intesting displays and films. The museum is not large and you can go though it in an hour or two.

When I get a chance to go back to North Carolina I will likely head to the Carlinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte or the Western North Carolina Air Museum in Hendersonville. If anyone is interested in a list of the museums/sites with aircraft on display in North Carolina let me know and I can send you a list.

Regards,

Mike

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