Weather

[Gatordev]

My understanding is that many of them belong to the Naval Aviation Museum. Basic upkeep is done by volunteer groups (ie, squadron groups getting volunteer service hours).

I know when people have needed spare parts in the past, they've reached out to the NAM to get permission.

 

[Mos]

Basic upkeep is done by volunteer groups (ie, squadron groups getting volunteer service hours).

This would've been my guess. I helped a volunteer group wash an outdoor plane at an Air Force museum once. The group was mostly service members, contractors, and their families from a squadron that my dad supported as a contractor. It was an F-100, IIRC, and when we were done, you could barely see much improvement because of the widespread paint oxidation under the dirt and grime we had washed off.

 

[sevenhelmet]

This would've been my guess. I helped a volunteer group wash an outdoor plane at an Air Force museum once. The group was mostly service members, contractors, and their families from a squadron that my dad supported as a contractor. It was an F-100, IIRC, and when we were done, you could barely see much improvement because of the widespread paint oxidation under the dirt and grime we had washed off.

It turns out, airplanes don't age well when they're just left outside. That's why indoor petting zoos are always so much nicer.

Also makes me wonder about the boneyard- how much of that material could be recycled into something else?

 

[Seawolf42]

Looks like 157807? (hard to make out the last digit)…. Which lines up with TH-1 BUNOs

I flew 806,808,& 809, instructing in 1971