chapter 276

ESAM

2/21/2012

Empire State Air Museum

This torpedo bomber (like Gene's TBM Avenger) is ready for takeoff from Japan's Akagi Aircraft Carrier during bombing of Pearl Harbor in WW2. It's huge about 25 foot long but found at the ESAM museum near here.

 The museum has an unbelievable amount of stuff crammed into a relatively small space. It focuses on NYS contribution to airpower. The whole complex began as a GE Flight Test Facility for jets and was interrelated to the GE Malta Rocket Test Station in 1944-46. That lasted a couple decades. This second or third stage rocket was designed by Werner Van Braun. The Hermes Project continued the research of the V2 type liquid chemical rocket here by GE with testing at Malta's Luther Forest where Misha likes to walk. Someone has an extensive collection of 145 GE Test Flight photos, including a B-24 sitting in front of our museum with a Benson Auto Gyro in 1944.

There are 89 excellent & brief GE videos here that document their impact on the local and world stage. You can't live in Albany without knowing some of their employees. I've known many but not this spy guy.

 This was the real reason for going; to see if our P40 model , would fit in with their exhibits; it wasn't desired.

 They already had stuff from our Curtiss- Wright factory.

 and more stuff from WW2, B24 turret trainer, Link flyer trainer, Norden Bomb site, etc

  This dome on the nose of  F101F Voodoo houses, I think, it may have  been interconnected with the fire and forget lock on AIM 4 missile system . I always like to reflect on what I see in my shots. The next closest jet is the F84 Thunderstreak used in the Korean War. In fact the museum attempts to have aircraft from each of our wars and has just arranged to get 3 more craft from the USS Intrepid in NY as they rearrange to get the Discovery Space Shuttle.

  This A10 Warthog is a menacing sight, especially if you were an Iraqi retreating from Kuwait. This little one man operation carried more bomb load than the 10 man crew of a B-17.

  Because they flew all these C130 transport planes down to Antarctica from here they had to include the ice coring like recent chapter link.

 This was flown into Schenectady from Auburn and the young fella was shivering for hours afterwards.

  This is a replica of the plane Amelia Earhart tried to fly around the world in 1937. Might have been used in the movie. Notice the communication system (black walnut) suspended from the ceiling. There's also a large signed portrait of her when she landed here in the 1929.

They also have a lunar landing demo the space program, one of the first balloons of the 1880's found in Amsterdam, and so much more...

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