I was tapped yesterday, New Year’s Eve, to escort a tour group visiting Pima Air and Space Museum. They had their own Grey Line-style bus and driver, and the only way to get them from the parking lot onto the museum grounds was to drive around the back of the museum and through the restoration area, normally off limits.
The first batch of photos are of aircraft parked way back behind the restoration area, not visible from the public areas of the museum. Until I saw them, I didn’t know about the Canberras in Royal Navy markings (there can’t have been very many of those in the first place, and here we have two).
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The second batch of photos are of aircraft you can see from the museum grounds, but only if you’re willing to hike to the less-visited area where we keep our old fire-fighting aircraft. There are several new acquisitions here, including a French Marine Super Étendard and a USMC Sea King, a VIP transport model similar to one I hitched a ride on in 1986 with CNO Admiral Trost from Norfolk NAS to the Pentagon (wood paneling inside the cabin, uniformed stewards serving coffee and pastries, what a life). I wonder if this one might have done Marine One duty at some point in its career … can’t wait to find out!
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Finally, here’s a selfie I took yesterday with another of our new acquisitions, a cherry little Cessna 140. Dig that selfie stick shadow!
