Hickory Aviation Museum

#OTD, a local story from 8/26/1957. In Iredell County, near the community of East Monbo, US Navy Douglas A3D-1 Skywarrior BuNo 135440 was in transit and encountered a very bad thunderstorm. East Monbo is about 28 miles from Hickory. The pilot, LCDR John Sangster, attempted to climb over the storm at 40,000 feet, but both engines flamed out and would not restart. He ordered the two crewmen to bailout, and they exited the aircraft around 16,000 feet and survived. The plane crashed in a field, claiming the life of LCDR Sangster. It is believed he stayed with the plane to ensure it would not crash into a populated area. LCDR Sangster was from Grinnell, Iowa and graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1947. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 135440 was accepted by the USN in April 1956 and was flown by VAH-1 and VAH-2. #a3d1skywarrior #sacrifice #jet #jets #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #usnavy #navalaviation #flynavy #aviationhistory #iredellcounty #aviation #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #navalaviator #pilot Friends of Naval Aviation, Inc.

#lazysunday and S-3 Viking Sunday, so here is one from my archives, 1996, VS-30 S-3B Viking onboard CVN-65, 1996 after a trap. The arresting gear cable has been dropped out of the tailhook, it will be taxied quickly, arresting gear reset and ready to take the next aircraft on final. BuNo 160147 was accepted by the USN Navy, July 1976, and flew until retirement, January 2016. This jet logged 14,259 flight hours. #lockheed #s3viking #usnavy #navalaviation #flynavy #ussenterprise #cvn65 #jet #jets #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #aviation #aviationhistory #aviationlovers #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #aviationphoto #aviationphotos #aviationphotography Friends of Naval Aviation, Inc. #vs30diamondcutters Lockheed Martin

#OTD, first flight anniversary of YC-130 "Hercules" 53-3397! Famed Lockheed designer/engineer Kelly Johnson was said to have remarked to the VP/Chief Engineer about this "low speed unarmed aircraft" when in 1951, they were presented with a 130-page proposal: "If you sign that letter, you will destroy the Lockheed Company". Well, you can't be right all the time! Since then, over 2,500 Herc's have been manufactured in over 40 variants and flown by 72 countries! (Lockheed Photo). #lockheed #c130 #c130hercules #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeeks #avnerd #aviationlovers #aviationhistory #aviationphoto #aviationphotos #aviationphotography #history Lockheed Martin

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2024: The HAM Restoration Team is meeting for a workday. Meet at the 2nd Avenue Airport Gate at 0830, directly across from the Town of Long View Recreation Center, and we'll be working until about noon. Anyone interested is welcome to join and help out, we've got a ton of projects ongoing as we prepare to move into the new hangar building next year. The monthly membership meeting at the Museum begins at 1pm, all are welcome to attend, our guest speaker is author Steven Zaley, who parachuted into Normandy this year during the D-Day anniversary ceremonies. He has written the book, "They Are Only Gone If They Are Forgotten" about the 82nd Airborne. Wingz Grill is open for anyone who is hungry and loves great food. For any further information, just ask! #hickoryaviationmuseum #hickorync #museum #aircraftrestoration #aviation #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #airplanes #jets #helicopters #meeting #workday #nonprofit #volunteer #volunteers #community

Our Museum Photographer Mario Quivera is always behind the lens, so here he is on the left, in front of the lens. Shown with museum President Jeff Wofford and CO VMA-223 "Bulldogs" LTCOL JB "Traper" Cumbie prior to departure of the TAV-8B in July. VMA-223 went above and beyond during the delivery of our AV-8B Harrier II Plus jet for the museum, along with the Harrier Program Manager and the National Naval Aviation Museum. It takes a team to make things happen! There are plenty of sponsorships available as we prepare to move into the new building for aircraft and parts of the building, please contact us if you or your company are interested in discussing. We are a 501 non-profit staffed by an all-volunteer team of the finest people you'll ever meet who freely give of their time to make the museum the success that it is. #av8bharrier #vma223 United States Marine Corps #usmc #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #aviationlovers #aviationphoto #aviationphotos #aviationphotography #jet #jets #airplane #airplanes #hickoryaviationmuseum #hickorync #aviationlovers #aviationmuseum #museum #aircraft #pilot #pilots #flymarines #marines

#OTD, 8/19/1958, using the civilian registry number of N1883, the first flight of the prototype for the P-3 Orion! This was the prototype #3 that was built for flight, it had a dummy MAD boom and weapons bay and retained the length of the L-188 Electra. Within two months, Lockheed received a contract to build this aircraft, dubbed Type Specification #146. The aircraft was modified and loaded up with the anti-submarine gear to the actual specifications. as well as a shortened fuselage of about 8 feet which resulted in significant reduction in weight, pointier nose, 5 window cockpit vice 7, and a functioning bomb-bay. The aircraft was assigned BuNo 148276 and flew about a year later and was operational until 1965 designated as P3V-1. The aircraft then flew with NASA until arriving at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola in 1992. Sadly, the aircraft was scrapped in 2016. 66 years later, Orion's are still flying! Although they are being phased out by the US Navy, they are still flying for US civilian agencies as well as numerous countries who are patrolling the seas. In just 10 days, our P-3C Orion turns 55 years old! #lockheed #p3orion #p3corion #usnavy #navalaviation #flynavy #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #aviationlovers #aviationhistory #aviationphoto #aviationphotos #aviationphotography #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #hickoryaviationmuseum Friends of Naval Aviation, Inc.

Flight Line Friday! Lot of history in this one photo, from L to R: A-7A Corsair II, numerous missions over North Vietnam during the war. F-4B Phantom II: Onboard CVAN-65 during blockade Cuban Missile Crisis. F-105B Thunderchief: Second oldest "Thud" remaining, held speed record from Alaska to Florida. A-4 Skyhawk: Workhorse during Vietnam War for the USMC. XF15C-1 Stingeree: Sole survivor of the three built testing radial engine/jet engine combination by Curtiss Aircraft. #a7corsair #f4phantom #f105thunderchief #a4skyhawk #xf15c1stingeree #jets #jet #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #museum #aviationmuseum #hickorync #hickoryaviationmuseum #aviation #aviationphoto #aviationphotography #aviationphotos #avgeek #avgeeks #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avnerd #aviationlovers #aviationhistory

Latest update, 8/15/24 of the new HAM hangar. The large structure to the right is part of the main aircraft display area, and this will all be one structure in conjunction with the Catawba Valley Community College Workforce and Innovation Center which will be on the left. As the weeks progress, a better picture will come alive on what this will all look like, We still have numerous naming opportunities and sponsorships available, if you or your company are interested in more details, drop a note! We are a 501c nonprofit, completely staffed with volunteers and since opening the doors in 2007, there has been no charge for admission! #museum #aviationmuseum #hickorync #hickoryaviationmuseum #airplanes #aircraft #jets #helicopters #hickoryregionalairport #northcarolina #avgeeks US Navy United States Marine Corps United States Air Force US Army Lockheed Martin Boeing Northrop Grumman

#OTD, VJ-Day, 8/14/1945!! WWII ends with the unconditional surrender of Japan. The 14th is the date in the USA that is recognized, but it was actually the 15th local time/date in Japan that the terms were agreed to, and then signed a couple weeks later. Estimated numbers are the United States lost nearly 95,000 aircraft further broken down to nearly 53,000 lost during operations, with approximately 38,000 lost in the European theater and 15,000 in the Pacific theater. Between 1940-1945, a staggering 296,000 aircraft were produced in the USA for the US military and allied participants. William Knudson, a senior automotive executive who was appointed personally by President Roosevelt to lead the American materiel production efforts said in a quote: " "We won because we smothered the enemy in an avalanche of production, the like of which he had never seen, nor dreamed possible. #wwii #vjday #1945 #military #aircraft #allies #aviation #airplanes #history #militaryhistory #usnavy #usarmyaircorps #usmc #usarmy #victory #usmerchantmarine #uscoastguard

The videos shot at HAM by @enfliteaviation keep dropping on their YouTube page, this week we cover the F-14 Tomcat and the Blue Angels F/A-18 "Legacy" Hornet. Like and subscribe!! Copy and paste or click on the link: https://lnkd.in/eS8q47uk #fa18hornet #f14tomcat #usnavy #navalaviation #flynavy #jet #jets #airplane #airplanes #aircraft #aviationmuseum #museum #aviation #aviationdaily #aviationgeek #aviationgeeks #avgeek #avgeeks #avnerd #aviationhistory #aviationlovers #aviationphoto #aviationphotos #aviationphotography #hickorync #hickoryaviationmuseum US Navy US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, Blue Angels