Even though we have been to the Lone Star Flight Museum a few times already while visiting Houston, we took our friends Bill & Julie Mars. They are from Sebastian, Florida and drove out to Houston to visit with us as well as our son Josh, Karen and our grandchildren. Josh & Karen had to work a couple of days this week so we went to the museum to show our friends. It's a great museum with lots of airplanes on display that are still being flown today. They are mostly privately owned and are on loan to the museum.
Upon entering the museum you will find the Minuti Coffee Shop with many different types of their own coffee, chocolate, and goodies. Also on display is the history of the coffee shop, which came to the museum in 2018. On January 6,1804, 18-year-old Guiseppe Molinari opened up a grocery store near Piazza Grande in Modena, Italy. Seventy-six years later the company marked its growth by supplying products for the Royal Savoy House. In 1911, the first Cafe Molinari opened up in Modena, as a meeting place for the artists and intellectuals of the period at a time of great political and patriotic upheaval. In the midst of the bombings of WWII, Molinari started up its new roasting business aiming for the production of high quality coffee on a large scale.
As time goes by, Molinari marked its growth by placing production, warehouse and offices under one roof, as well as broadening its horizons to the Far East by exporting its coffee. Today, Molinari productions reach all over the world. The retail offices operate under Minuti Coffee shops. Minuti Coffee is owned by Ardavan Motamedi as part of the roasting company out of Moderna, Italy. He has opened up coffee shops in various locations in Houston with a plan to franchise nationally.
After leaving the coffee shop, we headed into the main area of the museum to tour the different airplanes on display.
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| North American P-51D Mustang |
In 1940 Great Britain asked North American Aviation (NAA) to build Curtis P-40 Warhawks for the Royal Air Force. Instead, they built an entirely new aircraft called the P-51. Later called Mustangs by the British, they would be upgraded with British made Rolls-Royce Merlin engines which gave the new aircraft the ability to fly at higher altitudes alongside American and British Bombers over Europe.
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| North American SNJ Texan |
The North American T-6 Texan was known as "the pilot maker" because of its important role in preparing pilots for combat. It was the classroom for most of the Allied pilots who flew in WWII. Hundreds of thousands of pilots learned to fly in the T-6 during a service life that lasted over 50 years.
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| North American B-25 Mitchell |
Part of the Doolittle Raiders, this aircraft remained stateside while many of the Mitchells earned their place in history as the aircraft selected by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle to bomb Tokyo in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25 Mitchells launched from the American aircraft carrier USS Hornet on a daring raid against mainland Japan. Although the raid caused little damage, it was an incredible morale boost for America.
This aircraft was converted into a trainer after the war. Acquired by the CIA, it reportedly flew covert missions during the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. It is the only flying B-25 painted in the colors of the Raiders and is the official B-25 of the Doolittle Raider Association.
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| Cessna T-41 Mescalero |
The T-41 is a military version of the Cessna 172. It was built for the U.S. Army in 1967 and served well into the 1980s.
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| Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk |
The TA-4J is a two-seat training variant of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, which was first introduced in 1956. Nicknamed "Heinemann's Hot Rod," after its designer Ed Heinemann, the Skyhawk garnered great success due to its incredibly small size and turbojet engine. It first flew in 1968 and served as the primary carrier jet trainer for the Navy. One of its most important jobs was its use at the U.S. Navy Top Gun school as an "Aggressor" aircraft, playing the role of Soviet Union aircraft as combat practice. It was also used as the "Blue Angels" performance aircraft from 1974-1986.
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| Vultee BT-13 |
In the late 1930s Vultee used its own money to develop a military trainer with a simplified design, called the model V-74. It was known by thousands of student pilots as the Vultee Vibrator. The V-74 passed Army tests and received the designation BT-13. The BT-13 was more complex than the primary trainers. It had a more powerful engine; it was faster and heavier than the primary trainers, and required that the student communicate with ground personnel via a two-way radio.
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| Piper PA-39 Twin Comanche |
This aircraft was purchased by Marion and George Jayne for their family equestrian business in 1970. ATP pilot Marion P. Jayne (1926-1996) won her first international race from Ohio to Nicaragua in 1971. She holds the record for the most cross-country speed air race victories. She was inducted into the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2000 and was named a 100 Aviation Hero at the First Century of Flight Kitty Hawk Celebration in 2003 along with the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, and other legendary aviators.
In 1994, the mother-daughter team of Texans Marion P. Jayne and Patricia Jayne Keefer won FAI gold medals for the longest race in history flying this plane. The race covered 21,000 miles, flying around the world in 12 legs over a 24 day period. Marion and Nancy Jayne Palozola were the first mother-daughter team to race around the world in 1992 and earned second place.
This plane is the only U.S. aircraft to race in two around-the-world competitions. The plane flew over and landed on 5 of 7 continents. The custom paint scheme was designed by Marion and enhanced by Pat when it was repainted in 2008. For the 1994 world race the plane had 11 tanks holding 252 gallons.
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| Bendix B-25 Upper Gun Turret |
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| Loading ammo can on new Bendix Turret |
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| Staying alive at high altitude |
During the strategic bombing of Germany in WWII, bombers such as the B-17 and B-24 usually flew at altitudes above 20,000 feet. This was done to stay above smaller caliber anti-aircraft fire, but the protection that altitude provided was offset by the physical cost to the bodies of the crewmen.
Above 10,000 feet, the amount of oxygen in the air is so low that aircrew needed supplemental oxygen. Without it they would suffer from hypoxia or oxygen deprivation, which caused sluggish thinking, dimmed vision, loss of consciousness, and ultimately death. Additionally, air temperatures was between 30 and 50 degrees below zero. The low temperatures were especially hard on gunners who had to stand in open windows to aim and shoot their guns. During 1943 and early 1944, more crew members were injured by frostbite than enemy action.
The defense against this brutal environment was the crew's clothing and support equipment. Most crewmen wore a wool shearling lined leather jacket, trousers, boots, helmet and gloves over their uniform and long underwear. Additionally, they wore an oxygen mask above 10,000 feet to supply them with oxygen. Other standard equipment included a radio headset, microphone, and protective goggles.
Crews were also offered electrically heated flight suits, gloves and boots that plugged into the aircraft's electrical system. Unfortunately, the heating elements on early suits were wired in series, so that if one heater wire failed, they all failed. Later suits were wired in parallel, which fixed the problem.
Over the top of their flying clothes, crewmen wore an inflatable life preserver nicknamed a "Mae West" and a parachute in case they had to bail out. Some men chose to wear a survival vest which included a pistol, ammunition, first aid kit and other supplies necessary for surviving in hostile territory.
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| Anderson Greenwood AG-14 |
Three Texans -- Ben Anderson, Marvin Greenwood and Lomis Slaughter -- created Anderson Greenwood & Company in 1940 and manufactured the AG-14 aircraft in a factory at the Sam Houston Airport in southwest Houston from 1950 to 1953. The AG-14 is a two-seat, low-wing aircraft for the sport aviation market. However, because of the military's growing need for strategic materials like aluminum, steel and rubber, they could not get the materials needed to build their airplane, and ended the project. All three went to work for Boeing in 1941. After the war, they returned to Houston to resume work on the plane.
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| Gayle sitting in the cockpit |
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| Jim sitting in the Grumman F-14 Ejection Seat |
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| Bill sitting in the cockpit |
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| Exxon Flyin' Tiger |
The renowned Exxon Flyin' Tiger was built and flown by legend Bruce Bohannon. The Texas-born pilot, flight instructor, air racer and record setter, Bohannon flew this plane to set 30 world records between 1999 and 2005. The Exxon Flyin' Tiger is an all-metal monoplane designed specifically for setting time-to-climb and altitude records. As of 2006, it was the fastest climbing piston-engine aircraft in the record book to 20,000, 30,000, and 40,000 feet and was the first homebuilt aircraft ever to cruise above 40,000 feet.
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| Bruce Bohannon |
Bohannon set his world records at extreme altitudes at which the temperature can reach more than 50 degrees below zero. There is no heating system in the Flyin' Tiger, so Bohannon wore an electrically heated motorcycle riding suit that plugged into the aircraft's electrical system. To deal with the lack of oxygen at high altitudes, Bohannon breathed pure oxygen before flying and used a system that forced oxygen into his lungs during flight. On at least one record-attempting flight, his breath turned to snow when the aircraft reached 40,000 feet.
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| Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat |
First flown in 1939, the F4F-3 Wildcat was, on paper, at a severe disadvantage against its Japanese counterpart, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, which was faster, lighter and more maneuverable. This forced the Wildcat pilots to develop new tactics to counter the Zero while also taking advantage of its powerful machine guns and thicker armor. One such tactic was the Thach Weave, developed by pilot John Thach, which used one Wildcat as "bait" to lure a Zero while a "hook" Wildcat turned into them and would catch the Zero off guard. With this combination of tactics and superior firepower, the Wildcat achieved a kill-to-loss ratio of seven to one and went on to serve through the entirety of WWII.
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| Thach Weave |
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| Bill & Juliann Mars |
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| T-34 Mentor |
The T-34 Mentor was an American trainer produced by Beechcraft and sold to the US Air Force and US Navy.
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| General Motors TMB-3E Avenger |
The most famous Texan to fly the Avenger was President George H.W. Bush, who flew off the USS Jacinto. The youngest naval aviator in WWII, Bush was shot down September 2, 1944 while attacking the Japanese occupied island of Chichi Jima. After being hit by ground fire, he completed his bombing run before bailing out of the burning aircraft and was rescued by the submarine USS Finback and resumed combat operation soon after.
His two crewmembers, Radioman Second Class John Delany, and turret gunner Lt. (J.G.) William "Ted" White, did not survive the attack. While his plane was never recovered, Bush's actions made the Avenger a permanent part of his legacy as a serviceman and patriot. His heroism and skill that day earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Recognizing their bravery and sacrifice, the names Bush, Delany and White now appear on the museum's Avenger. The Aircraft name, "Barbara II" is also included on the plane. Although depicted in at least one photograph, it is unlikely that name was ever painted on any of the Avenger aircraft that Bush flew. However, it was widely known among his comrades that he called all his assigned Avengers "Barbara," in honor of his beloved fiancée Barbara Pierce.
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| Douglas A-1D Skyraider |
The Douglas Skyraider was able to carry a wide variety of weapons on its numerous wing hard points. It is well known for its ability to carry more ordinance than an WWII B-17. The Skyraider first saw combat in the Korean war, where its long loiter time and heavy load-hauling capability gave it a distinct utility advantage over the jet aircraft of the time.
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| Douglas SBD Dauntless |
The SBD Dauntless was the principle US Navy dive-bomber at the start of WWII. It was strong and durable, able to withstand anti-aircraft fire from the enemy and the 4+ g pull-up after releasing its bombs at the end of the dive. (The force of gravity, symbolized by the letter g, is actually an acceleration caused by the Earth's gravitational pull. Standing on the ground, you feel 1 g. When the SBD pulls out of a dive bombing run, it is subject to more than 4 gs, or four times the pull of gravity, so a 150 lb. pilot would feel like he weighed 600 lbs.)
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| Hot Air Balloon (Look closely above the blue bag to see Julie) |
The hot air balloon was invented by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier in France, 1783. The hot air balloon was quickly abandoned in favor of as balloons in the 1800s and would not see a return to popularity until the 1960s with the help of American inventor Ed Yost.
Ed Yost, founder of Raven Industries in 1956, improved on the Montgolfier brother's design. Yost added a built-in burner and propane system, a vent for maneuvering the balloon and a light-bulb style envelope shape. Yost launched his new balloon for the first time on October 22, 1960 in Brunning, Nebraska. The flight lasted 1 hour and 35 minutes.
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| Illustration of Montgolfier's hot-air balloon |
Hot air balloons use hot air inside the envelope to create lift. The lift occurs because warm air is lighter or less dense than cool air so it goes up. A burner heats up propane stored in propane tanks creating a fire that heats the air inside the envelope. Balloon envelopes are constructed from nylon; nylon is lightweight, sturdy and has a high melting point.
Ascent and descent are controlled by a parachute valve at the tope of the envelope. By pulling a cord just above the basket, the pilot opens up the valve to allow hot air to escape. This causes the balloon to fall as there is less hot air lifting the balloon. For steering, the pilot has to ascend or descend when the wind is pushing in the direction they want to go. This is because wind goes in different directions at different altitudes, as well as different speeds. For these reasons, hot air balloonists can never follow an exact flight course and much of the flight is improvised on the spot.
Buoyancy is what enables the balloon to ascend. As the air inside the balloon is heated, it becomes less dense than the surrounding cooler air, creating a buoyant force. This force is greater than the weight of the balloon, causing it to rise.
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| F4U Corsair |
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| Beecraft Honey Bee |
The Honey Bee is a small single-seat aircraft. It never went into production after the prototype was built in 1952; however, plans for the Honey Bee were sold to individuals to construct at home. Approximately 200 sets of drawings were purchased for $50 each during the 1950s. Unlike a homebuilt aircraft kit, the Honey Bee plans required that each part of the plane be fabricated from scratch by the builder. As a result, very few Honey Bees were ever completed. This Honey Bee was constructed by Truman L. Smith of Timonium, Maryland between 1956 and 1958.
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| Sikorsky S-76A |
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| Space Exploration Vehicle |
The SEV is a spaceship with wheels. The SEV concept would use the same cabin for in-space missions like satellite servicing, telescope assembly, and exploration of near-Earth asteroids, as well as on-the-surface exploration on planetary bodies, including and Moon and Mars. The SEV idea combines Apollo's Lunar Roving Vehicle, the Lunar Module, and Command Module into one pressurized package.
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| Dexterous Robotics Laboratory |
Robonaut is a humanoid robot developed by NASA to work alongside human astronauts in space and on other worlds. This robot has the ability to manipulate tools and perform tasks designed for human use. This version is equipped with wheels and has been designated Centaur 1. It was tested in the Arizona desert and versions of the robot may one day work with astronauts on another planet or the moon.
Robonaut was created at NASA's Robotics Laboratory. The Houston-based research facility is focused on the development of advanced robotic systems and technologies for space exploration. Some of the notable projects from the lab include the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Science Laboratory and the Robonaut project.
After the two hangers highlighting the airplanes, the museum also has a room that tells the history of air travel and the way air is used in flight.
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| Bill demonstrating the Bernoulli Principle |
In the 1700s, a Swiss doctor, scientist and mathematician named Daniel Bernoulli was conducting energy experiments. He discovered that as the speed of a moving liquid or gas increases, the pressure within this moving liquid decreases. He learned the opposite was also true, that at the speed of a moving fluid decreases, the pressure within the moving liquid or gas increases. The phenomenon is known today as the Bernoulli Principle.
Why does the air move faster over the top of an airfoil or wing? As air moves over the top of the wing, the shape of the wing and the angle it approaches the air cause a narrowing of the air flow. This causes an increase in the speed of the air over the wing and lowers the pressure above the wing.
Newton's First Law ~~ The Law of Inertia. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Newton's law of inertia states that a stationary object remains at rest until a force is applied to it. For example, a rock sitting in the grass will not move unless some kind of force is applied, such as the wind or a person pushing it. The force must be unbalanced, or in other words, stronger on one side than another.
The second part of the law states that once an object is set in motion, it continues to move at a constant speed in the same direction until acted upon by another force, like friction or gravity. Moving objects, like a thrown baseball, eventually comes to a rest due to forces such as air resistance that caused it to slow down and stop.
Newton's Third Law ~~ for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Exerting a force in one direction results in an equal force in the opposite direction. A force is the result of the interaction between two objects. The two forces are called action and reaction. The size of the force on the first object equals the size of the force on the second. And, the direction of the force on the first object is opposite to the direction of the force on the second object.
Rockets are a good example of Newton's third law. When a rocket fuel burns, it is expelled as a high velocity gas out of the back of the rocket creating a force. The reaction to that force produces and equal and opposite force that propels the rocket forward.
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| Lt. Benjamin Foulis with Orville Wright at Fort Myer, Virginia in 1909 |
Benjamin Foulis was a seasoned military man and experienced dirigible pilot when he was selected to participate in the Army trials of the Wright flyer. In 1909, with Orville Wright as the pilot, Foulis served as the navigator on his first airplane flight. During that flight, they broke speed, altitude and cross-country distance records.
Then, in December 1909, with only 54 minutes of flight instruction from the Wright brothers, Foulis was ordered by the War Department to take the Army's new purchase -- the Wright Military Flyer; Signal Corps Aeroplane #1 -- to Fort Sam Houston, where he assembled it and made his first solo flight in March 1910. Like the Wrights, Foulis saw the potential of military air power and developed methods for using the plane as an operational reconnaissance vehicle.
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| Fort Sam Houston and the 1st Aero Squadron |
While at Fort Sam Houston, Lt. Foulis continued to teach himself to fly. Through trial and error and correspondence with the Wright brothers, he improved his technique and made modifications to the aircraft such as installing seatbelts and adding wheels to the skids. By the beginning of 1911, the Army assigned two more aircraft to Fort Sam Houston, and three other officers joined Foulis to comprise a provisional aviation company. However, it was short-lived. A series of flying accidents including one on May 10, 1911, that killed Lt. George Kelly, for whom Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio is named, caused the Army to discontinue flight operations. It would be two years before military flying would return to Texas.
L.L. Walker, hidden by the wing, is at the controls of his modified Bleriot. This photograph was taken before Walker's 1910 attempt to fly from Houston to Galveston. The plane only reached La Marque before turning around, about a dozen miles shy of his intended destination.
On February 18, 1910, seven years after the Wright brothers made their historic flight, Frenchman Louis Paulhan claimed the title as the first person to fly an airplane in Texas. Paulhan, who was traveling across the United States to demonstrate the wonders of flight in his Farman biplane, stopped in Houston to entertain 3,500 spectators. He performed four 10 to 12-minute flights over the crowd.
Even before L.L. "Shorty" Walker witnessed Pulhan's flight, he was fascinated with the idea of flying. The owner of an automobile business, Walker made the first flight in his homemade plane in 1910. The aircraft was based on the design of a Bleriot monoplane and powered with a 40 hp engine. Once he became proficient in the air, Walker barnstormed his way around Texas and Missouri, drawing crowds to see his aerial demonstrations and spreading his enthusiasm for flying. During WWI, Walker returned to Texas to teach at aviation schools.
"Paulhan himself is but an operator of a machine, a dexterous chauffer of the air, a sky pilot, a jockey of aerial race horses, an aeronaut because he was first an athlete of master dexterity and amazing skill...to soar to heights that eagles do not dare." ~~ B.H. Carroll, Houston Chronicle
During WWII, Texas was home to some of the most important U.S. air fields and naval air stations. Its proximity to the Mexican border and the existence of most of the nation's oil fields and refineries within its borders required the military protection these air bases could provide. Among Texas' air fields, Brooks, Kelly, Randolph and Ellington were four of the most important flight training facilities in the country.
In addition to the dozens of air fields built by the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Navy recognized the advantages Texas provided in terms of aviation training. In 1940, it began construction on an air station at Corpus Christi that would become one of the nation's busiest training complexes for pilots, navigators, aerologists, gunners and radio operators.
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