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For the love of aviation

The National Naval Aviation Museum is a"It's a wonderful moment when the guy
place that brings together differentwho actually flew the plane comes and
people who have one thing in common: achecks it out," said Eckhouse. "We try
love of aviation.to restore them as close to the factory
Located at Pensacola Naval Air Stationspecs as we can."
in Florida, the museum has a flightVolunteer Jeff Peyronnin, 62, who served
simulator that depicts a jet fighterin the Coast Guard, has spent the last
swooping into battle during the firsttwo years working on the Coronado's tail
Iraq war, a seven-story atrium thatsection.
features a collection of Blue Angels"Every time you mess with it you feel
jets hanging from the ceiling, an IMAXlike you are touching history," he said.
theater that shows a film about the"I like to picture this old lady at
acrobatic fliers, and a café that is aTokyo Bay."
recreation of the Cubi Point officer'sWorld War II veteran Les Schnyder, 82,
club in the Philippines.has logged more than 18,000 hours as a
However, the main attractions of thevolunteer. His specialty is restoring
National Naval Aviation Museum, whichthe blimplike airships that escorted
opened in 1963 and has been expandedconvoys in WWII, and many of his
three times, are its restored aircraft.restoration projects are already on
Among them is the Navy's S-3B Vikingdisplay inside the museum.
that President Bush flew when he landedSome of the planes were brought back to
on the carrier Abraham Lincoln and madelife after being pulled from the water
his "Mission Accomplished" speech aboutyears later, including an early World
the Iraq war.War II era Brewster Buccaneer that was
The PB2Y Coronado, the first US planeat Pearl Harbor when the Japanese
that landed in Tokyo after World War II,attacked. It later flew in the Battle of
is the latest restoration project of theMidway before becoming a training
museum. Restorations are undertaken byaircraft for pilots practicing carrier
mostly volunteers composing of hundredslandings in Lake Michigan, where it sank
of military retirees.after a crash. It was only salvaged from
The volunteers often draw on their ownthe lake six decades later.
military experience to make theWally Farrand, after 22 years in the
restorations authentic. Thousands ofNavy, now restores the museum's vintage
hours in labor are contributed each yearaircraft engines, including the
to the museum, making the volunteerBrewster's. He joked that his best work
program a model for other museums.is never seen by visitors because it is
Former Navy pilot Mort Eckhouse, 79, hasinside the aircraft.
logged thousands of volunteer hours over"But everything I do here, I just love
almost 20 years of working in theit," he said.
restoration area's machine shop. HeAnd it is that kind of tireless
meticulously recreates rusted and brokendedication from the volunteers that
aircraft parts on donated 1950s erakeeps the museum running smoothly.
milling machines. His work is thenFor operation hours, activities and
tested whenever a pilot or crew memberother information about the National
of a restored aircraft sees the finishedNaval Aviation Museum, visit
product in the museum.Source: community.warplanes.



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