Parabat Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Went over to Duxford museum yesterday and saw that the F-15A, 76-020, is currently undergoing a full paint strip down in one of the hangars. Here are the pics, note some joker has hung a plastic eagle off the radome cone! Some more pics 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomastmcc Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 cool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungo1974 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 (edited) I sure hope they move it one of the hangers after the refurb,the elements have not been kind to her since she arrived at DX Edited December 29, 2014 by mungo1974 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Aerobatic Team Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Is that what you call NMF? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I sure hope they move it one of the hangers after the refurb,the elements have not been kind to her since she arrived at DX I thought it was in the American Air Museum - if not, why not? Who is doing the repaint? At least one of the other exhibits (forget which) was done by serving USAAF personnel on a volunteer basis. Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 I sure hope they move it one of the hangers after the refurb,the elements have not been kind to her since she arrived at DX Yes, it was looking rather poorly the last time I saw it outside. I thought it was in the American Air Museum - if not, why not? Who is doing the repaint? At least one of the other exhibits (forget which) was done by serving USAAF personnel on a volunteer basis. Trevor It had previously been standing to the eastern side of the American museum, on concrete blocks. There were no personnel in the hanger (being Sunday) to ask unfortunately. I imagine, being Boeing/USAF property, it will be refurbed or painted by USAF, but you never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 With the scheduled reshuffle in the AAM, I understand it is going inside. I can tell you the B-52 is coming outside briefly whilst this happens. The tyres have developed flat spots, despite being filled, and they have bought a new set for £70,000. It also means that everything else has to come out except perhaps the F-4 and the 'vark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 £70,000 for tyres?! Hopefully the US aircraft will all get a good dust down and clean up before going back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Yes they need it, they are a disgrace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Attending a British Aviation Preservation Council meeting many years ago I was advised that whilst the RAF Museum had a maintenance schedule for every exhibit, the IWM did not, suggesting that they were reactive rather than proactive. Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I was at Duxford a few months back and was talking to the (American) chap who was looking after the Eagle and it looks pretty much ready for a respray now. I asked him what the colour scheme was going to be used but he didn't sem very sure. I thougt it would be good in Air Superiority Blue as its an A model but I appreciate it may be a 'late' A and never painted in that colour. Hell of a big animal though!! Simon PS I also thought that the exhibits were a bit dusty - and also the ones at Yeovilton. Must be a perennial problem. In fact jaw - who is with the Tangmere mob - tells me they have airframes being washed and polished and put under sheeting but they have the luxury of not being open all year round and with fewer exhibits to contend with. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Still one of my all time favourites the F-15. Standing start to 98,425ft in 3mins 27.8sec. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latinbear Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Can anybody offer their thoughts on how the paint is removed from the airframe please? I can't imagine a chap with a sanding block and coarse grade paper getting stuck in but knowing what a pain it is to sand down windows to the wood for a re-paint then I'm intrigued as to what the process of aircraft paint removal entails. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary C Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 http://www.hilltoptimes.com/content/paint-stripping-easier-environment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted December 29, 2014 Author Share Posted December 29, 2014 http://www.hilltoptimes.com/content/paint-stripping-easier-environmentExcellent link! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Very nice pics, thanks for sharing ! The view of the F-15 stripped of its paint is very interesting as it shows the various "colour" of the panels made from different alloys. If anyone can remember the record-setting Streak Eagle, it looked very similar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latinbear Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Thanks Gary, a very interesting article and answers my question. The bead blasting technique reminds me of a National Geographic programme (or program) that I saw a few years ago on refurbishing and overhauling Abrams tanks on their return from Iraq. The tank was stripped of all parts and the hull was then hanged vertically in a chamber where it was blasted by (memory a bit hazy here) tiny steel ball bearings to remove the paint. Whether it was ball bearings or sand, the principle was the same. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 great thread,.... Nice photos and links... that dangling thingy looks more like a chicken than an eagle.. :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truro Model Builder Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 NMF F-15s with some of those bright USAF squadron markings from the 1950s would look smart on the flightline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Re the dust on the exhibits....... Maybe they should aquire a Lockheed S-3 Viking......... wasn't that nicknamed the 'Hoover' Or an M-42 SP AA gun.... that was Nicknamed the 'Duster' Sorry.... I'll get my coat..... Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I reckon people are being a bit unfair towards Duxford's treatment of their aircraft. The fact that some are very dusty does not detract from the general very high level of preservation of the exhibits (although I agree that it doesn't look that good). Aircraft at Duxford are generally in MUCH better condition and states of completeness than the air-frames I've seen at other (less well-funded) UK museums. I would say that the fact that Duxford are spending a cool £70,000 on new tyres for the B-52 indicates that they don't take these things lightly. I once had a chat with a fella who was "hoovering" the entire skin of the B-52 and he told me it would take him 3 or 4 days to complete....that will not be a cheap undertaking, I would have thought. In these days of financial woe, I would take a guess that some "less essential" jobs have to be pushed to one side. Duxford is an amazing facility to have and we shouldn't take it for granted (I'm sure that the original posters appreciate it just as much as I do....my comments are NOT intended to cause any offence). Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Apart from a reshuffle and re-organisation of the AAM from a curatorial point of view, the overhaul will include a refurb of the building itself. The main task is to seal the solid concrete roof of it, this was never done when the building was constructed. This means there presently is a constant "rain" of concrete dust onto the aircraft and they have to be dusted off regularly (once a year?). Once the ceiling is sealed, this should stop and the exhibits will stay a lot cleaner for longer. I wonder if they will use Klear/Future as a sealer though ... Jeffrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 NMF F-15s with some of those bright USAF squadron markings from the 1950s would look smart on the flightline. It would look great with the colourful squadron markings of those days, not sure about the NMF... when the Thunderbirds received the Phantom the original idea was to strip the aircrafts to NMF and add the usual markings, however the aircraft would have looked bad with all those panels so different in finish. The overall white paint sorted the matter. The Eagle would add a few panels made from composites, when unpainted really shows a patchwork of colours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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