While another crew was the subject of an earlier post, everyone piled on today and the taxiing Mi2 managed to stay ahead on the way to the hanger.
George supervised both the helicopter and cart crew. Fortunately the Mi2 is set up to accommodate our diligent observer.
George's cousin, Gunner.
While it is sometimes confused with the Russian Yak 18 and that lineage has been debated. The Nanchang CJ-6 should be recognized as an indigenous Chinese design. It's predecessor, the Nanchang CJ-5, was a Yak-18 design built under license.
This CJ-6A is currently flying and often used in flyovers, formation flights and aerobatic training. It carries on the tradition of the Nanchang CJs by being reliable and ready to fly at a moments notice. It is shown below exchanging lead in a formation flight during the Lone Star Red Star fly-in and formation clinic last year.
"Bord LN" was recently restored and painted at Long's Aircraft Service in Coleman, Texas. Randy also restored the Fouga CM-170 located at the museum for another previous owner. Randy based the paint scheme for this CJ on a T-34 he saw at a Navy Base in Florida. That T-34 was used to clear an aerial gunnery range before practice and the Commander (not to mention the pilot) wanted a high visibility paint scheme so the aircraft could be seen in case the live fire exercise was started before the aircraft left the range.
Although not normally used on the ground, Jon demonstrates the smoke system on Bord LN as he taxis past the museum.
In many cases, we were able to pre-screen aircraft that we wanted to see. But old fashioned "Mark-1" eyeballs were used to make the final decisions.
Seeing the array of hardware that was ready to go to war provokes strong feelings and memories for the generations that grew up in the era. We hope a sense of history and understanding passes to the generations that follow.
Because aircraft of different types (and sometimes aircraft of the same type) were stored at different bases, the group had to go from base to base around the country. Because travel time took away from inspection time, the trips between bases were often made in a hurry. Texans, used to large SUV's on super-highways found themselves crammed into smaller vehicles on smaller roads. While perhaps luxurious by local standards, the travel accommodations had them asking "are we there yet?".
The array of hardware was impressive. On the first visit, a base commander was reluctant to agree to the release of even a single aircraft. By the last visit, positions and responsibilities had changed and any and all were available (at a price).
Bord 122, in a field with sister ships was our first choice. Unfortunately, this was the unit that was damaged upon arrival.
The tallest member of the group, in the foreground, suffered patiently, folding himself back into the car as the group jumped from base to base.
And they drove,
and drove,
sometimes passing sights that were intriguing, wishing there was more time to stop and visit. The countryside was beautiful and the people were polite and curious about the visitors that were interested in their country and their aircraft.
On some bases, aircraft were still in bomb-proof revetments, poised as if they were still on the ready line.
The museum's Mig-21, Bord 38 is shown here as first seen during one of the base visits.
While helicopters embodied man's earliest dream of taking off directly into flight, as a bird can, or an angel might, they are very complex. Useful machines did not enter service until after the huge technical advances of WW2. With helicopters, the cold war extended the concept of mobility on the ground or sea into a third dimension, air-mobility.
The first prototype of the Mi-2 flew in 1961 and it is generally considered to be the USSR's answer to the US Bell UH-1 "Huey". Production was licensed to PZL-Swidnik in Poland in 1965 and more than 5500 were produced. Like the Bell "Huey" it has been adopted all over the world. Countries operating the Mi-2 are shown in red above.
An Mi-2 is shown here in Iraq in an agricultural sprayer configuration. Like the Huey, the Mi-2 performs well in both its citizen and soldier roles and the designator "Hoplite" seems appropriately fitting.
The background story for Bord 211 begins with preliminary visits and negotiations in Bulgaria in 2004.
211 was one of a number of Mi2's that were stored on a portion of one of the bases that was visited. Here she is shown with some of her sister ships. Three others in this picture, 212, 213 and 214 are now undergoing restoration. Museum associates visited many bases and looked at many aircraft trying to make the best selection possible given the circumstances in each situation.
Each of the aircraft in Eastern Europe had to be disassembled and crated for shipping. As they arrived they had to be cleared through customs, brought to the airport, unloaded and stored, as the Museum facilities had not yet been completed. Here one of the Mi-2's is shown on its shipping cradle in intermediate storage. There were many steps along the way before assembly could begin and there are many more stories to tell. More details and back-stories about our aircraft will be covered in future posts.
The outdoor exhibit features a replica of the Permanent Vietnam Memorial located in our nation's capitol, Washington, D.C. "The Wall" contains the names of American combatants who lost their lives in that conflict.
Many come to the wall to find the names of loved ones, friends or relatives and spend a moment in thought or peaceful reflection. Parents brought their children or grandchildren to show them and explain to them what this meant and local school districts included the event in their programs.
On the morning of the event, the planes were cleaned and prepped for show. The weather was not co-operative, with low ceilings that did not lift for a fly-over until mid afternoon.
The Cold War Air Museum and The Commemorative Air Force joined in support of this remembrance with a fly-over by aircraft of both museums. The CAF also manned an area where visitors could stop and receive information and museum brochures. As a result, a number of new visitors came to the airport and visited both museums. The tarp on the ground is to keep visitors from sinking into the mud. It had rained heavily the day before and sprinkled throughout the morning. Shortly after this picture, the City promised to bring out hay and spread it on the park grounds to help deal with the mud. Thanks to Steve and Shirley, and all the others who helped with the event!
In anticipation of receiving our airworthiness certificate last week, we were busy checking and testing systems on Mi-2, Bord 211. So busy in fact, that we are just now catching up with this posting about getting ready.
Zach and the techs gave the entire airframe and especially the engine compartment a good looking over.
Zach and Tracie, both experienced Rotary Wing Associates, used checklists to make sure nothing was overlooked in systems checkout.
After extensive work and preparation, our application to the FAA for an Airworthiness Certificate for our Mi-2, Bord 211 was granted and the aircraft is now licensed in the Experimental Exhibition category. After flying off our test program, we expect to be taking the newest flying member of the museum to several airshows and events this summer.
George is a hard worker, he is always ready to go and wants to be involved. Here he is watching from the museum office waiting for his chance to get started with the day's activities.
And there is something about riding in the carts that dogs and kids, even us big kids enjoy.
The transmission was set in a cleaned compartment and all mechanical and hydraulic systems were reconnected.
Then the engines were reinstalled. Everything is cleaner and shiner now than when we started, making it easier to work on and ensure that everything is in ship-shape condition.
We are always happy to work with Community youth and School organizations. We started the group with a short introduction to the cold war era, then telling them about the museum and our planes. 
Then we took a tour of aircraft "close up" and answered questions. Perhaps one of these young men will grow up to be an aviator or aircraft engineer. And we hope this will help them have more interest in school when the teacher talks about modern history.
Short term "hit" data helps us see the popularity of our most recent posts. By providing a mix of topics, stories and authors, we intend to reach out to a larger and more diverse audience. When we concentrate too long on one topic, we tend to see the viewership drop off. So when we have a long running series about a topic, we will start to try to mix in some posts on other items of interest. If you find a post on a particular day boring, please come back and try again tomorrow. Or, leave a helpful comment about what you would like and how we can improve our web experience. And, if you have information or a story that is relevant, please send us an email and let us know.
Our other graphic shows a week's worth of recent visitors by region. Click on the image to see a larger, more readable copy. Visitors came from 30 different countries and within the U.S. from 32 different states.
The CAF squadron at Burnet was kind enough to fill up the smoke tank on bord LN, some of which may even be left when Jon gets back to Lancaster. :-)
When the seasons change, it is not unusual for the temperature (day to day high, or low) to change by as much as 22C (40F). The day we flew to Gainesville for the MOH parade, we had a 60mph tailwind from the South (at altitude) and by afternoon it was "short sleeve" weather. In this picture, one day later, we had 30+ mph winds at the surface, from the North and it was cold.
The saying "kick the tires and light the fires" Is a reference to the poor habit of cursorily checking an aircraft, then hopping in and starting the engine(s) to go flying. While this may work for cars, where you can pull over to the side of the road if something goes wrong, it is not recommended for a long and successful flying career. The Mi-24, because of its size and complexity, is very much a crew-served aircraft. Before each operation a number of items must be serviced and checked.
When the aircraft was parked the day before, it was facing South, into the wind. Before starting on this day, it had to be moved around to again face into the wind, this time to the North.
One advantage to the Mi-24's size is the availability of the crew compartment. With the wind blocked off by the fuselage and with fresh hot coffee available, the crew takes a break before "lighting the fires"
The "Gate Guardian", Bord 122 can be seen at the North end of the airport behind Bord 118.
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