Mil, Mi-2 Bord211, gets a Garmin

In the old days, a pilot could land in a farmer's field and ask directions. At the Cold War Air Museum, our pilots would prefer not to have to do that. So they asked for something in the Mi-2 to tell them where they were, and where they might be headed.

Since their portable GPS kept slipping off the top of the instrument panel (and its hard to get a hand free to chase anything loose in a helicopter), we decided to secure a GPS in the panel.

The Mi-2 panel seems big, but from a human factors standpoint it has some drawbacks. Because of the seating arrangement, it is difficult for the co-pilot to reach the left side of the panel and the pilots knees can get in the way (contrary to U.S. helicopters, the pilot sits on the left). And, as might be expected, there is always a heated discussion regarding anything being moved or eliminated. In this picture, the old radio control head that will be removed is in the lower right corner.

With a bit of "adjustment" to both the opening in the panel and an AirGizmos panel mount, a Garmin GPS now snaps in place. A cover hides the empty mount (or the GPS) when desired.

As soon as the antenna and power wiring are completed, our guys will now be able to tell us where they're going (and perhaps where they've been). ;-)

To keep an authentic appearance while on static display, a decal or picture of the old radio may be placed over the blank cover. 

Intermission

This intermission is a break between stories. A lot has been going on at the museum and updates are coming. In the mean time, here are a few items to help keep you informed.

In addition to being an active volunteer at the museum for the past year, Rene completed his senior year at Skyline while staying active in Scouting and the Dallas police explorer program

Rene proudly displays two awards he recently received from the Dallas Police Department program. We are happy to have this young man as one of our volunteers.

Miguel is working on a new series of pictures at the museum. It is always fun when he comes and we understand that he may have some pictures from the CAF to share as well.

It is fun to take snapshots as Miguel and his crew do their work.

We are glad to see almost everyone smiling when they visit the Cold War Air Museum

$100 Hamburgerski

A time-honored tradition among pilots is the "$100 Hamburger", a trip to another airport for lunch. The weather was so fantastic on Sunday that we decided to take Mi-2 Bord 211 out to get a Hamburgerski.

The Mil Mi-2 is a bit slow for cross country flight, but it has excellent visibility from which to view the Texas countryside.

Because it is an unusual aircraft,

the Mi-2 becomes "an airshow everywhere it goes".

Almost before Bruce can get his flight bag out of the Mil,

someone shows up to see the little helo and its crew.

Of course, in Texas, barbeque is the preferred Long Distance Lunch of choice. Hard 8 BBQ in Stephenville has an excellent selection of sausage, ribs, brisket, and other meats.

The Hard 8 is legendary among pilots and this last Sunday it more than lived up to its reputation... it was necessary for all pilots to recalculate Weight & Balance for the trip back!

Soviet Big Iron Saturday

A "flying" museum, like the Cold War Air Museum must exercise their aircraft, or at least the engines and systems on a regular basis.

Saturday was a work day for our many volunteers and supporters. A number of aircraft were brought out for engine start and exercise.

The Mi-2's and Mi-24 are run up on a regular basis.

Starting the Mi-24 can be exciting. The aptly named Saphir APU has a tendency to blow out any excess fuel during its start cycle. The sight and sound is impressive. Once again, our thanks go to Miguel for this outstanding picture. This picture and a number of others can be found as a desktop display on the "wallpapers" page at the museum main web site.

Fuel sales for the "big iron" help support the airport.

Visitors commented that it felt like they were on a Soviet air base. For a short time Saturday, that feeling was understandable.

The MiG-23 is still undergoing restoration while the L-39's at the museum fly regularly.

With local and world-wide coverage from our web sites, we often gain new associates. One of our new associates is a former Russian pilot and MiG-23 instructor who is currently employed at a major flight training center at DFW. He is a big help with systems knowledge and practical experience in the MiG-23.

Vadim and Jon debrief their MiG-23 taxi test.

The MiG-23 looks like it's going supersonic, just standing still.

The massive R27-F2M engine in the MiG-23 makes a wonderful, unmistakable howl as the power comes on.

No Mud Today! Just lots of happy noise from turbines turning and burning, consuming Jet-A.