Flying Heritage Museum and Collection
P-40 Tomahawk, One of the Restored Military Aircraft at the Flying Heritage Museum
The P-40 Tomahawk debuted at the start of WWII and was a modification of the older P-36 Hawk. Because of this heritage, the plane was relatively easy to produce and could be hurried into service. Its low cost kept the aircraft in production as a ground attack fighter long after other airplanes had technologically surpassed it. The P-40 is particularly notable for being the shark-mouthed choice of the famed Flying Tiger squadron. The P-40 did not have the glamorous reputation of other US fighters, like the P-51 Mustang; but the plane had its proponents, who cited its high-speed agility at lower altitudes and its ability to make tight turns. Overall, the P-40s excellence lay in its great dependability and lack of complexity.
Corey Graff the Curator of the Flying Heritage Collection
At our annual meeting at the Arlington Fly-in, Corey Graff, the Flying Heritage Collection (FHC) curator, spoke about Paul Allen’s private collection of war birds and some history of certain planes in the collection.
FHC finds historic military aircraft, restores to vintage/flyable condition, and shares with the public. Light restoration and maintenance done onsite. They send out heavy maintenance/restoration jobs.
The original facility at Paine Field was built in 1950 by Alaska Airlines to maintain DC-6s. The facility taken over by the US Air Force to maintain interceptor jets.
The collection has some very rare pieces with some original parts. They fly some of the planes to air shows including the Arlington Fly-In. One plane was restored in Arlington.
There is a crew of mechanics to work on the collection. The collection hold fly days and flies the planes for the public. Public gets to sit right on the runway.
For more information about the museum and its collection, go to its web site by clicking here.