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Air Heritage Museum needs a quick $5,000 to get fighter jetTHE F-15A, Jul 05, 2009 (Beaver County Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- First flown: July 27, 1972 --Number made: 384 --Maximum speed: 1,600 mph --Wingspan: 42 feet, 9.75 inches --Length: 63 feet, 9 inches --Height: 18 feet, 5.5 inches -- Ceiling: 65,000 feet Source: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force TO HELP Donations to help the Air Heritage Museum cover the cost of transporting an F-15A fighter jet to Chippewa Township can be sent to Air Heritage Inc., Beaver County Airport, Beaver Falls, PA 15010. For more information, call (724) 843-2820. CHIPPEWA TWP. -- The Air Heritage Museum is trying to bring an F-15A fighter jet from Georgia's Robins Air Force Base to Beaver County, where it would be showcased outside the Chippewa Township museum. But unless the museum comes up with around $5,000 in less than two months, much of the fighter jet could wind up going to the scrap heap. The single-seat F-15A, one of fewer than 400 built, could once reach speeds of more than 1,600 mph and was the first U.S. fighter jet that could accelerate while in a vertical climb, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. But in recent years, this particular jet has been the equivalent of a medical research cadaver, with the Air Force repeatedly blowing holes in it so crews from the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron could practice patching them and making the jet airworthy again, said Robins Air Force Base spokesman John Birdsong. The fighter jet was set to meet an even worse fate after the summer, when the 653rd, which owns the jet, planned to sell it for scrap, said Ralph Zinkham, vice president of the Air Heritage Museum. But Zinkham said Air Heritage worked through various agencies to obtain rights to the body of the jet, at no cost to the museum. Members have already made a couple of trips to Robins to pick up its smaller parts, including its nose, tail section, rudder and rocket launchers, along with one of its gas tanks. But the jet's fuselage and wings remain in Georgia. Transporting those larger pieces to Beaver County will cost an estimated $7,000, Zinkham said. Air Heritage has raised nearly $2,500 to date, all through donations from its members, Zinkham said. "We still have some work to do," Zinkham said. Air Heritage will have to do that fundraising work quickly. The 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron is being deactivated and will sell what remains of the aircraft for scrap if it isn't removed by Aug. 31, Zinkham said. "This really is a big deal for us. It would be a big draw," Zinkham said. Tom Fontaine can be reached online at [email protected]. To see more of Beaver County Times, Pa., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesonline.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Beaver County Times, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |