SWMBO and I just returned from several days vacation in northeast Kansas visiting her sister. I wanted to visit a couple of aircraft museums while in the area. Forbes Air Force Base at Topeka, Kansas, was closed in 1973 and is now home to the Kansas Air National Guard’s 190th Wing of KC-135R tankers, a Kansas Army National Guard unit and several civilian aviation entities. Just inside the old main gate is a National Guard Museum that has both Air Force and Army items on display, inside and outside. Two of the old hangars on the south end of the flight line are home to the “Combat Air Museum” which has nice displays of prop & jet aircraft as well as engines and other artifacts. If you are ever in the Topeka area, these two museum are only a few blocks apart and are WELL worth a couple of hours of your time. On the way home, we went up to Nebraska and spent a day at the SAC museum between Lincoln and Omaha. As an old “SAC Weenie”, I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. I kept waiting for General Curt LeMay to come out from one of the airplanes.
I took 361 photos between the two museums at Forbes and 1,044 photos at the SAC Museum.
If you go to the museum web sites you can see what airplanes and Army stuff are on display. If you have any specific requests, I probably have at least a few pictures of that item.
Glad you enjoyed your trip to the SAC museum! I was just there last weekend myself while I was home on leave. After growing up in the shadows of Offutt AFB, It still tickles me to get out there. I hope you enjoyed the John Wayne exhibit, that was pretty nifty
The first time I went to the SAC Museum, in 1995, it was still located on the grounds of Offitt AFB in Omaha. While the few indoor exhibits were well done, I nearly cried when I saw all of the outdoor exhibits rotting in the open air. Glass was broken, birds were nesting in every crevice, paint was fading and rubber was rotting. Many were classic aircraft like a B-36 and its Goblin parasite fighter, I believe one of only 2 or 3 that were built.
Imagine my delight and pleasure when I revisited the Museum last summer. Now in a state-of-the-art facility, all enclosed, with hands-on exhibits and a magnificent restoration shop, these national treasures are being treated with the honor they and the men and women who flew them deserve.
I visited the SAC Museum while it was at Offutt in '68 and again in '76. I have to agree that the displays were shameful, the way they were allowed to deteriorate. The little XF-85 is one of two built, the other being at the USAF Museum in Ohio. I was VERY impressed with the quality of the exhibits at the current museum. Several of the planes obviously need some extensive restoration, but the tiny staff and handful of volunteers can only do so much. The museums that are located on or adjacent to active bases can get a lot of volunteer work done by the airmen from that base and can get the use of a lot of borrowed equipment, both of which are just not available at remote locations.
Darn! I wish I had known you were coming to the area. I volunteer at the Combat Air Museum and build the models for the display cases. I did the cases for the T’birds, Blue Angels, Vietnam, Towards Modern Airpower, Korea, and NAS Olathe. I also live in Olathe. Whereabouts did you visit? Give me a yell the next time you visit.
P-51D Mustang at the Combat Air Museum, Topeka. This airplane is a temporary display. It came in for an airshow recently and developed a maintenance issue that kept it grounded until the pilot/owner can arrange for repairs.
The photos of the F-102A are examples of the external refurbishing being done to the aircraft at the SAC Museum. The cockpit and other internal areas are still pretty rough but it’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint and alot of TLC can do to the appearance of these treasures.
The pictures of the Hustler show the ravages of outdoor storage. Hopefully, one day all the aircraft can pay a visit to the refurbishing shop.
