Tag Archives: Lyon Air Museum

Fuddy Duddy

The Lyon Air Museum has a B-17 as part of its collection.  Named Fuddy Duddy, I was told by a docent that it is airworthy.  I don’t know whether that means it is still flown or not and a quick search has not brought up any recent photos of it but maybe it is out and about at times.  I walked around it in the hangar and got a few shots of it in amongst the rest of the museum collection.  It looked to be in great condition but I have no idea what is beneath the skin.

A-26 Invader

The A-26 is a plane that had a longer life in service than many of its stablemates.  It found use as a ground attack aircraft in Vietnam despite having its origins in WWII.  It cropped up along the way between these extremes.  Some of them found use as corporate transports too including the one I saw at Lyon Air Museum.  It had been used by Howard Hughes at some point.  Now it is restored to something closer to its operational configuration.

It was tight in amongst the other exhibits which made getting good shots tricky.  It is also finished in black which can make the photography a touch more challenging.  However, having not shot a lot of them, I was keen to make the best of it.  These shots are a summary of what I got as I checked out this speedy beast.  How I would like to get some airborne shots of one.  I believe one lives close to me but I have yet to see it out in the wild.

Steve McQueen’s Bike

This bike was apparently owned by Steve McQueen.  I seem to have seen a bunch of cars and bikes that he apparently owned so I guess he was a keen collector of motorized transport.  The style of the bike is definitely old but that wasn’t what caught my eye.  Instead, the sidecar was what I liked.  It appeared to have been styled and constructed like a boat.  It seemed rather out of place compared to the bike but it was definitely interesting.  It was tucked under something else which made getting a shot of it a bit tricky but worth it all the same.

Gull Wing Mercedes

Here is one for those of you that know your vintage cars.  How much is a Gull Wing Mercedes worth?  This one is kept in the Lyon Air Museum in California.  It seems to be in great condition and I assume it is worth quite a bit but I have no idea how much.  It was tucked in amongst lots of valuable aircraft so is not the most expensive thing on display.  Since the planes are generally airworthy, I would guess this is a runner too.