Tag Archives: museum of flight

Cutlass

wpid13618-C59F7438.jpgWhen I was a kid, I saw a picture in an aircraft modeling magazine of the Vought Cutlass. The planes caught my imagination at the time but they were already long gone from service so the chances of seeing one in the UK were not good. However, I did come across one much later when visiting the Museum of Flight’s restoration facility in Everett WA. My first visit to the facility was when it was just a location where work was undertaken and you could drop in. More recently, it has been turned into a visitor location with a shop and entry fee.

wpid13620-QB5Y7682.jpgNothing has changed with the Cutlass though. It is apparently a bit of a basket case for restoration purposes with a lot of problems in the structure. Consequently, I don’t know what will happen with it or whether it will remain a work in progress indefinitely. However, it is cool to see a Cutlass at all. When thinking about this, I decided to see whether I had ever come across a Cutlass at any museum. However, I couldn’t find an example anywhere in my files so I guess this is the only one I have seen.

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Museum of Flight

wpid6656-AU0E8587-Edit.jpgThe end of the field trip for the ISAP Symposium was a visit to the Museum of Flight.  Located at Boeing Field, this is a great museum and worth a visit whether you are an aviation nut or not.  It has an impressive collection of aircraft and they are nicely displayed.  Inside are some impressive machines including the always attractive M-12, a variant of the Blackbird family that was intended to launch high speed drones (a program that was not ultimately successful and was cancelled).

wpid6658-AU0E8598.jpgOutside is a further selection of great airframes including a British Airways Concorde, the prototype Boeing 747, a Boeing 727 in American Airlines colors and a NASA Boeing 737 which may (or may not) be a prototype.  There are others too but these stand out.  They also have a Space Shuttle crew trainer which, since it is not an original orbiter, is actually more accessible to the visitors.  It was not a long visit so we had to move pretty quickly to get around but a good time nonetheless.

Museum of Flight Restoration Facility

The Museum of Flight has its main building down at Boeing Field in Seattle.  However, they have a separate restoration facility located up at Paine Field.  I had visited this many years ago.  At the time, it was a case of showing up and wandering around.  They welcomed any visitors but it was all very informal.  Since I was nearby, I thought I would pop by and see how their Cutlass restoration was going.

Things have changed a bit.  They have an additional part of the building where they now have a proper entrance and a small store.  They have also introduced a small entrance fee.  This seems perfectly reasonable to me.  Anything that helps with the preservation work the museum does is a good thing.  I talked with one of the volunteers about the changes since I had last been there and asked about the Cutlass.  Apparently it is a basket case and hasn’t moved on much since I was last there.  At least it is being protected, even if it isn’t likely to be in much better shape for a long time.

The facility also has the Comet 4 that they have been making progress on along with the prototype Boeing 727.  It also had the prototype JetStar which is configured with twin engines instead of the four of later models.  Those who know my fascination with this plane as described here and here will know that was a good one for me to see.

This was a brief visit but a good one all the same.  Check them out and help support the work they do.  If you ask any questions, you will be warmly welcomed and given lots of freedom to see their work.