Week 292 - Palm Springs Air Museum - 03-18-2012

Palm Springs on $5 a day!

Last week our future route was uncertain. We finished our last Pickleball tournament at Catalina Spa RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA. On Sunday, we attended the Calvary Chapel church service in Beaumont, California. Then we landed at Golden Village Palms RV Resort in Hemet. At the end of our three day stay, we intended to stay at Jojoba Hills RV Resort in Aguanga. However, the weather prediction for Aguanga was a high of 54 degrees. The low in Palm Springs was 57 with a high of 80.

So, we turned around and went back to the Palm Springs Elks, which is really in Cathedral City. This is our very private dry camping site, which costs us $5 per day. Mandy looks down on the Mothership and says "~~cool~~", "warm!", Without air conditioning the temp inside home got to 91 degrees. But, by 4:00 o'clock pm, the hills blocked the sun and it couldn't be more pleasant outside in our lounge chairs.

Close by to our home is the Palm Springs Air Museum. There are six aircraft on display outside the museum. (Editor's Note: Many of the descriptions in this travelogue are quotes or paraphrased text from the museum displays and some from Wikipedia.org)

1) This A-4 Skyhawk was the last active A-4 assigned to the U.S. Navy and now retired at the Palm Springs Air Museum. 2) The Grumman F-14 Tomcat was first deployed in 1972 and can move at twice the speed of sound. This particular Tomcat was part of the "Black Aces" who downed two Libyan Air Force SU-22's during the Gulf of Sidra incident in August 1981 and was the first F-14 to drop a bomb during the Bosnian deployment.

FA-18 Hornet was designed for dogfights and to attack ground targets. This aircraft has been used for air shows by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels since 1986.

1) A-6 Intruder. These young serviceman were very kind when asked to pose for this photo. They responded without question and immediately got into attention. We thanked them for their service to our country. 2) General Dynamics F-16N Fighting Falcon possessed many of the characteristics of contemporary Soviet fighters, it was used as an aggressor at the Navy's Top Gun school at Miramar, California.

The Robert J. Pond Hanger is home to the Palm Springs Air Museum. Robert Pond was a Navy pilot during World War II, serving as a flight instructor. After the war he worked in his father's business which made floor grinders and polishers for marble floors. His love for aviation drove him to create the Planes of Fame East Air Museum in Eden, Minnesota. After his retirement, Robert moved the planes to Palm Springs. The $15 entrance fee (March 2012) is well worth the price to support this museum.

Consolidated PBY Catalina was a flying boat in the 30's and 40's. It served in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. PBY stands for Patrol Bomber with the Y representing the manufacturer of the aircraft.

B-17 Flying Fortress. For an additional $5, you can climb inside this bomber and investigate it fully. We were privileged to witness the flight of a Flying Fortress in March of 2009 at Lake Havasu. See http://www.bigrigbible.com/WeeklyTravelogues/week137.php.

The museum is composed of four areas. The aircraft for free viewing outside the museum, the planes behind the hangar, the Robert J. Pond Hangar with the Pacific Theatre display and the Donald and Peggy Cravens Hanger with the artifacts of the European Operations.

Chance Vought F4U Corsair. The first prototype was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1940. By 1952 when the final unit was sold to France, there were 12,571 planes manufactured. The Corsair was the longest production of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history.

The British Royal Navy built the world's first aircraft carrier, the HMS Argus in 1918. The U.S. following in 1922 with the CV1 USS Langley, in 1925 the CV2 and CV3, 1933 the CV4 and in 1935 the CV5.

We have no idea what this car is or why it is in the museum, but it is fabulous!

The Bell P-63 King Cobra was a United States fighter aircraft developed in World War II from the Bell P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies. Although the aircraft was not accepted for combat use by the United States Army Air Forces, it was successfully adopted by the Soviet Air Force. (Source: Wikipedia)

Lockheed T33 Shooting Star made its first flight in 1948 (when Pete was born). Despite its vintage, the T-33 still remains in service worldwide.

North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber from the Robert J. Pond Collection. A B-25 bomber was used by Lt. Colonel "Jimmy" Doolittle for his famous raid on Tokyo. In that mission on April 15, 1942, Mitchell bombers were launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to attack some of Japan's major cities. B-25 bombers were flown in every theater of World War II, including European, Pacific and North Africa.

AC-47D Gunship. This plane is a work in process being restored to health in view in the museum.

The framed Herald Express and Los Angeles Examiner newspaper front pages were fascinating reading.

Of special notes was the openness to spiritual verbiage, such as mentioning that the people's prayers were on the service men and women.

The stories culminated with the surrender of the Europe War on May 7, 1945.

As we write these travelogues, which are events and places that interest us, we often wonder if our our viewers read or value them. If you skip over much of what we write, we would encourage you to read these words from Jack Bernabucci, a resident of Palm Springs in his later years. It illustrates one of the aspects that sets the United States apart from other countries of the world.

May the Lord bless and protect those brave members of the armed forces; those who are willing to give their lives for the protection of the liberty that we, as citizens of the United States, enjoy.

Next week our route is uncertain but we will stay in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area) until somewhere else warms up.

Love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Mar 2012