Photo By Max Lonzanida | A ground crew member with the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA assists...... read more read more
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The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia is home to one of the largest private collections of vintage aircraft. The museum is situated in the Pungo area of the City, which is known for its yearly strawberry festival and sprawling acres of rich agricultural fields. Visitors to the museum are able to get an up-close look at aircraft from the pre-WWI era through WWII. During an earlier visit to the museum, I had the opportunity to tour with volunteer Bill Murray. Bill also volunteers his time with the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk; and alternates his weeks at both. While walking through their sprawling Navy Hangar, Bill pointed to their AD-4 Skyraider which had a drip pan underneath. Bill proudly said that nearly all of their aircraft are airworthy, and to come back in later in the summer to see the Skyraider come to life.
I took Bill up on his offer, and returned on a Saturday afternoon. The Museum hosts their Summer of Flight Series, where every Saturday, visitors are treated to a historical presentation followed by a flight. On this Saturday, their Navy hangar was teeming with excited visitors seated in rows of folding chairs. The hangar doors were open, and parked in front and basking in the afternoon sunlight was an airworthy Douglas AD-4 Skyraider.
The Blue Plane, as it was known by enemy forces in the Korean War, was ordered by the US Navy in 1944. In 1946, VA-19A was the first US Navy Squadron to take delivery of them. From 1945 through 1957, the Douglas Aircraft Company’s El Segundo Plant in California produced 3,180 Skyraiders in 11 variants. The Skyraider, with its signature Navy Blue paint scheme, was the US Navy and US Marine Corps’ primary carrier based strike aircraft during the Korean War. In-fact, in May of 1951, Skyraiders from the USS Princeton (CV-37) launched a successful torpedo attack on the Hwacheon Dam, which was held by North Korean forces. This was not the end of the Skyraider’s success. In September of 1953, an AD-4 Skyraider piloted by LT CDR Albert Yesensky, USN, scored a successful hit on an aerial target with an XAAM-N-7 Sidewinder heat seeking missile above Naval Air Station China Lake. The missile would later be designated the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, and an example is on display at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Skyraiders would continue to fly with US Naval Squadrons until 1971, when they were replaced by the A-6 Intruder.
This particular Blue Plane rumbled back to life. It was hitched to a tow bar and pushed by a tractor away from the open doors of the hangar. The crowd watched as Pilot Kevin Sinibaldi cycled through each piston and rotated the propeller. Then, the airplane lurched, coughed and rumbled to life. Its piston engine emitted white exhaust, and the visitors who were once seated stood up and rushed to the front of the open hangar. Camera phones were held above heads as visitors eagerly jockeyed for a better view, and there were a few kids on their parents’ shoulders with eyes wide open with delight. The thundering AD-4, with its wings unfolded and flaps down, taxied off the concrete ramp, down the grass runway and with a roar, took eagerly to the skies. The Skyraider did a few thundering passes for the crowd. In-between passes, Mitchell Welch, the museum’s special events coordinator, provided some meaningful narration to the flyover. After 30 minutes of thundering passes for a delighted audience, the plane landed and taxied back onto the concrete ramp. Ground crew members used hand signals to guide the plane back onto the ramp, and the crowd watched as the plane folded its wings back up.
After an energetic flying demonstration, Pilot Kevin Sinibaldi greeted the crowd. Sinibaldi is no stranger to Naval Aviation; he piloted A-6 Intruders which replaced the Skyraiders. He spent 12 years in the US Navy as an Aviator, and has been flying for the Military Aviation Museum for over five years. When not flying vintage airworthy aircraft, he flies passenger aircraft commercially. He shared his affection for the aircraft, and said that if he had a magic lamp and a genie, he would bring more Skyraiders back to life. During an interview with him after the demonstration, he pointed out a curious namesake painted on the side of the Skyraider; LCDR R. Rausa was stenciled in with white lettering. “Zip” Rausa was the editor of Wings of Gold Magazine; which details the rich history of Naval Aviation. LCDR Rausa spent 35 years as a Naval Aviator, and piloted 150 combat missions during the Vietnam War. LCDR Rausa flew Skyraiders, and passed away in January 2018 at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The AD-4 that thrilled and amazed visitors and rumbled echoes of Naval Aviation’s past, was given this namesake in his honor.
About the Museum:
The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It celebrates the long history of the U.S. Navy in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and is co-located with Nauticus in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Admission to the museum is free, simply by-pass the ticket line downstairs and take the elevator or stairs to the museum on the second deck. The Museum, along with the Military Aviation Museum, is part of the non-profit South Hampton Roads Museum Forum. The forum fosters communication among area cultural institutions, increases public awareness and support of area museums and cultural institutions, and develops professional training opportunities for its members.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2018 14:47 |
| Story ID: | 284326 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 686 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Airworthy Douglas AD-4 Skyraider thrills audience, by Max Lonzanida, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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