Bacon Salute! 2014 AirPigz Naval Aviation Museum MeetUp

(click pic to enlarge) Bacon Salute at Sunday breakfast at the 2014 museum meetup

(left to right: Seth, Jason, Fred, Adam, Martt, Lew, Nancy, and Mike)

 The bacon salute pic above was from breakfast yesterday morning in Pensacola Florida on the last day of the 2014 AirPigz Naval Aviation Museum MeetUp.  The group was a bit smaller this year, largely due to me being late getting info out, but wow did we all have a great time! Three days at the museum with nonstop friendly avgeek chat plus dinner and breakfast together as well... and as long as there's some bacon in there somewhere, it all makes a perfect combo : )

 I left Pensacola about noon yesterday to make the 14 hour trip (plus another 5 hours to sleep) back home. And while the temps were bitter cold when I got back home in Indiana early this morning, we did have some pretty good weather in Pensacola on Saturday and Sunday after kicking off the meetup on Friday with a pretty chilly day for the Florida panhandle.

 It was my first ever trip to the Naval Aviation Museum and I enjoyed it a lot. It's a much smaller facility than the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio, but the collection of aircraft was excellent. A major distinction is that while the AFM has most all of the regular aircraft roped off to limit how close you can get, the Navy museum makes their aircraft much more accessible. It's really great to be able to get that close to so many historic aircraft, and I'm pleased to say that the museum attendees have done a great job of not abusing this great privilege.

 I'll have a post up before long with loads of pix, but for now I just wanted to be sure y'all knew that there was bacon at this meetup! (meatup? : )

Real people and real bacon at the 2014 AirPigz museum meetup!

AirPigz MeetUp At The Naval Aviation Museum - Blue Angels A-4 Formation (CoolPix)

(click pic for hi-res)  Blue Angels A-4's hanging in the Naval Aviation Museum atrium

 The AirPigz avgeek museum MeetUp for 2014 is under way in warm and sunny Pensacola Florida even tho there isn't all that much warmth or sun down here right now. Of course compared to the bitter cold and snow back home in Indiana, it's pretty awesome here. We started the meetup yesterday with five avgeeks (from all over the Midwest) checking out the collection of Navy aircraft ranging from the mammoth Curtiss NC-4 seaplane from 1919 all the way up to a full scale functional mockup of the X-47B.

 We're all keeping very busy with viewing the excellent aircraft displays and talking about airplanes in general... we're having a great time!

 The picture above is from Friday shortly after arriving at the museum and shows the Blue Angels A-4 Skyhawks that are hanging in the museum atrium. There's an elevated walkway that runs all the way the formation that gives you the opportunity to get such great views of this formation. The beauty and majesty of the Blue Angels sets the tone for a great time of soaking up Naval aviation history at the Naval Aviation Museum!

more pix and info to come

My Dad Bailed Out Of This Exact 'Navy Museum' N3N!

Navy N3N on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida (photo: NAM)

AirPigz Naval Avaition Musuem MeetUp January 24-26, 2014

Click here to be aded to the email list for more details

 UPDATE: 1-7-14...  I took advantage of the bitter cold yesterday to give my home office a deep cleaning, and in the process I found the old photograph of my dad actually leaving the N3N! I knew we had one that showed him off the wing but thought it was lost for good. It's posted below the 'climbing out' pic.
 

 My dad, who passed away in 2009, retired from 35 years at United Airlines in 1987, and while he did bail out of the exact Navy N3N pictured above, he was never even in the Navy. He spent two years in the Air Force after graduating high school in 1947, but the post-war military didn't need pilots, and he wanted to fly more than anything else. He did wind up getting hired by United in 1952 as a DC-3 co-pilot, which led to a very satisfied career as an airline pilot... but how does this N3N fit in?

 In the 1970's, this N3N was owned by a United 747 Captain named A. L. 'Ed' Prose. My dad was a 747 co-pilot at the time, and he and Ed flew the non-stop Chicago to Honolulu trip together many times. My dad had also been jumping out of airplanes for fun since the late 50's, and he eventually talked Ed into letting him make a jump from the N3N. The picture below was taken from our Citabria flying formation with Ed to get some pix of the jump. This was about 1977 over the Hinckley Illinois airport.

Circa 1977: my dad climbing out and then jumping from the N3N... just for fun!

 So, while my dad did 'bail out' of this N3N, the airplane still had it's very capable owner/pilot at the controls : )

 In 1979, Ed donated the N3N to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida where it was restored to Navy markings and put on display. My dad stopped by the museum many times to reminisce about the day that he, as a 747 co-pilot, made a jump from a 747 Captain's Navy N3N!

 I never made it to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, so this January 24-26, 2014 MeetUp will be my first time there. I know I'll really enjoy all the museum has to offer, but looking up at that N3N and rembering the day my dad made a jump from it will definitely be a highlight!

 Currently there's about 9 of us planning to meetup, but I'd love it if more were able to make the trip. Check out the basic post about the meetup and then click here to send an email for more info.

Join The AirPigz 'Naval Aviation Museum' MeetUp (Pensacola January 24-26, 2014)

Click the pic to check out the National Naval Aviation Museum website

AirPigz 'Naval Aviation Museum' MeetUp in Pensacola FL will take
place January 24-26, 2014 (Fri, Sat, Sun - come 1, 2 or all 3 days)

Click here to be aded to the email list for more details

 This is your official invitation to make a trip to sunny Pensacola Florida for the AirPigz Naval Aviation Museum MeetUp on January 24-26, 2014. You can join a handful of other avgeeks on any of the three days, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday... or all three if world-class aviation museums take you many days to truly experience, like they do for me!

 As we have done the last three years (the first two at the Air Force Museum and last year at the National Air & Space Museum) there's no charge to participate, but of course you need to cover your own transportation and accommodations. Museum admission is free and it's open every day from 9am to 5pm.

(click pic for 360 panorama!)  Naval Museum entrance with Blue Angels A-4 Skyhawks

 Click the link up above (or here) to get on the email update list for the details of the meetup. We'll communicate about accommodations, a basic daily schedule, and other details to help make your time there enjoyable. Typically about 15 people make the trip and everyone has a great time taking in the museum at their own pace and then gathering for dinner in the evening.

(click pic for 360 panorama!) Some of the diverse collection at the Naval Aviation Museum

 
 A quick and easy winter getaway to Pensacola is exactly what every avgeek needs, so get to making plans to join this 4th AirPigz museum meetup!

(note the happy avgeeks below from last year's event : )

Some of the group from the AirPigz Air & Space Museum MeetUp in January 2013