I have written of this place
once or
twice, Tuna wrote about
the place, even juvat chimed in recently on his and Mrs. juvat's tour of the Gulf Coast, sort of a there and back again
chronicle. Now Tuna has a direct personal connection, he was, after all, a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) and they do a lot of their initial training at NAS Pensacola.
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| Tuna in his old "office" |
My own connection isn't as direct, but it's definitely personal.
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Your Humble Scribe, The WSO, and The Missus Herself
On the occasion of The WSO's winging at NAS Pensacola, in the museum as it happens. |
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| Your Humble Scribe and a relative of an old friend |
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North American T-2 Buckeye, The WSO, and Your Humble Scribe
On the flightline at NAS Pensacola |
Anyhoo, that big bird up top, yes, the Coronado, is apparently the last of her kind. Yes, the National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola provides a home for the old girl. You really should chase that link under the photo if you haven't already. Tells the story of that particular airframe. We'll wait here until you're done.
See, I told you it would be interesting.
So the museum has a number of virtual tours of both the museum itself and a number of virtual cockpit tours as well.
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| View from the pilot's seat in the museum's Coronado |
With the Coronado, you can tour the entire aircraft! I did and it is pretty awesome. Before I give you the link to the tour, check this out...
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| When you're on the virtual tour, click the arrow in the circle (depicted above) to move to the next compartment of the aircraft |
During the tour, hold down the left mouse button (sorry cell phone commandos) or whatever the iPad has, to turn your virtual head in the direction you move your mouse. Left, right, up, down, it's all good. It's almost like being there.
Now go, enjoy, explore the rest of the museum while you're over there. I'll see you later.
Ciao.
The virtual tour of the PB2Y-5R starts
here.
Hey AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteWhohoo I'm first :) Seriously the Museum at Pensacola is my favorite Museum, I actually can walk up to and touch the airplanes...I have been there 2 times and am considering another trip especially since my Brother lives Near Destin and Pensacola is about an hour away. Did I mention that you can walk up and touch the airplanes?
First indeed!
DeleteTouch the aircraft, yes, yes you can!
Veeery nice posting Sarge, like that tour of the Coronado although moving the mouse too fast means vertigo time....aaaah! Interesting choice of colors in the VIP seating area.
ReplyDeleteYes, one does need to exercise care with the mouse movement.
DeleteWould be embarrassing to confess that one suffered motion sickness while sitting at a computer. At a desk. In a house. Not moving.
But hey, it can happen! DAMHIK
Ios has an app for those virtual tours. Cockpit 360 is the name. Quite a few airplanes are available. The app has an extremely high potential for wasting time. Use wisely!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know that. Works on iPads as well? (I'm not an Apple guy, not even a fan. But some folks love 'em, and I'm okay with that.)
DeleteYes, it works on iPads, that's my primary platform for it. Phone is just too small. That app, the kindle app, and Words by Post (Scrabble essentially) are the only apps on my iPad I use with any regularity. The books thing is why I carry it virtually everywhere. Other than that, I don't have much love for iOS either.
DeleteI don't really have any "love" for any operating system. Unix is perhaps the one I dislike least.
DeleteWhat a good looking group in that picture...except for the dude in the suit.
ReplyDeleteYeah, who is that? 😉
DeleteJK, you're only a little out of your league.
ReplyDeleteA little? Sir, you are far too kind.😂
DeleteThe photo with you and The WSO demonstrates why I don't wear shorts. That's a WHOLE new shade of White right there!
ReplyDelete#palenortherneuropean
DeleteAh well, I don't tan, I burn. I'm not pretty, just practical.
Sarge has a deep tan compared to me. You must have been wearing sunglasses when I visited.
DeleteHahaha!
DeleteFond memories of the NAS museum! I was a wee O-3 at Maxwell AFB (pronounced Maxell, don’t you know) in1980, and called Pensacola Base Ops to get a PPR (prior permission required) to fly an Aero Club Cherokee down there for the stated purpose of visiting the museum. I took care to tell the NCO with whom I spoke that although I was an AF “Captain”, in Navy terms, I was a mere lieutenant, not an esteemed O-6. On the fateful day, the weather was clear and smooth and the venerable Cherokee trundled there without a flaw. Imagine my surprise when I was directed to taxi to the ramp door of Base Ops, where upon a Seaman Apprentice (E-2) standing at attention next to blue K car replete with an empty flag stand saluted, and proceeded to unroll a red carpet to rear of the right wing root. Apparently the NAS commander had gotten wind of my unworthy visit and arranged for me to have use of the car and driver for the day! Wow! I thought at first they’d gotten the rank structure confused, but no, the driver said he was told it was an O-3 “Captain”, and that it was being provided courtesy of the Base Commander, a “real” Captain as I recall. What a class act! It made me wish I’d gone Navy instead of USAF, until I remembered I really didn’t like the idea of 6 month carrier cruises with just me and 5K other dudes. I’m also former USMC enlisted, so I knew what that was about. Still, fond memory.
ReplyDeleteYup, Air Force carriers, like Okinawa and Guam, don't move. They don't pitch, roll, or yaw. And you can bring your family aboard. One of the reasons I went Air Force instead of Navy.
DeleteGreat story Rib.
What a great family! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI got lost inside the PB2Y. I just sat down for a minute in first class, back there, someone brought me a drink, and it took ten minutes to get back to the front end so I could complete the flight. Amazing complexity on display. The strangest thing for me is that the throttles seemed to be controlled in some way by the engineer. I know that is a common feature in these kinds of aircraft. I'll have to find out more about it.
Thanks Dave. They all tolerate me pretty well. 😉
DeleteWeird. I'm in Pensacola today. I'm hoping to get to the museum on this trip. Nice timing sarge!!
ReplyDeleteGreat timing! We do expect an AAR you understand?
DeleteOkay, so I saw the Pee Relief Tube (with funnel) and the washstand, but... where does one go dookey? Yes, bathrooms have always been important to me (one of the many reasons that, though the military would have been good for me, I would not have been good for the military. I mean, could you imagine stopping a tank assault so one guy could spend 20-30 minutes squeezing one out?)
ReplyDeleteOther than that, an amazing plane. The sheer interior volume is amazing. Easy for the crew to move around in, a decent galley, bunking, even an anchor locker. Flying Boats really are fascinating, and still, as Japan shows, a useful tool in the arsenal of freedom. We lost a lot by getting rid of any flying boats. (there are some things FBs can do that helos just can't, like range and carrying large numbers of people.)
Good choice. Now, as someone else mentioned, I think I'll go throw up from motion sickness from mousing too quickly. :)
No waiting, you go in your trousers and then take sh!t from the rest of the crew.
DeleteI should have put a "mouse slowly" warning up. 😁
In my day one prepared oneself from the "low residue menu". I have forgotten where we went - something like Hawaii to Wake Island to Korat. Never felt the urge.
DeleteSarge, please get control of this blog.
We do get overly scatological at times.
DeleteI'll have to check my logbook, but I 'think' I flew 808 when I went through VT-10 in 82... sigh
ReplyDeleteI have a VT-10 patch from The WSO, it's an awesome patch. She did a number of hops in 808. Small world! Let us know if you flew 808!
DeleteWe did the Blue Angels and the Museum Labor Day week. It's my favorite Museum bar none (been to MOMA, Louvre, Natural History etc). I have at least 1000 images from their and have my daily coffee ration in a mug that say's "I Love the Smell of Jet Fuel in the Morning."
ReplyDeleteSpin
It's my favorite as well, I need to get back down there.
DeleteNow, Now, Now, Sarge. You haven't visited Dayton yet. Many more airplanes...but you don't get to fondle them.
DeleteI get that, but my daughter was winged in the museum at Pensacola. And that makes all the difference.
DeleteI knew that rodents were a problem down south, but the mice ate an entire P&W R1830?
ReplyDeleteTwo of 'em! (Apparently they only like the inboard engines.)
DeleteHow like them!
ReplyDelete😂
DeleteMy wife's maternal grandfather started out the war flying OS2U Kingfishers and ended it flying Coronados. That was the best part of the museum for her.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty awesome!
Delete