Stop by and see me sometime....

Heritage Flight Museum

4165 Mitchell Way
Bellingham, WA 98226
(360) 733-4422

The Black Knights of Bellingham

On 19 July the Heritage Flight Museum was privileged to host a reunion of the 57th Fighter (Interceptor) Squadron.

Boy, were they in for a surprise....







Bill addressed these warriors, thanking his comrades in arms for their service to their country during a difficult time.










A toast was made to fallen comrades.











Old friendships were renewed and new ones were made.



Former F-89 pilot Lt. Col. Dick Rutan flew up in his newly painted Berkut.




General Anders asked his guests to turn to face the hangar door, and to the sound of the Star Spangled Banner...


the door was slowly raised to reveal an old friend.





















Bill introduced JR and Hal, and thanked them for their efforts in the recovery and restoration.






A few of the recovery team members were there (Steve, Einar, JR, Hal, Bill, and Lyle took the photo.)





JR talked recovering the Scorpion in the harsh weather.





Cold Warriors reunited in the warm Bellingham sun.




















Allegiant Airlines very graciously loaned the museum some boarding stairs for the reunion.





And these gents made full use of them.







For many it was the first time in a F-89 cockpit in over 40 years!





















































































Museum volunteer Einar (2nd from left) grew up in Iceland when the 57th FIS was there!



























Bill and Valerie Anders



























Generations apart, fighter pilots forever.
































Alan Anders explains to Bill that he's read the Dash-1 and is ready for his checkout.













Bill gives his official thumbs up of approval.









ALL RIGHT JR, NOW LET'S FIND SOME ENGINES!!

Rollout

Rollout





Time to give our Scorpion some sunshine.










The cockpits look even better in the daylight.






Alan Anders checked out the cockpit in his dad's first mount.








Take a look for yourself. Rear cockpit




Front cockpit.



Now let's protect the work.













With JR on the forklift, Erika and Hal eased the canopy into place.














And Einar, Hal and JR checked the operation.









Harley made sure the way was clear when we got the tip tanks out of storage.









And with them reattached it was time for some cleanup.







"Your nose is bigger. "No, yours is."








Cold Warrior in the sunshine.










We've still got a bit of work to do to her. Sorry, you can't see her just yet.

Have a seat!

An unmarked door of an anonymous hangar at the Bellingham Airport is guarded from squirrels by a viscous dog. Inside, a team works to restore a rare F-89 Scorpion.













Yes, this is the original rear cockpit blast screen. Lots of elbow grease made it good as new.






The radome looks good as new.











And how about that front cockpit?














But today was a big day. First the Radar Observer's ejection seat dropped in.







Hal and Einar took a minute to plan the installation of the front seat.














Ready, Einar??

















And they were all smiles after it dropped into place.










































Einar took a moment to contemplate what it must have been like to be a twenty-something 2nd Lt. with two live nuclear weapons under the wing, ready to defend the United States.






The F-89 now has both seats in her.









Hal fitted the restored grip to the pilot's joystick.











Safety First!!! The original trigger safety is attached to the restored grip.