Visit to the NAS Patuxent River Aviation Museum

Yesterday, I decided to swing by the NAS Patuxent River Aviation Museum, a small roadside collection of 20-odd aircraft that just so happens to include both the X-35C AND the X-32B.

And unlike their counterparts at the Smithsonian or at Wright-Pat, PAX lets you poke all over and around their outdoor collection (as much as any air museum will let you).

Since everybody else here has been in the photo album business, I figured that I would throw my hat in the game as well.

It helps if you load the pictures right.

Nice pics though.

ETA: Oh sure, fix them after I go to all the trouble of getting them to load the hard way. I see how it is.

a reply to: Barnalby

Great thread! Looks like a cool place to go see some serious machinery. S and F!

a reply to: Barnalby

Nice photos!!!

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yeah, that tends to help...

But now, the good stuff:

First, their F/A-18


Here's an up-close view of some state-of-the-art Carter-era supersonic inlet design




Now, their F-14






My favorite view of an F-4




Their RA-5 Vigilante, I've always had a major soft spot for this plane




The main gear retraction mechanism is like a miniature version of the XB-70's


Now, the X-32B

What you can't see is that the entire bottom half of the aircraft was covered in ablative paint, and pretty much the entire underside of the aircraft had extensive heat damage to the paint.

This, I'll reckon is about as close as you'll ever get (as a civilian) to a 2D thrust vectoring F119 nozzle without getting shot by the MP's for getting too close to the F-22.

Peering inside, there wasn't much to see, though it appears that the X-32B still has its engine in place. Lots of cool details though.

Here's the main gear well:

Note the composite wing monocoque that everything, main gear included, bolted onto. This concept was extremely ambitious (and still sounds pretty crazy today), and the constant unresolved issues with weight and durability are a big part of what cost Boeing the competition. Also, note the APU exhaust, as both prototypes tested aerodynamics only, and both seemed to have had their APU's haphazardly stuffed into the space that would be used for internal weapons bays on the production model.


This "MechEng 101"-grade fabricated aluminum endcap for the composite wing structure is presumably there to cover the attachment point for the wingtips that the supersonic X-32A had. The X-32B was a subsonic-only demonstrator to prove the direct lift concept.

I wish they had left the direct lift system exhaust doors open so you could see the twin Harrier-style vectoring exhaust nozzles.

More X-35C








And here's some stuff for the rotorwing afficianados:








More of the Sea Knight:








And more of the Seasprite:



Typical Kaman weirdness, this has to be the strangest main gear setup that I have ever seen on a helo. Note that the tires are solid rubber and use this strange forward swinging suspension system.


More Kaman weirdness. Check out those servo flaps!

And to round it out, here's some assorted ordinance:

a reply to: Barnalby

Wow, nice shots!👍🏽

a reply to: Barnalby

Great pics. That's going to be one of the last F-14s remaining. Only military museums will have them soon, as the Boneyard is going to destroy all of them left there (not that there are many left).

a reply to: Zaphod58

Ugh.

I wonder if this could lead to a shuffling among collections to try and get as many Tomcats as possible onto military property (and as many in the Boneyard as possible into museum collections). Too bad most air museums are USAF-run.

a reply to: Quantum12

Yes nice shots indeed. I was able to enlarge the images and not lose the resolution. Made reading the signs easier. 😊👍

OP... Barnalby 😊. You need to cross state lines and head to Latrobe PA. The F-22 Demonstration Team is showing off this weekend. And yes there's an airshow. Not knocking Canada, but The Snowbirds are the main show this year.

Here's a link.

www.palmerairport.com...

Not to brag😆. But I got a photo of a VA 122/ F-18 Super Hornet pushing the sound barrier creating the nose Vapors👍. Worse yet I can't find it since that computer fried😭😭😭😭
It was at the very last airshow presented by the 911th airwing here in Pittsburgh 😔. Shot from the Airport Fire dept. The fire chief in Latrobe has given out free tickets to us ever since. Past AARF included.

Non the less, great thread👌👏👍🍻

a reply to: Zaphod58

There's at least one at Dulles. I got a photo. Well at least Iran can't buy them up.

a reply to: Bigburgh
The photos were really clear. Amazing. Hope all is well!

a reply to: Quantum12

Yes indeed those photos were crystal clear and much appreciated. All is good here. 😊
And same to you good sir😉

a reply to: Barnalby

Makes me wonder if the Boeing Museum of Flight will get to keep the one they have. It's on loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola.

Nice pics, Ive always been a bit of a A-5 fan too, its just so sleek and sexy looking, and I forgot all about the Seasprite, I`d forgotten what it was called until you mentioned it.

a reply to: Sammamishman

I think shes is there to stay, I visit Pensacola every now and then and always stop by and its been there the last couple of times. There is also one at the USS Alabama memorial park in Mobile Al, also worth the trip to see the SR-71 there too.

www.ussalabama.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

I'd thought they'd scrapped all them that weren't donated already. There's a nice example outside Tobbyhanna Army Depot; which is very secure facility, that you can see by driving up to the main gate. If I remember correctly they'll allow you to park and look at it.
F-14 Tobbyhanna

Love the Vigilante pics OP. Can never have enough appreciation for that one. Really ahead of it's time. There's a good example on the Yorktown in Charleston. Lots of great birds on that old flat top. The X-35c looks so fragile compared to the production version.

a reply to: Caughtlurking

There are still a few in the Boneyard but they're down to the last ones now.

I like the shots of the Vigi (Vigilante) and the Boeing X-32 (the flying bathtub). I don't care what anyone says, 'Monica' was an interesting approach to the JSF competition.

The X-32 had an immensely powerful engine. This was needed because of its Direct Lift approach to STOVL. Apparently, the engine variant made 34,000 lbs of dry thrust and a staggering 52,000 lbs of thrust in full afterburner, making it the most powerful engine ever fitted to a fighter.

'Here's an up-close view of some state-of-the-art Carter-era supersonic inlet design '

YouTube (particularly CF-18s from RCAF) making high-speed passes. The engine/inlet literally produce a 'zoooooooom' sound, with a wind-up. Easily one of the coolest-sounding military aircraft.

a reply to: Barnalby

Kaman weirdness? I had a chance to fly a Kaman HH-43 while at Bien Hoa AFB in 1972. It had servo flaps and must say that I was impressed. It had no hydraulics to boost the controls like the Bell products. I think the SH-2 SeaSprite was the same. That should be a desirable feature for a helicopter that hovers for long periods of time while looking for subs.