Crazy things are going on Minnesota U.S people. Museum volunteers at Minnesota Air National Guard Museum spent a total of 3,500 hours restoring Lockheed A-12 article 128. But now the US Air Force demand its display outside the Virginia headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Because of the non-profit museums hard work, it is the best example on display, and clearly the cheapest way for the Air Force Programs and Legislative Division to get an A-12 for the CIA headquarters.
Although hustled away itself from the US Air Force in the back of a borrowed national guard C-5 by Jim Goodhall, it is very unfair to just demand it back from them when other examples need TLC and have more operational history than article 128.
Langley should have a commemorative display A-12 but not this way! It might even get stuck on a damn pole next to their in house starbucks! 😀
http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/press_room/e-zine/articles/index.php?item=292
By: michelf - 8th February 2007 at 15:41
The USAFNM ‘owns’ all of the A-12/M-21/YF-12/SR-71 airframes.
It ‘loans’ them to museums as ‘it’ sees fit, not as the loanees see fit. the loanees accept the offer, with all the conditions inherent therein or they do not.
All costs which result from that acceptance are the loanes’ responsibility, not that of the USAFNM.
They figure, somewhat arrogantly perhaps, that the attraction the airframes exterts on visitor numbers is not insignificant and hence can impose this condition on museums.
The museums are also well aware that if the USAFNM requires the return of an artefact they have no recourse but to return it.. irrespective of the cost of removing it from display or the diminishing of the attraction.
In this case its a real shame as there is an A-12 which is no longer on display at the moment and whose home is arguably completely inappropriate for an A-12. that one of course is 60- 6925, the first production article whose normal home is the deck of USS Intrepid.
It would possibly do less harm to the Intrepid offer, perhaps offset with the loan of a few more Navy jets, than the removal of the ‘Goodall’ article, which as we know is probably the best one out there from the museum there.
By: wv838 - 8th February 2007 at 09:01
Things like this make me so [expletive] angry that mere words fail to convey how I feel. If they really really wanted this a/c there were far better ways of obtaining it.
Roy.
By: Arabella-Cox - 7th February 2007 at 17:59
It seems to be a worrying turn when the USAF starts removing aircraft from collections just to place them in more PC locations not just the blackbird but Mysteres and some F100’s as well.
Although the A12 was a CIA aircraft to start with maybe they just wanted one to remember the good old days when they could blow $100 millions on a recon aircraft.
Saying that is there still 2 blackbirds at Palmdale ?
curlyboy
By: Fouga23 - 7th February 2007 at 10:11
It’s allready gone:(
By: Arabella-Cox - 7th February 2007 at 05:03
They should send it to them in very small boxes with every nut and bolt in a seperate plastic bag and just a few minor but structurally important parts sent via Venezuala…. :dev2:
By: contrailjj - 7th February 2007 at 02:47
Best of luck to the MNANG Museum… sounds like typical political lunacy – why do for yourself what someone has already done and you can take away.
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February 7, 2007 at 1:49 am