Museum Volunteers will also be on hand to answer questions and provide the historical back drop for the aircraft featured. It was a few months before the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing The Gunfighters deactivated at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, and my squadron moved a few hundred miles up the road to Udorn Royal Thai Air Base. Kids 5 and under get in free, as do active military with ID and their immediate family.In addition the Buddy Rogers Theater will play documentaries featuring that particular aircraft all day long. My first combat mission in the F-4E Phantom took place in late summer of 1972.

July 5th: Supermarine Spitfire MK XIV July 12th : UH-1 Huey Helicopter July 19th: Mig 21 Jet Fighter July 26th : SBD Dauntless Aug 2nd: AH-1 Cobra Helicopter Aug 9th : P-40 Warhawk Aug 16th: UH-1 Huey Helicopter Aug 23th : F-4 Phantom II Aug 30th: Supermarine Spitfire MK XIV Sept 6th: AH-1 Cobra Helicopter Sept 13th: P-40 Warhawk Sept 20th: Mig 21 Jet Fighter Sept 27th: SBD Dauntles From 1PM -3PM each Saturday all summer long, a selected aircraft will be opened up and made accessible to the public. Wayne was a modest man with an outstanding career and now this plane has his name on the fuselage.”Īs part of a yearly program the “Open Cockpit” program will also give guests the opportunity to enjoy an extra special experience of being allowed to sit at the controls and pose for pictures. This type of approach often leads to a piecemeal cockpit layout, where all the. Naval Commander Wayne “Deacon” Connel was not only the captain of a squadron that actually flew this type of jet during the Vietnam War, he was a volunteer docent in the museum’s Pacific Hanger.Upon his passing, Connel’s squadron alumnae came together to raise money to cosmetically restore this particular F4 Phantom II.Īccording to Ann Greer, PR manager the Palm Springs Air Museum, “When the VF161 Squadron said they wanted to honor their former Commander by donating the money to fully repaint the plane with the markings, lettering, and numbers to reflect their squadron, we could not have picked a better person than one of our own volunteers. He can keep a watch for enemy aircraft and work the radar, as in the F-4. Navy, this particular Phantom fighter jet will not fly (the engine has been removed), but it has special significance to the museum. Saturday, Jun 28- From 1 – 3 PM, Aviation enthusiast will have the opportunity to sit behind the controls of the F-4 Phantom II as the Palm Springs Air Museum hosts its traditional “Open Cockpit” event.Currently on loan from the U.S. Early in 1983, the Thunderbirds reinstituted their traditional role of. The T-38 was more fuel-efficient and less costly to maintain than the larger F-4. In 1974, the Thunderbirds converted to the T-38 Talon, the world's first supersonic trainer. Photo Courtesy of Palm Springs Air Museum From 1969 to 1973, the Thunderbirds flew the Air Force's front-line fighter, the F-4E Phantom.

F4 phantom cockpit tour