Mon, Aug 17, 2009
Plane Was Moved Intact To The Prairie Aviation Museum
After a nearly two year delay due to construction of an
interstate highway, state police and other authorities Sunday
escorted an F-100 Super Sabre nearly 50 miles from Chanute Air
Museum in Rantoul, IL to its new home at Prairie Aviation museum in
Bloomington, IL.
F-100 Super Sabre File Photo
The early morning move was done with the airplane intact, which
is unusual for such a transfer. The Pantagraph of Bloomington
reports that the aircraft's 39 foot wingspan spread across the
entire westbound lane of the town's Empire Street as it made its
way to its new home.
The airplane was to have been returned to Wright Patterson Air
Force Base as surplus, but a year and a half ago,when the
Bloomington museum learned it was to be shipped out of state, it
made the request for the transfer. Construction on I74 along the
route between the two museums delayed the move by 18 months. "This
is part of our nation's aviation history," John Ohler, restoration
coordinator for the Bloomington museum told the Pantagraph. "We
wanted to salvage it," he said. "If we hadn't found a home for it,
it would have been scrapped."
F-100 Super Sabre File Photo
The F-100C Super Sabre was the first jet fighter to break the
sound barrier in level flight. The F-100 series served in the U.S.
Air Force and National Guard units from 1954 to their full
retirement by 1979.
The Super Sabre was the widest load ever permitted for transport
on Illinois roads, according to the DOT. It is now on permanent
loan from the U.S. Air Force to the museum.
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