World's largest, oldest aviation museum preserves history

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • Air Force News Agency
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  Skilled artisans at the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, work diligently to return aircraft to their original form with no embellishments.

"We are here to preserve history," said Dave Lazzarine, the Collection Management Division supervisor. "We are not trying to falsify anything. We want to duplicate things to be exactly like what they were."

Unfortunately, many of the aircraft have not survived the passage of time gracefully. Decades of sun and the elements dull paint and cause corrosion and rust. Wood rots and parts are broken and never replaced.

One of these aircraft is the famous World War II B-17 "Memphis Belle" bomber. Exposure to the elements and rampant vandalism at its former location in Memphis, Tenn. has reduced the bomber to a shadow of its former self. After the Collection Management Division returns the war bird to its former glory, it will join the museum's public display of legendary aircraft.

Currently, more than a million people a year visit the museum and are treated to the sight of 400 aircraft and aerospace vehicles that are in pristine condition. The museum is the world's largest and oldest aviation museum and has more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. It has 96 employees and 475 volunteers.

The Collection Management Division works with aviation artifacts ranging from World War I fabric-covered aircraft to elite modern fighters. The 21 craftsmen in the group use their expertise in machine and woodworking, sheet metal, painting and a variety of other techniques to revitalize the aircraft that will be displayed at the museum.

Each renovation job is unique, Mr. Lazzarine said. Aircraft come into the shop with problems ranging from vandalism to being submerged in water.

The first step is to assess the damage to the aircraft, he said. After that, the Collection Management Division works closely with the museum's Research Division to determine the original specifications of the aircraft and its parts.

A major challenge they face is not enough information, Mr. Lazzarine said. It is at that point that the skilled workers at the division step up and create something from nothing.

"Sometimes all you have is a photograph and you are trying to resurrect the dead from it," he said. "We have very talented people on our floor that can do anything that is put in front of them."

The level of talent required takes years to develope. The job demands that workers have a jack-of-all-trades mentality and are skilled in a variety of areas.

One of those talented people is restoration specialist Robert Anderson, who has worked at the division for eight years and specializes in sheet metal. He said that he enjoys seeing visitors at the museum look at the aircraft that he has worked on.

"You see the kids looking up in awe and people asking how you did it and it gives you a good feeling," he said. "It makes all the work we put in worth it."

The hours of meticulous labor put into restoration projects such as the "Memphis Belle," are numerous. The project, started in 2005, is expected to take up to 10 years to complete. 

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