Cockpit instrument panel of the C-123 –K Provider
[photo: Jim Lawrence, 1989]
We drove to Salt Lake City in August to see Bob’s son and family and on
the way we stopped at the Hill Air Force Base Museum near Ogden, Utah. It
was very hot the day we visited and many of the planes were on display
outside so I needed to go inside to get out of the heat more often than
Bob but we still managed to see almost everything and take a few
pictures.
Small section of the museum interior
The museum is part of the United States Air Force
Heritage Program founded in 1981. The current site of this museum dates
from 1991 and has over 90 aircraft from around the world on display as
well as other items of historical interest. The museum has a monster B-52 bomber, guided missiles and a full-sized reproduction of the Wright Brothers first aircraft. The displays are arranged
in five different groups: the Beginnings of Flight, World War II, Dawn
of the Jet Age, The Cold War, and Keeping the Peace. The museum also
has a hands-on Learning Center where visitors of just about any age can
try a flight simulator and learn or experiment with a variety of
aviation related things such as propulsion methods, gyroscopes,
centrifugal force and others.
Reproduced Wright Brothers aircraft
The postcard this week was found in
the museum gift shop and shows the cockpit of the American military
transport aircraft C-123. A military transport both the U.S. Air Force
and the Coast Guard used this plane for search and rescue missions. It
was also used during the Vietnam War to move equipment and men. It
sits low to the ground and had the advantage of being able to take off
and land on rough ground and short fields. The plane is huge and has a
ramp so vehicles can be driven into it. It was used to transport
President John F. Kennedy’s limousine during the Texas tour in 1963.
The photograph on the card is attributed to Jim Lawrence and dated
1989.
Each of the planes in the outdoor display had these information placards
Two views of the C-123
Bob is the airplane enthusiast but once outside and walking around I admit to being impressed with the size of this plane. The control panel shown on the card was a bonus since we could not go inside the plane. It was great fun to find the postcard.
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