Restoration will continue for aircraft in new homes 
SEATTLE, Sept. 17, 2010--The Museum of Flight will move three iconic airplanes in its collection from their long-time restoration home at Boeing's Plant 2 on Saturday, September 18.

 

The planes include the Lockheed Constellation Super G, the Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. All of the planes have been undergoing restoration at Plant 2, but are being relocated as Boeing has made plans to demolish the historic airplane fabrication plant.

 

The 1954 Lockheed Constellation Super G, which arrived at The Museum of Flight's restoration facility at Plant 2 in September of 2009, will be relocated to the museum's Airpark on the east side of East Marginal Way. There, it will be on display, alongside such visitor favorites as the first jet Air Force One, the British Airways Concorde, and the prototype 747.

 

The B-17F - nicknamed the "Boeing Bee" - originally rolled out of Plant 2 on February 13, 1943, served in the European Theater in WWII, and spent time as a trainer, war memorial, aerial sprayer, fire fighter, tanker and movie star, having appeared in the motion picture Memphis Belle. It became part of the museum's collection in August 1990 and, now fully restored, is currently the only flyable B-17F in the world.   

 

The 1945 B-29, known as T-Square 54, fought in the Pacific during WWII, flying 37 bombing missions with the 875th Bomb Squadron, 498th Bomb Group. It was later converted to an aerial refueling tanker for the Korean Conflict and was loaned to the museum by the National Museum of the United States Air Force in May 1993.

 

The move of these airplanes is particularly notable as it will be the last time a B-17 will leave the Plant 2 factory, where 6,981 of the war-changing planes were assembled during WWII. During the war, the plant employed as many as 30,000 people to turn out as many as 362 bombers a month. 

The building was deemed to be so vital to the World War II manufacturing effort that to foil possible enemy bombing raids the roof was camouflaged with life-size fake trees, houses and streets.
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The non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest independent air and space museums in the world. The Museum's collection includes more than 150 historically significant air- and spacecraft, as well as the William E. Boeing Red Barn® - the original manufacturing facility of the Boeing Co. The J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing displays 28 World War I and World War II aircraft from the United States and other countries including Germany, Russia, and Japan. Over 30 aircraft representing the first century of aviation are displayed in the all-glass T.A. Wilson Great Gallery. The evolution of space flight and a look into the future are presented in the exhibit, Space: Exploring the New Frontier. The Airpark includes outdoor displays including the first jet Air Force One, a supersonic Concorde airliner and the prototype Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Interactive displays in The Flight Zone provide educational and entertaining activities for young children. The Museum's aeronautical library and archival holdings are the largest on the West Coast. More than 140,000 students are served annually by the Museum's on-site and outreach educational programs--the most extensive museum-based youth aviation and space education program in the country. The Museum is the only air and space museum in Washington State that is both nationally accredited with the American Association of Museums and a Smithsonian affiliate.
 
The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field half-way between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors 65 and older, $10 for active military, $8 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Group rates are available. Admission on the first Thursday of the month is free from 5 to 9 p.m. courtesy of Wells Fargo. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org.
Mike Bush
Director of Marketing and PR
 253-307-3225
 
Tara Cashman
Marketing and Promotions Coordinator
206-768-7128