For the Love of Aviation

The National Naval Aviation Museum is a place that brings together different people who have one thing in common: a love of aviation.

Located at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida, the museum has a flight simulator that depicts a jet fighter swooping into battle during the first Iraq war, a seven-story atrium that features a collection of Blue Angels jets hanging from the ceiling, an IMAX theater that shows a film about the acrobatic fliers, and a café that is a recreation of the Cubi Point officer's club in the Philippines.

However, the main attractions of the National Naval Aviation Museum, which opened in 1963 and has been expanded three times, are its restored aircraft. Among them is the Navy's S-3B Viking that President Bush flew when he landed on the carrier Abraham Lincoln and made his "Mission Accomplished" speech about the Iraq war.

The PB2Y Coronado, the first US plane that landed in Tokyo after World War II, is the latest restoration project of the museum. Restorations are undertaken by mostly volunteers composing of hundreds of military retirees.

The volunteers often draw on their own military experience to make the restorations authentic. Thousands of hours in labor are contributed each year to the museum, making the volunteer program a model for other museums.

Former Navy pilot Mort Eckhouse, 79, has logged thousands of volunteer hours over almost 20 years of working in the restoration area's machine shop. He meticulously recreates rusted and broken aircraft parts on donated 1950s era milling machines. His work is then tested whenever a pilot or crew member of a restored aircraft sees the finished product in the museum.

"It's a wonderful moment when the guy who actually flew the plane comes and checks it out," said Eckhouse. "We try to restore them as close to the factory specs as we can."

Volunteer Jeff Peyronnin, 62, who served in the Coast Guard, has spent the last two years working on the Coronado's tail section.

"Every time you mess with it you feel like you are touching history," he said. "I like to picture this old lady at Tokyo Bay."

World War II veteran Les Schnyder, 82, has logged more than 18,000 hours as a volunteer. His specialty is restoring the blimplike airships that escorted convoys in WWII, and many of his restoration projects are already on display inside the museum.

Some of the planes were brought back to life after being pulled from the water years later, including an early World War II era Brewster Buccaneer that was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked. It later flew in the Battle of Midway before becoming a training aircraft for pilots practicing carrier landings in Lake Michigan, where it sank after a crash. It was only salvaged from the lake six decades later.

Wally Farrand, after 22 years in the Navy, now restores the museum's vintage aircraft engines, including the Brewster's. He joked that his best work is never seen by visitors because it is inside the aircraft.

"But everything I do here, I just love it," he said.

And it is that kind of tireless dedication from the volunteers that keeps the museum running smoothly.

For operation hours, activities and other information about the National Naval Aviation Museum, visit www.navalaviationmuseum.org. Find more at Community Warplanes.