I still haven’t learned how our city managed to lose the World War II airplane museum to V. B. but it is a definite and expensive loss. I finally got down there, spent two hours with a volunteer guide to see a first class operation. So far a beautiful entrance center, click on the actual picture, two large hangers displaying the planes, and three more planned. These beauties have been restored to mint condition, most of them can actually fly, and they have their own landing strip. They entertain large groups of people interested in flying and old restored planes. Being a World War II VET I get in free and am familiar with most of the aircraft that include, American, British, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and even one of Hitler’s buzz bombs that failed to explode when it dived into a pile of dirt. This museum beats anything we have in Suffolk to draw tourists. We still have the Fighter Factory at our airport where the planes are restored but museum officials say we are about to lose that. It will soon be part of the V.B. museum complex and an even bigger moneymaker. No matter your branch of the military, you will find a plane you remember. You and your kids will be awed. Old pilots will be brought to tears.
3 comments:
According to the owner of the Fighter Factory (Jerry Yagen), a new main hanger/show space was constructed in VB to capture the tourist activity from the nearby resort strip. Trying to convince tourists to leave VB, go through Norfolk, through Portsmouth, through Chesapeake to get to the Suffolk Airport was deemed to be too difficult to get the numbers of tourists from the resort stip they are looking for.
It was much easier to say; just go to southern VB (Pungo area) to see the fighter factory. hence the new facility was built in VB
I remember in upstate New York is the Rheinbeck Aerodrome. Arguably the best vintage air show in the country. Aircraft pre-dating WW1 throught the late 1918 are on display and most participate in the daily airshow. Families by the hundreds would come and make a day of it. Too bad we never had the chance to have a unique tourist destination. It sounds like we never will have much of anything, not even the Nansemond Village in Chuckatuck.
The Anonymous statement dated April 26, 2010 4:17 PM is totaly false. The original plan was to have the Fighter Factory in Suffolk, near the Red-Apple on RT-13 and the end of Runway 15/33. The first building went up and then Gerald tried to get the city to allow further development of his facility, only to get hit with a big yawn from the City and Airport Manager (Mr. Love). After some attempts to get it done here in Suffolk to no avail, Gerald was introduced to Roger Obendorf (husband of Mayor Myria) and the Pungo Plan was proposed. After the then City Manager found this out, the City of Suffolk got interested and tried hard to convince Mr. Yeagan to change his mind and stay in Suffolk. But, he realized that he would always be beating his head against a brick wall with these folks in our little thinking city and he decided to take his leave of Suffolk for better fields in Pungo-VB. Once again the shallow thinking of Suffolk officialdom played a bit-part in losing the deal, again. So don't sugar coat it, tell the truth about how it really happened and why the best tourisum attraction Suffolk will ever see, was founded in Suffolk only to be lost forever to the "Suffolk-Way" of doing things! This was a real loss that will not be changed by revisions to history, no matter how hard some would like it to be so!
Roger A. Leonard
Mr. Yeagan's Hangar neighbor...
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