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The F-89 was constructed in 1949 by the Northrop Aircraft Company. It was modified to an F-89A and then taken into Strength/Charge with the U.S. Air Force in January 1951. In March 1951, the new jet was transferred to the 2750th Test and Evaluation Group in Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. Here it was converted to an EF-89A and used as a testbed for the Martin D-1 four-gun swiveling turret. The entire nose section rotated as a unit, while the guns traversed through 105 degrees from the forward-facing position. The system was not adopted for production F-89s.
In November 1951, the jet returned to Northrop to be the very first jet converted to an F-89B model.
Then, in December 1951, she was transferred back to Wright-Patterson for more testing.
After the jets' testing career ended, it was transferred to the USAF 4750th Air Defense Squadron, Vincent AFB, Arizona. It has markings applied of FV-434, 92434.
After a long service career with the air defense squadron, she was retired in August 1955 to the USAF Airman Heritage Museum, Kelly Field (formerly Kelly AFB), San Antonio, Texas.
Today, this F-89B is the oldest surviving Scorpion on display at the Texas Air Museum - Stinson Chapter. However, we need your kind donations to bring her back to her full, colorful glory.
What we need:
1. Manufacture custom wing supports to hold the wings (they weigh 4,000 lbs. each) to the fuselage while cleaning, repairing, and installing all the mounting hardware. $900.00
2. Manufacture missing panels and manufacture the missing nose assembly (the Air Force keeps the experimental gun nose assembly). $1,500.00
2. Clean, recondition, and repair the nose and main landing gear assemblies. We have the main landing gear tires, but no nose wheel. $800.00
3. Manufacture custom wheel stands to keep the aircraft off the ground. $600.00
4. Rent a crane to lift the aircraft onto the new display stands. $1,200.00
5. Lastly, we need funds for a complete paint application. (est.) $12,000.00
6. Total needed: $ 17,000.00
You can scan our QR code or visit:
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SRFUMABJ7MEKE
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