It will take at least another year for a decommissioned Taiwanese Lockheed F-104G Starfighter sent to the US Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum in Hillsboro, Oregon, in 2006 to take to the skies again.
Unlike most museums that display aircraft models, the nonprofit museum is dedicated to repairing classic military aircraft and emphasizes “dynamic preservation,” which includes restoration.
The museum has restored a MiG-17 fighter, and when the F-104G Starfighter from Taiwan was transported to the US amid great fanfare in 2006, the hope was it would be ready to take off in 2008.
Photo: CNA
However, despite investing more than 1,500 hours in fixing the plane, another 12 to 18 months will be needed before the plane can fly again, museum director Doug Donkel said. It will also have to get permission from the US Federal Aviation Association before resuming flights, he said.
Repairs on the plane are about 90 to 95 percent completed, museum founder Roger Kelsay said.
The aircraft’s hydraulic system, electric power system and landing gear were all overhauled. The restoration project has been hindered by a lack of certain critical components. The museum has not been able to acquire afterburners from Taiwan’s air force and is having difficulty finding experienced maintenance people.
“Our [hope is] that maybe President Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] can support us on this project, too, to help us get the remaining components that we need to get this thing flying,” Kelsay said. “It is hard to find knowledgeable people that know a lot about the F-104.”
“We have a gentleman from Taiwan that’s come over and helped us several times and we’re hoping to get him back again,” he said.
A retired sergeant major from the Taiwanese air force has been assisting with the museum’s F-104G repairs over the past few years, often spending two to six months in Oregon at a time.
Rebuilding planes does not come cheaply. The museum has had to procure aircraft components from around the world and between the US$15,000 that a generator can cost and high freight expenses, the bills add up.
So how much has been spent on the F-104G project?
“More than I want to tell,” Kelsay said with a laugh.
Although restoring planes is an expensive hobby, Kelsay, a retired US Air Force pilot with a special affinity for Starfighters, says preserving aircraft is his passion.
“It’s a passion, so passion doesn’t always make economic sense,” he said.
The F-104G Starfighter in Oregon was designed by the US firm Lockheed and produced by Canadair. It was sold to Denmark and then obtained by Taiwan in 1987 in exchange for an F-5A aircraft.
After being decommissioned, it was handed over to Feng Chia University in Taichung in 1997. The school turned it over to the museum in 2006, according to a press release issued by the school when the transfer was announced.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS