Plane Passion
MERCER COUNTY — Growing up near La Guardia Airport in New York City, Walter V. Powell couldn't resist jumping the fence at night to get inside the cockpits of World War II military planes.
Powell, a retired Slippery Rock University professor, still has his childhood zeal for military aviation.
That passion for planes has led to the W. PA Warbird Military Museum, Powell's 25-year project to share his collection of aircraft and military memorabilia with the area.
The museum had its official opening Monday.
Located off Route 258 between Mercer and Grove City, the museum features a number of restored aircraft from World War I to the Vietnam War era.
Powell said visiting other aviation museums inspired him to one day build his own. He hopes to serve residents by giving them a chance to see planes in person without making a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
"There's nothing like getting your hands on the actual airplanes," Powell said. "Photos just don't do it."
Powell's property includes a hanger, a medical Jeep used in Vietnam, a fully-restored F-86 fighter jet from the Korean War, and a replica of Abraham Lincoln's 1840 law office, among other historic items.
Inside the hanger is a fully-functional reproduction of the Nieuport 17, a French biplane that was flown by American pilots in World War I, before the United States had fighter planes of its own.
The Nieuport is the only plane at the museum that can be flown, but it is not taken out regularly.
An amateur pilot and a five-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Air Force, Powell was a radar operator in the Air Force, before pursuing a career in academia.He did not fly often while in the service, but he was able to pilot a Stinson L-5, a "flying ambulance," that retrieved injured soldiers from rugged jungle terrain before the use of helicopters. The body of the Stinson can be seen at the museum.Joining the Nieuport inside is an assortment of military uniforms, representing all branches of the armed forces going back to World War II. Powell has 20 uniformed mannequins along with many uniforms that are not mounted. Two rare Japanese and German uniforms also are featured in the exhibit.A World War II pilot uniform in Powell's collection belonged to former Butler resident Fred Gill, now deceased. It was donated by Gill's wife, a British woman who served in the British Royal Air Force and met Gill while he was fighting overseas.Powell wants his museum to be interactive, and with that in mind he has acquired a B-25 bomber flight simulator, a plane that was used on bombing raids primarily in World War II.The simulator has moving controls and visitors can sit in the pilot's chair and visualize what it may have been like to fly the machine.Surprisingly, Powell has not spent a fortune for the items in his collection. Rather, he prefers to accept donations, and he often trades parts with aircraft restorers across the country to acquire pieces he needs.
Museum visitors may wonder how Powell was able to get the aircraft to his remote land near the Prime Outlets. It is a lengthy process, involving interstate transport of large items via flatbed trucks, and cranes that are used to lift heavy parts into place, he said.Once the planes are placed on site, Powell spends hours sanding, removing rust, and painting using rust-preventative paint.The rare simulator came from a friend in Broken Arrow, Okla., who hauled the heavy piece of equipment the 1,000 miles here. Powell has since repainted and oiled the simulator, and is working on some of its electronic components."I especially like it because the public can sit in it," he said.Restoring planes is a labor of love, and Powell likens himself to any classic car buff."Some people like old cars; I like old planes," he said.The museum has several small office buildings in addition to its planes.The Lincoln law office is decorated with furnishings of the period, such as a cast-iron New England style fireplace. Powell also is working on a 1940s-era office that will feature items and furniture from that time.A professor emeritus of SRU who taught political science for 44 years, Powell retired in May 2009 but looks forward to teaching museum visitors the finer points of aerial history.
Group tours of the W. PA Warbird Military Museum near the Prime Outlets are offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays by appointment only.The museum is nonprofit and will accept donations to improve and maintain facilities.To schedule a tour or to donate a military artifact, e-mail WVP@aol.com or call Walter V. Powell at 724-794-6747.
