All The Rockets Rusting: The Air Power Park in Hampton, Virginia

A-7E Corsair II

Yesterday Lucy and I visited the Air Power Park in Hampton for the first time in nearly thirty years, and what started out to be a bittersweet sort of reunion ended up becoming something very different for me.  The old place hasn't changed very much since 1987--nor, for that matter, since my very first exploration of the Park as a little boy in the late 1960s--and what changes have occurred over the years have been primarily negative, especially as regards the outdoor exhibits.

Jupiter C IRBM (Lucy for scale)

A little background: the Air Power Park commemorates Hampton's role in the development of air and space technology at Langley Research Center, both under NACA and NASA from the 1950s onward. It lies on 15 acres of land just off Mercury Boulevard, and consists of a single-building museum (containing mostly professional and amateur models of aircraft and space vehicles) and nearly two dozen aircraft, military missiles and test launch vehicles arranged outside, representing the "glory days" of the 1950s and '60s.  While representing aerospace history in the area, the Park is not formally associated with NASA or the Air Force; being operated by Hampton Parks and Recreation.

Jupiter C Thrust Bell and Engine

I've driven by the park many times over the years since our last visit, often noting how small it seems from the roadway, how--like the history it represents--it has faded and become part of the background "noise" of a busy thoroughfare.  The fact that I can be the profound space-geek that I am and only manage to actually visit the place twice in three decades seems revealing, in that this dusty, rusty display is easy, in this era of YouTube and Wikipedia, to simply pass on by.

USAF F-105D Thunderchief

But there are jewels to be found here, in this dusty attic of aerospace!  A pair of forgotten Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles, a Jupiter C and Corporal from the 1950s, loom over the park as a stumpy Little Joe test launch vehicle from the Mercury Program stands seemingly prepared to hurl its tiny payload aloft. A number of vintage fighter-bombers and military training aircraft await their next missions, while Surface-To-Air missiles wait on their launchers, standing by to defend America's cities from Communist assault.

Little Joe with Mercury test capsule

Listen!  Imagine for a moment the scream of fifty jet engines, the roar from a dozen rocket nozzles...ghosts from the past seem to tremble as the power builds and builds...and then the engines, the bell housings, fall silent.  The flaps are still, cockpits long sealed, hardpoints and nosecones clear of ordnance or scientific payload.  For a few seconds your imagination joined mine as ghosts from the past came to furious life, but now all is still, the only sounds the rumble and whine of constant traffic on the roadway nearby.

USAF RF-4C Recon Phantom II

Saddest of the day's observations were of the deteriorating condition of several of the outdoor exhibits.  All could use a good cleaning and fresh coat of enamel, but some have borne the years with dignity and stamina, others have been less fortunate.  The key seems to lie in their presentations; aircraft and rockets that are displayed on concrete "aprons" or on pedestals are standing the years in far better condition than those in direct contact with the Virginia soil; in these unfortunately-placed machines--most especially the wonderful Nike Ajax and Nike Hercules SAMs--rust and corrosion have wreaked terrible, perhaps even fatal, wounds.

Nike Ajax SAM and Launcher

Once they defended our Nation against real and imaginary enemy bombers...now they decompose from their bases up.  Both of these missiles were long ago placed, with their launcher assemblies, on the moist ground, and today those launchers are almost completely rusted-away while the missiles themselves are in rapid decay.

I'll not bother asking why long-retired curators saw fit to expose these once-fearsome weapons to the elements in so callous a fashion.  I will, however, stand and ask that measures be taken--and soon--for their restoration and preservation.  These are rare, nigh-priceless relics of the Cold War; if at all possible they must be saved from the literal dustbin of history!

And the Park itself?  Is it relevant in our modern world to preserve these pieces of aerospace history? Should we endeavor to preserve the past or simply stand back and watch as that past rusts and corrodes away?  I think history IS relevant, and rather than witnessing the slow death of these exhibits we should work to preserve these airframes.  Not only that, we should ADD to their numbers; it has been too long since a new aircraft, missile or booster rocket has been added to this collection.

I think it's past time for an upgrade.

Nike Hercules SAM and Launcher

I have come to the Air Power Park today for purposes of nostalgic recollection; to remember for a time that long ago day when a small boy stood in the rain and gazed in wonder at shining aircraft and impossibly-tall rockets.  Leaving by the rusted gate, my purpose is changed; I intend to speak for the silent ghosts that stand guard; I'll try to save the rusting rockets and work to bring new vehicles to join them on these acres.  Perhaps I'll fail in this pursuit--it certainly won't be easy--but I'll give it my best effort.



In this area, rich in aviation history and military--both active duty and retired--I ought to be able to find others interested in re-invigorating the Air Power Park.  I think it's time to get busy.

U.S. Army Corporal IRBM

The Author and a Mercury Capsule "Test Unit"

At Cranbrook Observatory

Cindy, Alexis and I explore the world together

My sister Cindy, niece Alexis and I visited the Cranbrook Institute of Science a few Saturdays back. Part of the extensive Cranbrook Educational Community located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, the Institute is an old-school science museum with actual galleries and exhibits full of real, honest-to-goodness artifacts and samples with very few computer game-type displays.  I'm a big fan of this approach, which I think actually inspires visitors to study and think about the world around us rather than simply watching videos, which one can do far more easily at home.

In any case, I found the Institute fascinating, from "Black Beauty" the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton to the extensive collection of mineral samples sorted by place-of-origin. I think Cindy was especially interested in the mineralogical treasures to be examined, Alexis enjoyed the exhibit "The Story Of Us", and I gravitated toward the beautiful, intricate working Orrery in the center of the Astronomy exhibit.  But of course!

A splendid Orrery!

So much to see...but avid readers of this Blog will know where my heart truly lies.  Yes, we were there to visit the Observatory around which the current Cranbrook Institute came to grow in the 1930s. Unfortunately, we were informed, the dome is closed to the public during the day--but it would be open for visitors that very night.

The observatory dome on a January day

Thankfully, my dear family is quite used to my obsessions, and frequently go well out of their various ways to support me in my pursuits (does this make them "enablers", or simply terrific people? I vote the latter, but then I am somewhat biased)...after dinner we did indeed bundle back into the cars and make the trek back to Cranbrook! The good news is that our tickets from the afternoon visit were still valid. Of course, there is bad news as well...overcast skies and snow flurries do NOT make for good stargazing conditions.  Still, within minutes we were re-tracing our steps through the museum to the flight of steps leading up to the Observatory dome.

At this point I would like to note that my pulse-rate always peaks out in the moment where I can first see the instruments that make up the centerpiece of an astronomical observatory.  In that instant I hold my breath; an almost reverential hush seems to fall as I catch that initial glimpse...and then the clockwork gearing of the world takes up the slack and time moves onward again.

But I do love that moment of stillness, the anticipation of "astronomical" discovery!


When Cranbrook Observatory was first established ninety years ago it's primary instrument was a 6-inch diameter refractor telescope.  A telescope's telescope, if you will; what most people (including myself) think of when they hear the word.  If that wonderful instrument had still been "there" in the center of the great dome that evening, I'd not have been unhappy.  The old "long eyes" evoke an earlier era for me, a time when astronomy, and science in general, were enjoying the fruits of the Industrial Revolution, well before the era of "big" science was begun. I'm including a photo of this former occupant of the Observatory for comparison with the modern equipage (bottom of post).

Toys in the attic

Still, there IS something to be said for modern instrumentation!  The 6-Inch refractor is gone, replaced by a modern optical machine--well, three of them, actually! Atop the central pedestal at the center of the dome stood a 20-inch diameter Catadioptric CDK (Corrected Dall-Kirkham) reflector (black mass with latticework tube) flanked by the dynamic duo of two big, modern refractors; a 6-inch Takahashi (white tube) and Lunt solar telescope (white tube with red cap).  For those who might be mystified by telescopic technobable, please accept the following translation: the Cranbrook Observatory has an exceptional set of telescopes providing a wide range of observing options--in other words, a very choice bit of kit!

The Astronomer and his telescope(s)...Dr. Michael Foerster and Carl the Bear

Manning the dome that snowy night: Astronomer Michael Foerster, an expat Kiwi now living in the Frozen North.  Friendly and talkative, Michael explained the equipment in the dome and some of its history (mis-quoted above), and soon he and I were discussing the trials and tribulations of being an urban astronomer; eg. light pollution and winter weather!  So well did he and I get along that Cindy later commented that we seemed to have a "bonding" moment there.  I think that bond was there already...from the nights where Michael and I respectively fell in love with the stars!


Well, I could have sat up in the dome talking stars and optics for the rest of the evening, but I wasn't alone--I couldn't very well keep my sister and niece prisoner in the tower, could I?  After about half-an-hour, therefore, we said our goodbyes and returned to the mundane, snowy world beyond the Dome. I think I'll be going back there, though--in better weather--to exchange stargazing stories and--perhaps--to observe under clear skies next time.

Of course, there are several other observatories in the Detroit area...I'll need to visit them as well.  Guess I'd better start making plans for my next trip to Michigan!

The Observatory's former occupant, the 6-inch refractor telescope

Quick Post: First Light

Last night: "First Light" for my newest telescope, a 6" (1200mm fl) Skywatcher Newtonian which I've installed on an old Vixen Super Polaris mount and tripod. It's very old-school (that's how I roll), with not a single electronic circuit or motor to be seen, but I'm very pleased with my initial observations with this 'scope; Venus showed its half-phase very clearly, the Andromeda Galaxy and satellite galaxies M32 and M110 were beautiful (even in my light-polluted location), and the Double Cluster in Perseus filled the field at 30X--spectacular! I've wanted a long-tube reflector like this for many years, and sitting under the stars last night in my back garden with double star Gamma Andromedae sharply defined at 120X, I am quite happy with my new "optik tube".

This evening is forecast to be even better than last night...can you guess what I'll be doing?

On Watching The Skies

Of all the lessons I have learned in forty-five years as an amateur astronomer, the most poignant and heart-wrenching is this; the Universe is a fickle mistress.  She can bless the observer with moments of incredible beauty or cast him down into the depths of stargazing purgatory with what can only be described as terrible whimsy on Her part.

On some nights the ancient photons seem to shower down, effortlessly falling onto one's optics to form tapestries of nebular light and dusty shadow, glorious spheres of pinpoint stars or great spiral vistas; on other evenings the optics are hazed by heavy dew and stars vanish behind skeins of cirrus, curtains of stratus, walls of cumulus. Nights of exultation, evenings of despair.

We, the mortals who aspire to divine Her secrets, to learn Her ways; we make sacrifices and lay down offerings in plenty.  We study the elder volumes of stellar lore; books authored by other aspirants and seekers--from savants with names like Tirion, Pasachoff, Webb and Peltier, French, Rukl and Moore we seek guidance in our quests; lists of jewels in the heavens to be sought with avarice and passion, maps with which to chart our voyage along the Milky Way, down the Cascade, over lunar Alps and through the gap of Cassini.

We study the tomes, and wait for darkness.


And our equipment!  Great, glittering, intricate devices of silvered glass and cylindrical metal, gears and lightning constrained to our wills.  Purchased with treasure from merchants and artisans, or made with our own hands in hidden workshops, they are part and parcel of our quest for star-stuff.  Each optik tube, each carriage of iron and hardwood an extension of our wills, our desires. Their shapes and mechanisms are both defined by us and defining us as members of the legion of observers.

We prepare our tools, and watch the heavens for errant clouds.

Alone, facing the night in solitude, or in numbers gathered as for some arcane ceremony under the arch of night, we come to our chosen places as the sun falls from the heavens. Our tools are readied as dusk falls; the intruding light of day is replaced by faint ruby glows and pinpoints of green light as verdant fireflies in the twilight. White light is banished, cursed by all those gathered. Bands of harnessed energy are deployed against the fall of dew.

We wait. 

Finally, the moment arrives.  Now, after all of our preparations, wards and spells, it is She--the Universe Herself!--who rules the darkness, who will favor us, individually or together as is Her whim.  Will the heavens open before our optically-enhanced eyes to show us wonders or will those clouds far away to the west suddenly race toward us to manifest an overcast--or worse?  Will Sirius be steady and calm or flash angrily with the Universe's disdain for all of our studies and sacrifices, warning of poor seeing and a disappointing night?  Will our tools perform as designed, gears meshing and glass focusing with precision, or will they fail in the dark crucible of the middle-night?

All we can do now is bend to our eyepieces, tend to our charts and grimoires, hope for wonders in the night, and watch the skies.

Always, watching the skies.

Telescope Test: Meade ETX 90 RA (1996)

My new-old telescope, an ETX 90 RA of late-'90s vintage

Had a good time in the wee hours this morning, trying out my free ETX 90 'scope ca.1996. I've got it mounted on an old Meade heavy-duty tripod (I'm well-known in my local astronomical community for over-mounting telescopes!), adding a Sky-Watcher " wedge and cheesy Tasco right-angle finder. The result: a rock-solid mounting for my initial tests on this 90mm Mak.

After a rough polar alignment I sighted the 'scope on Regulus and "engaged" the drive motor. Happily I couldn't detect any delay in the drive wind-up--it started tracking immediately (though at first the noise-level surprised me--this little motor seemed quite loud in the stillness of pre-dawn!).

Went inside to warm-up and get a cup of tea. When I came back outside fifteen minutes later Alpha Leonis was only slightly off-center in the eyepiece, probably more a result of my perfunctory alignment procedure than any error in the drive motor.

So far, so good.

The optics performed very acceptably; the defocused Regulus showed only a slighty off-centered Airy disk, and focused finely all over the field of view, a nicely defined point of blue light.

The only fly in the ointment was the finder scope. As mentioned I had replaced the factory-installed finder (the use of which required a greater level of gymnastic skill than I am comfortably capable of) with a cheap right-angle unit from my spare parts box. Unfortunately the Tasco unit was nearly useless. After only a few minutes I knew that the search for a usable and user-friendly finder would continue...perhaps I might have to invest in one of the Meade right-angle products after all.

As the dawn came up, I summarized the morning's session for my observing journal:

Vintage Meade ETX 90 RA telescope:       FREE
Meade Heavy Duty Tripod:                        $55.00 (Ebay, 2004)
Sky-Watcher Equatorial Wedge                  $65.00

Night under crystal-clear suburban skies with a "new" telescope and a fresh cup of tea: PRICELESS

Quick Post: The Stars In Their Courses...

I was driving in to work this morning (usual obscene hour=0430) and listening to BBC. The Business News included a consultation with several "Financial Astrologers", one of whom predicted a downturn in the FTSE next month due to a close encounter between Saturn and the Galactic Center, which, to her credit, she assured us were in no danger of collision as they are "millions and zillions" of miles apart in space. She also noted a possible downturn in the markets because of a nearby black hole...nice to know that the loonies are keeping current on their astrophysics!

Ships Of Piraeus

HS Giorgios Averof

The Greek cruiser 'Giorgios Averof' and destroyer 'Velos' made for a terrific start to our afternoon in Piraeus! 'Averof' is a veteran of the Balkan Wars of the early 1900s, WWI and WWII, while 'Velos' is a former USN destroyer of the 'Fletcher' class. Both of these classic ships are beautifully preserved (inside and out) and presented. there is a LOT of love here.

HS Velos

Moored alongside 'Velos' lies 'Olympias', a reproduction of an ancient Greek Trireme of the type that fought the Persian fleet in the Battle of Salamis. (I would love to see her underway in the hands of professional oarsmen!)

An ancient Ship...and a modern Sailor!

Our final maritime specimen of the day is the steamship 'Hellas Liberty', one of only three remaining "Liberty" ships of WWII. Visiting her was a bit of a shock for me--she was in SUCH pristine condition inside and out that it was a bit difficult to believe she first kissed water over seventy years ago!

Steamship 'Hellas Liberty'

Okay, this veteran ship-spotter is pretty blown-away by all of the maritime history in evidence here in Piraeus! So much to see and do...and so very little time.

A few more photos of 'Hellas Liberty'...