Places you can visit to view an N3N
– Yanks Air Museum (Chino, CA) seems to be N3N central, with at least 3 aircraft on display, including one on wheels, one on floats and one “in the bones”. One nice feature at the Yanks website is that double clicking on a “Collection” photo launches a slideshow with a number of additional pictures. Yanks has a large number (20??) of N3N airframes and are talking about recreating the Naval Aircraft Factory assembly line.
N45280, Bureau # 2827 is on wheels
Nice walk around of N45280 here:
N44757, Bureau # 2621 is the uncovered aircraft
Yanks is on my list to visit the next time I am on the “left coast”, just to see this baby and get a bunch of photos!
N695M, Bureau # 4480 is displayed on floats
N45070, Bureau # 2804 is shown as receiving a Certificate of Airworthiness in 2013. Don’t know her status or location.
– National Air and Space Museum (Udvar-Hazy) displays Bureau Number 3022, this bird was at Annapolis until 1960:
Air & Space has a nice article on this aircraft. It hung over the Ice Arena at Annapolis – during restoration they found hockey puck “skid marks” on the aircraft! Link here: http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/Sailors_Delight.html
– Museum of Naval Aviation (Pensacola, FL) displays Bureau Number 2693 on floats:
They also display Bureau Number 3046 on wheels:
The Museum of Naval Aviation additionally owns Bureau Number 2959 (former N6538T), which is on loan to the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, TX:
– Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum – the N3N located nearest to me is at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, Bureau Number 2951. This aircraft is on loan from the Marine Air/Ground Museum in Quantico, VA:
I have taken a number of photos of this aircraft so let me know if you need a “walk-around” set.
– Mid Atlantic Aviation Museum in Reading PA is displaying N44718, Bureau Number 2782. This is not an accurate N3N, it has been re-engined with a nine cylinder Pratt 985 (450HP).
– Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, ID has N45305, Bureau Number 1918. This photo shows this R-760 doing what any self-respecting radial does – marking it’s territory (note the drip pan).
There is a reason for the leaking oil – this bird truly is airworthy. Here is a link to a YouTube video showing a flight by this aircraft on March 23, 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdxeXwE5OZ0
– Houston Wing, Commemorative Air Force, Houston, TX has a flying N3N, N44741, Bureau Number 2781. It has been re-engined with a Lycoming R680:
I presume you can contact them about seeing it fly, as keeping birds in the air is what the Commemorative Air Force is all about. Link here:http://www.westhoustonsqdn.org/n3n_pg.html
– Military Aviation Museum Virginia Beach, VA has N120BH, Bureau Number 2892:
– Evergreen Air Museum McMinnville, OR displays Bureau Number 2831 (former N3NN):
– El Toro Marine Corps Museum, Orange County, CA displays N44879, Bureau # 4425 in Marine livery. Not especially stock, but a beautiful aircraft with cowling, wheel pants and Prat 985:
– Western Antique Aircraft and Automobile Museum, Hood River, OR displays one on floats. Aircraft is N45042, Bureau Number 2582:
More…
– Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson AZ has N45084, Bureau Number 4497. This bird has been left in a single seat Fire Bomber configuration, with a big R-1340 radial on the nose:
Here is what it looked like when Pima got it!
A shout-out to all of those who are involved in restoration of historic aircraft. Your efforts will have impact for generations to come…
– Chilean Air Force Santiago, Chile has an N3N-1, appears to be the only surviving “Dash One”:
More…
While it is not in a museum, we have a presidential warbird in N3N family. Stuart Wells owns N44839, Bureau Number 2952, an aircraft flown by President George H. W. Bush on April 26, 1943:
Here’s a closeup showing that “Bud” Anderson has also flown the aircraft:
I also like the way that he has plexiglass panels to show off the structure when the bird is on static display:
Video with Stuart Wells here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH82vvu0QK4
Museum Projects:
There are also some museums that have N3Ns that are in various states of reconstruction or storage:
– The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame (Galveston) lists N3NZ, Bureau # 1974 as “in storage” on their website.
– Fantasy of Flight has one in disassembled condition, no N-number or Bureau Number (yet).
– Iowa Aviation Museum is the registered owner of N45184, Bureau Number 2837. I had a conversation with the Museum, the aircraft is a restoration project. It is housed in a T Hanger on the airport.
They also own another N3N, I am hoping for details shortly.
– This airframe is at the National Museum of WWII Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They are displaying this as an educational exhibit, with color coded control surfaces (red rudder pedals and a red rudder, etc.). According to a conversation I had with them in October of 2013, this is a “touching” display, where kids can climb aboard and wiggle the controls. No info on Bureau or N number yet, but I intend to get that info for my records:
If you know of other museum aircraft, please us the contact page or comment on any active post.
