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There are many things to do in the Fort Worth area. You have the botanical gardens, the Zoo, stock yards and more. If you are looking for a something different, you need to check out the For Worth Aviation Museum. Its out at the Meacham International Airport and they offer a hands on approach to many of their airplanes on display.
Fort Worth Aviation Museum
The Fort Worth Aviation Museum has been preserving and educating for 20 years. I do not know much about the history. The history of the museum isn’t listed on their website. However, I know they weren’t always at its current location. I will update its history once I know more.
They currently have an indoor museum where they display small military and aviation artifacts with detail information about the items, planes, and pilots. Out in the yard is what they refer to as the “Petting Zoo”. There, you will find and have access to 25 jet and prop planes that are on display. The planes are not roped off, you can get up close to these planes. At some of the events you may even have access to see what the cockpit looks like.
Planes On Display
As I mentioned before there are 25 planes on display. Including several helicopters, an old army truck, and several air frames under ongoing restoration. The pictures I took during my visit to the Fort Worth Aviation Museum was actually for an after hours Photo Walk that started an hour before sunset and ended about 10 pm. For me, my night photos didn’t come out as well they normally do. So I plan on returning to take more pictures. I also didn’t photograph everything. For some, I didn’t have time to photograph and others they were surrounded by others photographer.
The planes they currently have on display include A-12 Avenger II prototype (its currently in pieces and in desperate need of restoration), A-4C Skyhawk, A-7B Corsair II, BT-13 Valiant, CH-53 Sea Stallion, F-14D Tomcat, and more. I didn’t get the chance to photograph all the planes and many of the shots were shot just about sunset. I plan to come back and reshoot the planes. Information copied directly from the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. Click the link to learn more about the plane and that plane’s history.
Douglas A4D-2N Skyhawk
“The Douglas A-4 was developed as a jet-powered attack aircraft to replace the propeller-driven AD or A-1 Skyraider. Once designed, the aircraft weighed only half of the Navy’s specification and it’s small wing did not have to be folded for carrier stowage. The small Skyhawk soon received nicknames like “Scooter”, “Kiddiecar”, “Bantam Bomber”, and “Tinker Toy Bomber.” Each of these was a misnomer for this powerful aircraft.” – Douglas A4D-2N Skyhawk – Fort Worth Aviation Museum
A-7B Corsair II
“This A-7B Corsair II, Bu No. 154479, was built in Grand Prairie, Texas by Chance Vought in 1968. The Vought A-7 Corsair II was developed in the early 1960s as a carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft intended to replace the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.” – A-7B Corsair II – Fort Worth Aviation Museum.
Vultee BT-13s Valiant
“Vultee BT-13s Valiant were seen all around North Texas during World War Two as a pilot training aircraft.” – Vultee BT-13s Valiant – Fort Worth Aviation Museum
CH-53 Sea Stallion
“The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. These were originally developed for use by the Marine Corps as they sought a replacement for the piston powered helicopters in 1960.” – CH-53 Sea Stallion – Fort Worth Aviation Museum
F-105D Thunderchief
“This aircraft has a distinguished history, with Air Force squadrons in the 23rd and 36th Tactical Fighter Wings and the Virginia Air National Guard. It also appears this aircraft survived the Ho Chi Minh Trail flying from Korat Royal Thailand Air Force Base in Southeast Asia.” – F-105D Thunderchief – Fort Worth Aviation Museum
F-111E Aardvark
“This is F-111E Aardvark is the Fort Worth Aviation Museum’s F-111E and was Air Force serial number 68-0009. It was constructed by General Dynamics (c/n A1-178, E-19) here in Fort Worth, Texas. It is there where it received it’s nickname “Balls 9” as the Air Force serial number depicts zeros and a “9”.” – F-111E Aardvark – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
F-14 Tomcat
“Perhaps the most widely recognized Navy fighter thanks to its starring role in Top Gun, the F-14 Tomcat served as an advanced interceptor and air superiority fighter, capable of attacking six enemy aircraft simultaneously at a range of over 100 miles with the AIM-54 Phoenix missile”. – F-14D – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
McDonnell Douglas F-4C-24-MC Phantom II
“The F-4 was operated by the USAF/USN/USMC at Carswell AFB and NAS Dallas. Fort Worth businessman H. Ross Perot, Jr. flew F-4s at Carswell AFB while serving in the USAF.” – F-4C-24-MC Phantom II – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
F-5E Tiger II
“This Northrop F-5E Tiger II served in the US Navy as an “Aggressor” adversary aircraft. Its two-tone brown and tan desert “Tiger Stripe” camouflage with a red star on the tail and number 13 painted on the nose simulates Russian type markings.” – F-5E Tiger II – The Fort Worth Avaition Museum
F/A-18
“The U.S. Navy began a program in the mid-1970s to develop a multirole aircraft to replace aging A-4 Skyhawks, the A-7 Corsairs, and F-4 Phantoms. General Dynamics proposed the YF-16 and Northrop the YF-17. The Navy didn’t care for the F-16 and asked McDonnell Douglas and Northrop to develop a new aircraft from the YF-17. In 1977 the Secretary of the Navy announced that the F-18 would be named “Hornet”. Northrop partnered with McDonnell Douglas and agreed to split component manufacturing with McDonnell Douglas conducting final assembly. In 1980, the aircraft began to be referred to as the F/A-18A combining the attack and fighter missions.” – F/A-18 – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
O-2A Skymaster
O-2A Skymaster – “Known as the “Oscar Deuce” or “The Duck,” the O-2 is a military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster”. – O-2A Skymaster – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
O-2A Skymaster “Kudy Jay”
O-2A Skymaster “Kudy Jay” – “This Cessna O-2A Skymaster is a composite of several airframes and was cobbled together to represent the “Kudy Jay” night FAC aircraft as it looked in 1970.” – O-2A Skymaster “Kudy Jay” – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
OV-10A Bronco (Air Force)
“The OV-10A is a twin-turboprop short takeoff and landing aircraft conceived by the U.S. Marine Corps and developed under a U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps tri-service program for a Light Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (LARA). The North American Rockwell aircraft first flew on July 16, 1965. The first production OV-10A was ordered in 1966, and its initial flight took place in August 1967”. – OV-10A Bronco (Air Force) – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
QF-4S Phantom II
“This plane flew combat in Vietnam and was aboard the “America” when 333 earned the only Marine Mig kill. McDonnell Douglas QF-4S BuPer 153821, now known as “Shamrock 201”” – QF-4S Phantom II – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
RF-8 Crusader
“The Fort Worth Aviation Museum’s Vought F8U-1P – later redesignated a RF8-G — Crusader, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics No. 146898, was built in 1960 in Grand Prairie, Texas. The aircraft was both delivered to and accepted by the Navy on February 26, 1960.” – RF-8 Crusader – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
T-33A Shooting Star
“The two-place Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star was designed for training pilots already qualified to fly propeller-driven aircraft to fly jets. It was developed from the single-seat F-80 fighter by lengthening the fuselage about three feet.” – T-33A Shooting Star – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
TA-4J Skyhawk
“The TA-4J is a two-seat trainer version of the Skyhawk that provided advanced training for Navy and Marine Corps pilots.” – TA-4J Skyhawk – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
TF-102-Delta Dagger
“President George W. Bush flew this plane twice during his service in the Texas Air National Guard. The primary mission of the F-102 was to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft. It was the world’s first supersonic all-weather jet interceptor and the USAF’s first operational delta-wing aircraft. The F-102 made its initial flight on Oct. 24, 1953, and became operational with the Air Defense Command in 1956.” – TF-102-Delta Dagger – The Fort Worth Aviation Museum
More Images from the Fort Worth Aviation Museum
About the Images
The pictures were either taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or my Sony a6000 using my Sony SELP18105G E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS by hand. For the sunset shots I used my SunPak 6700m Monopod and for the night shots I used my camera along with my trusty old tripod, Godox TT685s flash, and an Anker LC40 Flashlight to fill in the shadows that the flash missed. The images were then edited with Adobe Lightroom CC and Topaz Labs A.I. Clear and DXO NIK Collection to clean up the images, remove noise, and recover the lost details.
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