Pinal Airpark, Marana

Arizona Guide

Champlin Fighter Museum, Mesa

Mesa — Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force
Arizona Aviation Museum Guide

Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force ¹
Falcon Field Airport
2017 North Greenfield
Mesa, Arizona 85215

Overview ¹

The CAF was founded to acquire, restore and preserve in flying condition a complete collection of combat aircraft which were flown by all military services of the United States, and selected aircraft of other nations, for the education and enjoyment of present and future generations of Americans. More than just a collection of airworthy warplanes from the past, the CAF's fleet of historic aircraft, known as the CAF Ghost Squadron, recreate, remind and reinforce the lessons learned from the defining moments in American military aviation history. The Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force is located on the southwest corner of the Falcon Field Airport in Mesa Arizona. The museum includes an impressive mix of airworthy and static display aircraft. Among them is the Douglas (Boeing) B-17G-85-DL "Flying Fortress - Sentimental Journey."

The following "thumbnail" images were derived from the Museum's website and show an overview of their aircraft collection.

• Aeronca L-16A Grasshopper
• Beech D18S Twin Beech (N145AZ, c/n A-235)
• Boeing-Stearman A75N1 Kaydet (s/n 75-4894, N52558, as N2S-4 "423")
• Douglas A-26C-40-DT Invader-Miss Murphy (AF 44-35601, N202R/NL202R)
• Douglas (Boeing) B-17G-85-DL Flying Fortress-Sentimental Journey (AF 44-83514, N9323Z)
• Grumman AF-2S Guardian (BuNo 126731, N9993Z)
• Kline KSE5A (N589D, s/n F8005, ¾-replica of 1917 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a)
• McDonnell F-4N Phantom II (F4H-1/F-4B-26-MC/F-4N, BuNo 153016)
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis Fagot-B (s/n 4115, built late 1950-early 1951)
• Mikoyan-Gurevich UTI MiG-15 Midget (s/n 012)
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed-D (507)
• North American SNJ-5 Texan (BuNo 90725, N3246G, ex-USAAF AT-6D transferred to USN)
• North American TB-25N Mitchell-Maid In The Shade (B-25J-10-NC, AF 43-35972, N125AZ)
• Schweitzer TG-3A Training Glider
• Sikorsky UH-19D-2-SI Chickasaw (AF 54-1416, N6735)
• Sweeney War Thunderbolt (N47DJ, s/n 3, ¾-scale replica of Republic P-47N Thunderbolt as 420473)

AFIA Photos ³

Recently A Friend In Arizona (AFIA) visited the Museum and sent us the following series of walk-around photos.

Commemorative Air Force, Arizona Wing Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA, 10/10/2012)

Twin Anti-Aircraft Gun Mount on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

Air Force Command Shields on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Albatros D.IIIa (4203/17, replica) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

 Boeing B-29 Superfortress Propeller Display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

Boeing-Stearman E75 Red Baron Squadron (N802RB, s/n 75-6451, 1943) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Boeing-Stearman VN2S-1 “Kaydet” (N52558/423, A75N1/PT-17, s/n 75-4894, 1943) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Cessna T-50 “Bobcat” (NC59188, s/n 3084, 1942) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Douglas A-26C-40-DT Invader “Miss Murphy” (AF 44-35601, s/n 28880, NL202R) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Douglas DC-3C (N53ST, s/n 9380, 1943, N53ST) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Eastern TBM-3 “Avenger” (BuNo 53835, c/n 3897, N3967A) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  English Electric TT18 Canberra (N76764, s/n EEP13535, Royal Navy WK 142) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Fokker E.V/D.VIII Flying Razor (NX7757U, s/n 545/18, ¾ scale replica, 1969) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Hughes OH-6A Cayuse “Charlie Chopper” (N17357, c/n 1317, 1968) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

Jet T33/P80 Instrument Familiarization Simulator on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Kline KSE5A (N589D, s/n F8005, Forrest O. Kline, 1990, ¾ scale replica of 1917 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  McDonnell Douglas F-4N Phantom II (BuNo 153016, c/n 1485, F4H-1/F-4B-26-MC/F-4N) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot-A (4048) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed-D (507, s/n 760507, Hungarian AF markings) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  North American P-51D-30-NA Mustang “Stang” (NL151RJ, AF 44-74404, c/n 122-40944) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  PZL-Mielec SB Lim-2 Midget (N9012/012, Mikoyan-Gurevich, s/n 1A09012, 1954) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Schweizer TG-3A Training Glider (18/TG3) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Sikorsky H-19D-2-SI Chickasaw (N6735, AF 54-1416) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Stinson L-5E Sentinel (N9158B, s/n 76-3410, marked as AF 44-18021) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Stinson SR-10G Reliant (NC2330, s/n 3-5838, 1938) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  Sweeney War Thunderbolt (N47DJ, s/n 3, D.J. Sweeney, 1982, ¾ scale replica of Republic P-47N as 420473) on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

  U.S. Army Willys Jeep (935972) with 50 cal MG Mount on display (10/10/2012) at the CAF Museum, Falcon Field Airport, Mesa, Arizona (Photo by AFIA)

Special Thanks

A very special thanks to A Friend in Arizona (AFIA) for providing us with photos of the aircraft at this location.

References

1. Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, website
2. Google Earth, Satellite Image
3. AFIA (A Friend in Arizona), Aircraft Photos