Thunderbirds dedicate new museum that meets their high-flying standards — VIDEO
What began as a collection of scrapbooks detailing the early exploits of the Air Force’s daring Thunderbirds is now a full-fledged museum, with memorabilia, photos and video displays packed into a hall of the team’s hangar at Nellis Air Force Base.
The freshly renovated museum traces the Thurderbirds’ history from the team’s inception in 1953 — when Maj. Dick Catledge led the red-white-and-blue F-84G straight-wing “Thunderjets” at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona — through the years of the F-105 “Thunderchief” of the 1960s to today’s F-16 “Fighting Falcons,” led and commanded by Lt. Col. Jason Heard.
“The Thunderbirds’ history defines our standards and our culture,” he said Friday after the dedication of the new facility. “The pride and professionalism of the Thunderbirds is evident in artifacts that are contained within.”
The museum is usually open only to those with access to Nellis or members of the public accompanied by military card-holders, but anyone can visit during the Aviation Nation air shows and open houses at the base.
The team moved from Luke to Nellis in 1956 and set up a trophy room in 1987. A renovation of the hangar in 1996 turned it into a more informative display.
Retired Maj. Gen. Neil Eddins of Las Vegas, who flew for the Thunderbirds in 1959 and was the team’s commander during 1967-68, called the newly renovated museum “a beautiful piece of work.”
“When I first started we had about four scrapbooks. That was it. And I even see the scrapbooks displayed in there,” Eddins, 85, told an audience of 200 gathered inside the the team’s hangar.
“It’s nostalgic,” he said. “They’ve got the thing designed with the paint scheme throughout. And the new technology allows you to pull up the photos.”
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find @KeithRogers2 on Twitter.
