T-2 Rollout!
Article by
Brian Gilomen and Kevin Bertorelli
Pictures by Kevin Bertorelli
On October 2nd, 2004, the Illinois Aviation Museum at Bolingbrook at Clow rolled out its newly restored jet trainer. The T-2 “Buckeye” was unveiled to the public for the first time since undergoing a new facelift. The jet is on loan from the U.S. Navy for use as a static display and is the first major military aircraft in the museum. The “Buckeye” received over 600 hours of cleaning, sanding and painting to get ready for display. The work was completed using volunteers from Bolingbrook, Naperville and a few other surrounding communities. Materials for the project came from generous donations by local businesses.
Our own Kevin Bertorelli was on hand with his trick 10X Optical Zoom Digital Camera. Kevin's report:
"Mayor Claar of Bolingbrook, Joe DePaulo, and Boyd Clow were all there along with a fanfare of other guest speakers for the dedication. The T-2 looked incredible considering how it looked before the 800 hours of restoration. During the unveiling they played the theme from Top Gun as well as an exciting display of smoke and special lighting while the hangar door was slowly raised."
Some of Kevin's pictures to give you a feel
for just how it was:
Where To Now?
Hartenbower's September Fly-In