AIRCRAFT  EXHIBITS 

1946 Lockheed PV-2D “Harpoon”
Tail number:  NAVY 37634

This PV-2D patrol bomber came off the Lockheed production line in 1945, shortly after the end of WWII.  In 1957, with only 29 hours of flight time logged, the U.S. Navy sold her into the private sector.  Over the years, she passed through several owners.   In 1990, she was donated by an individual to Lone Star Flight Museum and flown to the museum’s facility in Galveston, Texas.  In 2008, Hurricane Ike flooded Lone Star Flight Museum and caused damage to many planes. 
Fortunately, this plane sustained only minor damage.  In 2016, the board of directors at Lone Star Flight Museum accepted a proposal to relinquish ownership of this beautiful ‘bird to Mayday Ranch.  Currently, she is the crown jewel of Mayday Ranch Aviation Museum. ​

1987 Grumman C-2A “Greyhound”
Tail number:  unknown

C-2A’s were manufactured by Grumman to serve U.S. aircraft carriers in a transport capacity.  The plane’s large rear ramp and flat undercarriage make it well suited for this role.  Many C-2A’s are still in service today, all of which have undergone extensive upgrades to maintain their airworthiness and technological capabilities.  When Mayday Ranch acquired this C-2A in 2016, no interior data plate or exterior identification numbers were present.  This lack of information prevents us from knowing the specific history of the airframe.  At the end of its serviceable life, this C-2A was stripped of its vital components to keep other Navy C-2A’s in the air.  
No wings were present when this C-2A was acquired. Fortunately, Mayday Ranch already possessed a set of Grumman C1-A wings, which are similar to C2-A wings.  This airframe was acquired in St. Augustine, Florida in 2016.

1944 Douglas C-54D “Skymaster”
Tail number:  56509

​The C-54D is a military variant of the civilian DC-4.  Douglas manufactured this C-54D transport plane for the U.S. Air Force.  The Air Force later handed her over to the U.S. Navy where she was assigned to the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  In 1974, the U.S. military sold her into private hands.   Over time, she passed through many owners.  In 1992, her hull was destroyed when Hurricane Andrew hit Florida.  For over a decade, the remaining forward third of the plane sat on private property along Texas Highway 82 near Blossum, Texas.  The ol’ girl was purchased from the owner of that property by Mayday Ranch in 2016. ​

1974 Vought A7-D Corsair II airframe
Tail number:  unknown

​The A7 was designed to be a subsonic, single-seat attack aircraft capable of being deployed from US Navy aircraft carriers.  They served the US military in conflicts from Vietnam to Operation Desert Storm.  The last air-worthy A7’s in the U.S. fleet were retired from service in 1991 and stored at AMARC in Arizona.  By the end of 1998, all of the stored A7’s were destroyed, i.e., harvested for scrap metal.   With few exceptions, only static displays remain. 
After this particular A7 was retired, the US military conducted R&D testing on the airframe to determine its ability to withstand extreme vibration.  Square testing plates were attached to its skin in rows for those experiments.  The plates are still attached today.  No airframe identification remains.  Mayday Ranch acquired this A7 airframe in October 2016 from an individual in Saginaw, Texas.

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Vought A7-D Corsair II tail section
​Tail number:  AF68231

This A7 tail-section was cut from airframe DM-AF 68231; very little is known about its history.  The decal on the vertical stabilizer indicates this aircraft was used at Air Training Command, an Air Force flight and technical training facility at Randolph Air Force base in Universal City, Texas.  Mayday Ranch acquired it in October 2016 from an individual in Saginaw, Texas.

1952 Convair 340
Tail number:  N860FW

This aircraft served the private sector for 5 decades.  No less than 11 companies owned this plane, including Arabian-American Oil Company & General Dynamics.  When this Convair II was retired, it became part of a museum collection in Ft. Worth, Texas.  A private company purchased the airplane from the museum to be used for counter-terrorism training; more specifically, to train federal agents how to subdue in-flight hijackers on commercial flights that involve cockpit breeches.  Mayday Ranch acquired this Convair in October 2016 from individuals in Saginaw, Texas.

1966 Cessna 411
​Tail number:  N3232R

​This plane was our first salvaged aircraft and it sparked the idea for establishing Mayday Ranch Aviation Museum.  In 2006, this fuselage was sold to Green Guy Recycling in San Marcos, Texas.  Fortunately, instead of crushing it, the owner of the scrap yard chose to set it aside.  We acquired the fuselage shortly thereafter.  Note:  There were a few Cessna 411’s used by the French military in the 1960’s.