In keeping with tradition, Midway's Air Wing participated in this year's City of Coronado Independence Day Parade.  This year's entry was the Piasecki HUP-2 Retriever helicopter being restored by the Air Wing's volunteers.  Click here to view slide show.  Photos provided by Steve Diamant.

The restoration of the the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog is complete.  It has been moved aboard the Midway where it was suspended from the overhead in Hangar Bay #1. 

The purpose of this excellent exhibit is to commemorate one of the more memorable events in USS Midway's history; the landing of another O-1 on the ship in 1975.  That aircraft was flown by Major Bung Ly, a South Vietnamese Air Force pilot, who flew his wife and five children to the ship to escape the fall of South Vietnam during Operation Frequent Wind.  That aircraft is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, FL.

Click here to view an excellent collection of photographs of Frequent Wind operations aboard the USS Midway in 1975.

Additional new photos of the O-1 can be found in Aircraft Relocation Gallery No. 4, Restoration Hangar Gallery No. 16 and Exhibit Gallery No. 6.

The F4U-4 Corsair was loaded on the ship on Veteran's Day.  The restoration crew did an outstanding job of transforming a truckload of "scrap" into an exceptional, impressive exhibit.  This is aircraft restoration at its finest.  Photos by Steve Diamant.

See other photos in Restoration Hangar Gallery No. 16 and photos of the Corsair coming aboard on Veteran's Day in Aircraft Relocation Gallery No. 4.

Also, take a look at the Discovery Channel - Canada video that was taken when the Corsair came aboard.  To view, click here.  The clip starts after a short commercial.

Restoration of the F4F-3 Wildcat continues.  A beautifully restored engine was recently installed.  See photos below.

Photos by Steve Diamant.