After work today I ran across the street to the Flying Heritage Museum and snapped some pictures of their Po-2. The thing that struck me the most was the control mechanism is nothing more than an external lever that pulls a cable to adjust the flaps and ailerons. You can clearly see it on the middle of the fuselage. In addition to the flap elevation cables that run from the front to the rear. It’s very primitive with just foot pedals that pivot the wires via tension.
I was able to reach out and touch the wing. it’s about as sturdy as cardboard.I asked the museum people if I could get a closeup of the control panels. But, they wouldn’t let me cross the barrier to snap a picture. Much sadness.
yeah, when I was there last year I asked for a peek into the cockpit, they were like, no, go to hell.
they do have a decent shot of the aft cockpit in the slideshow on this page — it’s photo 10 of 13. http://www.flyingheritage.com/TemplatePlane.aspx?contentId=24
Yeah, Paul Allen is a big meanie. Buying all these toys and just letting you look. The Historic Flight museum (about 1/4 mile away from FHC) has far more lax rules and the planes are out to be touched and ladders out so you can climb up and look around in the cockpits and such. I was fortunate enough to arrive there just in time to see them roll the B-25 out for some vets, start up the engines and go for a flight. Before takeoff I slipped under the plane and stood in the bomb bay and got some good closeups of the engines and such from about 2 feet away from the beast.
Thanks for the photos! 😉