1/8/2005: 747 on Amsterdam's canals

Just north-west of Amsterdam, in Lelystad, there's an Aviodrome aviation museum. KLM donated an old 747 to it but it turned out not to be possible to land it there. No problem: just take the wings off, take the tail off, and float the rest through the canals of the city. Mostly at night so you're not interrupting regular traffic so much... and not causing so much commotion.

Dutch story with "breedband" video

more huge photos of the event

"May I have your attention please? Everyone put your face as close to your ass as is physically possible and hold on.......and crew: prepare for a splash landing."

Save two coins for the Boatman.
Proof positive: PRACTICALLY anything is achievable.

Hey! After seeing the 'Spruce Goose' go aloft in the movie The Aviator I say let's bring back the giant flying boats.

Imagine living in a top floor appartment along the canal, waking up in the middle of the night and seeing that plane going by outside your bedroom window?

Apparently, "breedband" means "sound with no video" in Dutch?

Quote:
Imagine living in a top floor appartment along the canal, waking up in the middle of the night and seeing that plane going by outside your bedroom window?

I'd much rather see it go past on a raft using it's original engines!

During WWII, U-505 was captured intact by a Task Force consisting of USS Guadalcanal (a carrier), USS Chatelain, Pillsbury, Flaherty, Jenks, and Pope. Chatelain found it. Crew from the Pillsbury first boarded it. This was first taken to Bermuda and later up the St Lawrence River to Chicago. Last I had heard, U-505 was sitting on stilts in front of the Museum of Science and Industry. Is it (and the Museum) still there?

"I'd much rather see it go past on a raft using it's original engines! "


ROFLMAO!!!

The U-505 submarine is currently closed for restoration.

The U-505 Story
On June 4, 1944, Captain Daniel V. Gallery, a Chicago native, made history leading the United States Navy USS Guadalcanal Task Group 22.3’s dramatic capture of the U-505 submarine off the coast of Africa. The U-505 was the only German submarine captured by the U.S. Navy during World War II and the code books seized from the submarine greatly assisted the Allied effort. The U-505 became part of the Museum of Science and Industry’s collection in 1954. More than 24 million guests have visited the legendary vessel since then. Today, the U-505 is a National Historic Landmark, the only U-boat of its type in the United States and the only Type IX-C submarine left in the world.

Over the years, weather and pollution battered the U-505, called “one of the most prized museum holdings in the nation” by the Chicago Tribune. In 1997, the Museum launched the largest exhibit restoration project in its history—an effort to conserve the U-505 and move it indoors to a climate-controlled environment.

The submarine, which closed to visitors in January 2004, will return in spring 2005 as part of a dramatic, new 35,000-square-foot exhibit that brings the story of the U-505 to life for modern audiences.




Visit our online Museum Shop for exclusive U-505 collectibles.



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Copyright © 2004 Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

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the link is http://msichicago.org/exhibit/U505/index.html
very interesting.........

I love the U-505. I have been on it several times. If I get back to Chicago, I am SOOO going.

I still have the book they sold in the museum shop in the 60s ... "The Story of the U-505" and also have the U-Boat Commander's Handbook.

One of my past lives was as a u-boat commander. Went down with my ship.

My dad was a torpedo pilot on the USS Guadalcanal when they captured the U-505. I wish I could ask him some questions about it, but alas, he died in 1997.

I've been on the 505. Great to know they're giving it the kind of restoration and preservation it deserves.

Isn't the Spruce Goose in storage somewhere, and currently not available for viewing?

Nope. It is in a very nice new setting! I knew it had been moved from San Diego Harbor...

http://www.sprucegoose.org/

Concorde did it, too.

Man, now *that* is a short-field landing! Carrier pilots, eat your hearts out!

I too have been aboard the U505 and it was in a bad way...in 2000. There was talk of restoration but it looks like it's finally happening.

I used to have the book by RAdm Gallery too, signed by the author n oless. Alas, it was lost in a move. It was fascinating to talk to him. Like being there, almost.

Brian