Bye, Guppy

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft takes off March 28. The plane was here to deliver a heat shield for the Orion spacecraft to Textron Defense Systems in Wilmington, Mass., to have a protective coating applied to it. (U.S. Air Force photo by Walter Santos)

Super arrival

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Workers shut NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft after unloading a heat shield for the Orion spacecraft. The heat shield is being delivered to Textron Defense Systems in Wilmington, Mass., to have a protective coating applied to it. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mark Herlihy)

Super arrival

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – A heat shield for the Orion spacecraft is unloaded from NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft on the flightline March 27. The heat shield is being delivered to Textron Defense Systems in Wilmington, Mass., to have a protective coating applied to it. (U.S. Air Force photo by Walter Santos)

Super arrival

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft sits on the flightline March 27. The plane was carrying a heat shield for the Orion spacecraft to be delivered to Textron Defense Systems in Wilmington, Mass., to have a protective coating applied to it. (U.S. Air Force photo by Walter Santos)

Super arrival

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – A heat shield for the Orion spacecraft is unloaded from NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft on the flightline March 27. The heat shield is being delivered to Textron Defense Systems in Wilmington, Mass., to have a protective coating applied to it. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mark Herlihy)

P-40 restoration complete

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Workers return the P-40 aircraft to its pedestal on the corner of Vandenberg and Marrett streets Nov. 15 after the completion of a more than three month-long repair and restoration project by base civil engineers. The model received a thorough sanding and several sheet metal panels were replaced before it was primed and painted. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mark Wyatt)

P-40 removal and restoration

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – A photo of the P-40 in the motor pool parking lot on Aug. 6 shows much of the weathering that has occurred to the plane over the years. Crews will begin restoration of the plane and eventually return it to the pedestal at the corner of Marrett Street and Vandenberg Drive. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rick Berry)

P-40 removal and restoration

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – The P-40, without wings, is lowered onto a truck in order to be transported to the motor pool for restoration work. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rick Berry)

P-40 removal and restoration

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Workers guide the P-40 from a pedestal to a cradle Aug. 1. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rick Berry)

P-40 removal and restoration

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Workers prepare to lift the P-40 off the pedestal Aug. 1. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rick Berry)

P-40 removal and restoration

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. - The P-40 at the corner of Marrett Street and Vandenberg Drive just before work begins to remove it from the pedestal Aug. 1. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rick Berry)

Ready to fly

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Crews remove the P-40 static display, at the corner of Vandenberg Drive and Marrett Street, from its pedestal Aug. 1. The plane was removed to undergo repair and restoration. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rick Berry)