MUSEUMS LYON AIR MUSEUM
Completed to represent a Bird
Dog flown in combat by the US
Army’s 183rd Reconnaissance
Airplane Company (known as the
‘Seahorses’) during the Vietnam
War, Mark Foster’s personal
O-1E Bird Dog (0-247209) was
manufactured in 1957 and sold
to the French Air Force in 1959,
where it served for 20 years.
As a young private pilot and
licensed airframe and powerplant
technician, Foster purchased
the mangled machine – which
had been badly damaged in
a hard landing – in 2003 and
meticulously restored it to combat
configuration, finally taking it up
for its first post-restoration flight
on July 11, 2010.
Since Gen Lyon is also an avid
collector of classic vehicles,a rotating selection of period
automobiles, military assets and
motorcycles is usually displayed
alongside the aircraft, with an
emphasis on Japanese, German and
US military motorcycles as well as
military vehicles operated by the
latter two nations.
A fine exhibit is the Mercedes-
Benz Model G4 Offener Touring
Wagon, which once belonged to
Adolf Hitler. The car was seized by
the French at Berchtesgaden when
the Third Reich collapsed.
Since John Wayne Airport is
a busy commercial airline hub,
it’s not practical for Lyon Air
Museum to stage air shows on
the field. But it frequently hosts
‘History on the Flightline’ events
when visiting warbirds and classic
aircraft gather on the ramp to bedisplayed alongside the museum’s
own aircraft. Fortunately, when
air traffic considerations permit,
John Wayne Airport control tower
operators are generally receptive
to requests for fly-bys from some
arriving and departing visitors.
The museum usually hosts the
Collings Foundation’s Wings of
Freedom Tour each year, whenthe organisation’s bombers and
fighters are available for close
inspection and warbird pleasure
flights. And, occasionally, the
museum’s aircraft also participate
in southern California air shows
and special events: Willa Dean
seems to be the most active
member of the collection in this
respect, though Fuddy Duddy isGabe Lopez’s visiting Boeing/Stearman N2S-3 Kaydet on the Lyon Air Museum ramp, during
August’s History on the Flightline event.The front entrance to Lyon Air Museum at John Wayne Airport.86 FLYPAST November 2018Right
Lyon Air Museum’s SNJ-6 Texan is fl own by Mark Foster over the mountains in northern
Orange County.