The Tennessee Museum of Aviation is located in Sevierville, TN, just southeast of Knoxville and on the edge of the Smokey Mountains. It is a “Must See” place for aviation fans because of the interesting airplanes that they have on exhibit.
To be honest I didn’t even know we had an aviation museum in Tennessee until one day when I was at the airport here. I picked up a brochure for the museum and looked over it while waiting for a meeting to start. The brochure had a photograph of an old F-86 that caught my eye. For a couple of hours afterwards I kept thinking back to that F-86 and something about it kept bothering me. It finally dawned on me, and I grabbed the brochure again to be sure. Sure enough, it wasn’t an F-86! It was a MiG-17 with US markings on it. I had just automatically seen a jet from the Korean war with US markings and assumed F-86. I sent the museum an email and asked if they really had a MiG with US markings and got an answer that said they really do. Photographs of the plane are included below.
In fact the museum has two MiG-17s as well as a MiG-21 on display. Russian aircraft have always interested me simply because they are frequently such capable aircraft. They are usually quite large when compared to comparable western aircraft and they do not have the “Bells and Whistles” of their western counterparts, but they do what they were designed to do: Fly well and shoot down the enemy.
Their designs have always been very simplistic and rugged when compared to western aircraft as well. The MiG-21 is a good example. The photographs below show the Mk R37F engine from a MiG-21. The aircraft was designed so that the engine could be replaced in the field with simple tools and manpower. Keep in mind that in many cases Russian airfields did not have the luxury of enclosed hangar space all the time, and repairs had to be carried out in bitter cold with simple hand tools. The MiG-21 engine could be pulled from the fuselage, replaced with a new one, and the old one shipped back to the depot for complete overhaul in only a few hours. From what I understand actual engine repairs were limited to very minor repairs since it was easier to replace the engine than repair it. It also meant that the personnel who maintained the aircraft did not have to have a complete understanding of the engine, only how to remove it and install a new one. The trained engine repair specialists were assigned to depot maintenance.
 Tennessee Museum of Aviation |
 Pratt and Whitney R2800 Engine |
 Pratt and Whitney R4360 Engine |
 Pratt and Whitney R4360 Engine |
 Old Movie Camera |
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 B-25 Cockpit |
 B-25 Cockpit |
 B-25 Cockpit |
 F-86 Sabre |
 F-86 Sabre |
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 F-86 Sabre |
 F-86 Sabre |
 F-86 Sabre |
 P-51D Mustang |
 UH-34G |
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 UH-34G |
 UH-34G Engine |
 Halftrack and Maxson Gun Mount |
 Halftrack and Maxson Gun Mount |
 Halftrack and Maxson Gun Mount |
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 TDR Mk R37F Jet Engine from MiG21 |
 TDR Mk R37F Jet Engine from MiG21 |
 TDR Mk R37F Jet Engine from MiG21 |
 MiG21 Sparka (Trainer) |
 MiG21 Sparka (Trainer) |
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 MiG17 Fresco |
 MiG17 Fresco |
 MiG17 Fresco |
 MiG17 Fresco |
 MiG17 Fresco |
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 MiG17 Fresco (note US markings) |
 MiG17 Fresco (note US markings) |
 A-4 Skyhawk Cockpit |
 A-4 Skyhawk Cockpit |
 A-4 Skyhawk Cockpit |
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 T-33 Shooting Star |
 T-33 Shooting Star |
 T-33 Shooting Star |
 T-33 Shooting Star |
 T-33 Shooting Star |
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 Rolls-Royce Viper Jet Engine |
 Rolls-Royce Viper Jet Engine |
 Orenda 10 Jet Engine |
 Orenda 10 Jet Engine |
 P-47 Cockpit Wreckage |
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 P-47 Cockpit Wreckage |
 P-47 Cockpit Wreckage |
 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt |
 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt |
 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt |
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 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt |
 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt |
 North American AT-6 Texan |
 North American AT-6 Texan |
 Andy Reid’s Biplane |
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 Andy Reid’s Biplane |
 TBF/TBM Avenger |
 TBF/TBM Avenger |
 TBF/TBM Avenger |
 VK-1A Jet Engine |
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 VK-1A Jet Engine |
 Wright R-1820 Piston Engine |
 Wright R-1820 Piston Engine |
 LOM M337B Engine |
 LOM M337B Engine |
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 Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine |
 Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine |
 Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine |
 Wright R-1820-86A Engine |
 Wright R-1820-86A Engine |
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 Wright R-1820-86A Engine |
 Pratt and Whitney 985 Wasp Junior Engine |
 Pratt and Whitney 985 Wasp Junior Engine |
 Old Gasoline Generator |
 Norden Bombsight |
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 Norden Bombsight |
 Norden Bombsight |
 Norden Bombsight |
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