Our Rocky Mountain Saab Club of Colorado toured the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs, Colorado last weekend. Bill Barclay, one of our club members, invited our club to come for a VIP tour of this remarkable museum. Bill is the owner of a beautiful red 1969 96. The museum has two divisions. The Museum and West Pac, the division where the war birds are restored. Bill is part of West Pac where he is in charge of purchasing all materials for restoration. We gathered in Castle Rock, 40 miles north of Colorado Springs to caravan to the museum.
Once at the museum we entered a class room where we were briefed about the museum. We then toured the museum plane by plane. Bill and Roger, a volunteer, who gave the story of every plane on how they acquired and the history of their service. After the Museum we then toured West Pac where the planes are under construction. It was none short of spectacular! After the tour we retired to a Jamaican restaurant for lunch. Special thanks to Phil Drury, a club member, to set the tour up. Thanks to Coin Drury and Jeff Thompson for the photographs. Special thanks to Bill Barclay for offering his time and knowledge of this piece of history. Bill also owns a Stinson L5 Reconnaissance airplane “Miss Stitch”