Yanks Air Museum

08/31/2026

We did the blow down bottle test last week and finalized the emergency landing gear system. Step by step, we’re getting there!

08/29/2026

Some people spend their entire lives in aviation. Others simply spend their lives learning how to build, fix, and do things right—and eventually find their way to airplanes. Jim “Boozler” Harrison is the latter.

Born in Garden Grove, California, in 1951, Jim grew up as a stout, athletic kid who wrestled and played baseball and football. He was part of the first four-year graduating class at Pacifica High School. In 1970, Jim enlisted in the USAF. While in Vietnam in 1973, he met Noy, the woman who would soon become his wife. More than five decades later, Jim and Noy live locally in Chino Hills. Together they raised two sons, have three grandchildren, and have built a life Jim says is his greatest accomplishment. He described Trump, Rubio and DeSantis as some of his current inspirations, but when asked who influenced him most, Jim doesn't hesitate: his parents. His father, Jim “Big Jim” Harrison, was a well-known dairy lab technician, and his mother, Marion Harrison, worked as an office manager at Zody's. Both worked hard and taught their son something he still lives by today:

Do the right thing.

For Jim, that means more than simply knowing right from wrong. It means doing the job right. Building it right. Treating people right. And when you don't know how to do something, you learn. After welding school, Jim began a career that would span an incredible 48 years. The variety of things he fabricated during that career is almost difficult to believe.

Interestingly, airplanes weren't the reason Jim learned to work with his hands. His serious interest in aviation came after an entire career spent working in another trade. After retiring, Jim was looking for something to keep himself busy. A conversation with a neighbor eventually led him to Yanks Air Museum, where he began volunteering. Within a couple of months, Jim was hired. His craftsmanship and attention to detail were immediately apparent,
but just as importantly, he fit in with the crew.

Jim Harrison didn't need an aviation career to become an aircraft craftsman.
He just needed the same thing Big Jim and Marion taught him all those years ago:
Do the right thing.
And while you’re at it—
Do the job right.

And if you've read this far, throw us a guess as to what Jim's favorite project has been here at Yanks. We'll let you know if you're right!

08/29/2026

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — August 28, 1957

How do you push a jet bomber more than 20,000 feet above its normal service ceiling? In 1957, the answer was simple—at least in theory: add a rocket engine.

On August 28, test pilot Michael Randrup and flight engineer Walter Shirley climbed aboard English Electric Canberra B Mk.2 WK163 and departed Luton on a record attempt. Their goal was to explore an altitude regime well beyond what the Canberra's two Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets could ordinarily reach.

Randrup initially climbed under conventional jet power to approximately 44,000 feet. Then came the unusual part. Installed inside WK163's bomb bay was a Napier Double Scorpion rocket engine. Once ignited, the additional thrust sent the Canberra into a steep climb that ultimately topped out at 70,308 feet (21,430 meters)—establishing a new FAI world altitude record.

Flying that high presented challenges beyond simply getting there. Near its maximum altitude, the Canberra was operating in what's commonly called "coffin corner," where the margin between stall speed and the onset of critical Mach effects becomes extremely narrow. Engineers calculated that Randrup had only about a 15-knot airspeed window to work with. Both men also wore pressure suits despite the Canberra's pressurized cockpit.

The aircraft itself was already designed with high-altitude performance in mind. The Canberra B.2 was a twin-engine jet bomber powered by a pair of 6,500-pound-thrust Avon RA.3 Mk. 101s, but its normal service ceiling was around 48,000 feet. The experimental rocket installation allowed WK163 to venture far beyond that limit.

Even better, this wasn't the end of WK163's story. The aircraft spent its career as a research test bed rather than an operational bomber and survived long after its record-setting flight.

Sometimes breaking an aviation record requires an entirely new aircraft.

Other times, apparently, you just put a rocket in the bomb bay. 🚀✈️

Aviation Trivia: The Canberra was also manufactured under license in the United States for the U.S. Air Force. Do you know the American designation given to it?

08/27/2026

Tony may roll his eyes at the attention, but we gotta give the fans what they want! And his decades of work and wisdom in airplane restoration are absolutely priceless.

After all these years, it’s hard to find anything that would bother or surprise him, as you can see here by his resistance to the varnish he applied last week. It can be hard to hear him, but at one point, he mentions he’s just too used to “too much dope!” 😂

What he MEANS is, he’s had to apply a lot of butyrate dope to the fabric-covered aircraft, and it smells TWICE as strongly as any of this varnish, at least. He always wears a respirator, but still… it’s hard to imagine being used to that kind of stink. 😷

What’s the stinkiest chemical you’ve had to work with during your time with aircraft?

08/26/2026

Don't tell Geebs (our museum cat), but it's National Dog Day! Geebs may not have a canine counterpart to celebrate, but we do have some adorable plushies relatively new to our gift shop. Who wouldn't want to cuddle with one of these?

08/25/2026

What's your favorite fun fact about the Douglas SBD Dauntless?

08/24/2026

08/22/2026

Happy Birthday to us! 🎉 What is your favorite memory with us, over our past 45 years?

We've been over here enjoying cake and presents (the first 32 Yanks Air Museum Members to arrive receive a complimentary anniversary gift bag today), and are looking forward to our presentation at 1 pm in the Flight Center. Join us to learn about the past and future plans of the museum, or at least reminisce with us and our fans here in the comments. 🎁

08/22/2026

We’ve got a lot we’re working on over here, but got some rare shots of us looking super cool while doing it. 😎

Dang, we’ve got some amazing jobs. 🧑‍🔧

08/20/2026

With National Aviation Day just having passed, we're not slowing down the celebration any time soon... Why? Because our birthday's coming up! 🥳

Saturday, August 22nd, we'll be celebrating 45 years of our museum being open! 🤩

We'll have a special presentation at 1 pm in the Flight Center that you won't want to miss, but that doesn't mean you should wait to get here either. The first 32 Yanks Air Museum Members to arrive will receive a complimentary anniversary gift bag, and there will be birthday cake for as long as it lasts! (Depending on our visitors' appetites, that may not be very long). 🍰 👀

📸 credit: Paddy B Photography