My Dad Bailed Out Of This Exact 'Navy Museum' N3N!
Monday, January 6, 2014 at 10:59AM 
Navy N3N on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida (photo: NAM)
AirPigz Naval Avaition Musuem MeetUp January 24-26, 2014
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UPDATE: 1-7-14... I took advantage of the bitter cold yesterday to give my home office a deep cleaning, and in the process I found the old photograph of my dad actually leaving the N3N! I knew we had one that showed him off the wing but thought it was lost for good. It's posted below the 'climbing out' pic.
My dad, who passed away in 2009, retired from 35 years at United Airlines in 1987, and while he did bail out of the exact Navy N3N pictured above, he was never even in the Navy. He spent two years in the Air Force after graduating high school in 1947, but the post-war military didn't need pilots, and he wanted to fly more than anything else. He did wind up getting hired by United in 1952 as a DC-3 co-pilot, which led to a very satisfied career as an airline pilot... but how does this N3N fit in?
In the 1970's, this N3N was owned by a United 747 Captain named A. L. 'Ed' Prose. My dad was a 747 co-pilot at the time, and he and Ed flew the non-stop Chicago to Honolulu trip together many times. My dad had also been jumping out of airplanes for fun since the late 50's, and he eventually talked Ed into letting him make a jump from the N3N. The picture below was taken from our Citabria flying formation with Ed to get some pix of the jump. This was about 1977 over the Hinckley Illinois airport.
Circa 1977: my dad climbing out and then jumping from the N3N... just for fun!
So, while my dad did 'bail out' of this N3N, the airplane still had it's very capable owner/pilot at the controls : )
In 1979, Ed donated the N3N to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida where it was restored to Navy markings and put on display. My dad stopped by the museum many times to reminisce about the day that he, as a 747 co-pilot, made a jump from a 747 Captain's Navy N3N!
I never made it to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, so this January 24-26, 2014 MeetUp will be my first time there. I know I'll really enjoy all the museum has to offer, but looking up at that N3N and rembering the day my dad made a jump from it will definitely be a highlight!
Currently there's about 9 of us planning to meetup, but I'd love it if more were able to make the trip. Check out the basic post about the meetup and then click here to send an email for more info.
Reader Comments (2)
Great story! After he climbed out of the front cockpit, how did he make the jump without risking getting hit by the tail? Just curious how it's done.
That is neat!