Chanute Air Force Base

[StanFoster]

Here is a view of the old Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois.

Its within my 25 mile FAA dogleash as I am flying off my 40 hours in my RAF. I thought I would touch down on this monster runway.

[StanFoster]

Lined up for 18

[PW_Plack]

What great-looking candidate for a fly-in. Is it a busy place?

[StanFoster]

Paul: Its not busy at all. In the summer ,,for ten days it is as they hold a big national skydiving event. Its just run by a small FBO. There is an awesome air museum there with a B52. C130..minute man silo,,and a bunch of other planes.

[CLS447]

How many more hours till you cut the apron string?

Got any trips planned?

Nice little airport!!!!!!!!

[StanFoster]

Chris: I have just over 20 hours now. I am really not just up flying and burning up gas. Each flight I am evaluating something. Todays mission was trying to determine minimum level flight speed. I was at 1000 agl...and I had it down to 30 mph holding 1000 feet. I still had throttle left....but I am slowly exploring the corners of the flight envelope. I think I can get it several mph slower. It was a gusty day today...and as you know...my stab is not immersed in the propblast...and I am just being cautious with the slower speeds over my tail.

[asmuzsr]

Boy that brings back memories. I was there from Nov 68 to Apr 69. Cold and snow.

Tony
N267A

[donshoebridge]

I was stationed there from Oct '85 to Dec '85. I live just a few hours away now and have taken the kids there once. I have some hard copy pictures that I took in '85 and also from a couple of years ago.

It was a bit strange going back. The Minuteman gate guard is still standing at the west gate just like it did almost 20 years ago. Most of the aircraft that are now in the museum use to be on static display a various locations around the base.

The B-25 on display use to be parked right outside my dorm - Facktor Hall. The B-58 they have was farther east, about a block short of the headquarters building. There use to be a B-36 parked just north of the approach end of runway 9. I have a feeling that we're all drinking cold beverages from her now.

There use to be a collection of aircraft painted in Thunderbird colors starting with a P-51 and ending with the F-4. Some of them made it to the museum.

The museum also has an F-111 landing gear trainer - FULL SIZE! And yes, they do demos of it. They crank up the hydraulic power unit and throw the switch. I have to make a return visit so I can see that.

[asmuzsr]

Are the old "hospital"barracks still there?

Tony
N267A

[StanFoster]

Tony: Even though I have lived only 12 miles away for my 50 years...I know practically nothing about Chanute. Its like its another country.

[Madewooden]

Never made it to Chanute, did my 16 weeks of aircraft maintenance training at Sheppard AFB in Texas. Hard to believe I worked fighters and bombers for 30 years. B-52, KC-135, A-10, F-4, F-5, F-16, F-111, F-117, B-1, and B-2. But I'm planning on building my own Gyrobee!

[donshoebridge]

Tony,

As best as I can remember, all of the original building are still there. The entire hospital is still standing! I was shocked when I saw it there empty. A few of the building have been either purchased or leased by private companies. One is a hair salon, one place has indoor paintball, and one of the new dorms that was opened in '85 is now an apartment building.

I'm not sure where the hospital dorms/barracks were located, but there were a series of buildings that were being torn down on the south end of the base, northeast of the hospital. They looked like dorms. I only got the that side of the world during in and out processing.

All of my time was spent on the north side of the base. Only during my last week there did I have any time to spend looking around. Our class was scheduled to leave about a week after the new year, and the powers that be thought that it was wasteful to have us go on Christmas leave only to come back for a week, then depart to our permanent duty station. So they kept us in class longer, and we out processed on 20 Dec 1985.

Don

[asmuzsr]

That may have been them. They were long single floor buildings. Basically a long hallway with a room on each side. Had a small dayroom in front and a catwalk connecting each building on the front and back. Were about 15 I think. Course that was about 36 years ago so their due to be torn down.
They actually had WW2 barricks, they wanted me to be barricks commander of, while I was there. When I saw the open air showers and toilets I decided that being an assistant BC with my own room was a better deal.

[donshoebridge]

Tony,

I think that was them. They were single story and I remember a couple of guys talking about some old WWII baracks.

True story... When we arrived at Chanute, most of us bought a cheep brief case for all of our books. Somewhere at the south end of the base (at your baracks I think), the guys that were out processing would have a ceremonial launching of the brief cases via rocket power. There use to be a hobby shop just outsdie the north gate that everyone would visit. This was the source of the rocket engines. I wish I would have seen a couple of them launched.

Don

[asmuzsr]

I remember that shop. Wanted to get dome thing to fly, r/c but it was winter and money was short.
I still remember marching to class one night,in snow up to our knees awith ice under it. Chill factor 20 below.

[donshoebridge]

When I went back for a visit, the hobby shop was gone, and all of the attaching buildings were also gone. I guess there was nobody left to support the shop. I bought an F-111 model there, built it and entered it into the base model competition. Not only did my model win, the points I got for the model won the Commanders Trophy for that year. I have some old pictures of the model that I'll have to scan and post.

The weather during my stay was typical for the mid-west. One minute it was hot, then hail and tornados, then snow, then warm again.

Don