NAMPA — The old war birds at the Nampa Warhawk Air Museum are going to have to make way for a new resident. I’m senior reporter Roland Beres and they’re anticipating the arrival of a familiar sight from the skies above Boise, a new permanent resident: The A-10 Warthog.
While the Warhawk Air Museum is putting the finishing touches on its newest section on the Global war on terror, the centerpiece is about to arrive.
“It really ties in with the mission in the global war on terror and so many of the pilots you know they’ve flown the A-10 in our air show. We take our stuff to Gowen thunder. They all come out here with their kids and grand kids so it really made sense to everyone out there that the a-10 would come out here to the Warhawk and we’re super grateful for that. It’s a big honor.” said Carson Spear, executive director of the Warhawk museum.
The A-10 has been a fixture in the skies above Boise since 1996 as part of the 190th fighter squadron at Gowen Field.
Its known for it’s quiet engines, ability to take huge punishment and keep flying, and for it’s massive 30 mm gatling gun that can cut a tank in half.
But, it’s now being phased out, and every aviation museum wants one. But few are as lucky as the Warhawk Air Museum.
“You think about the global war on terror and you think Bradley’s, hum vees, apaches, Blackhawks and then the a-10 those are really the weapons of military might that come to mind with the global war on terror,” said Spear.
There’s no question that these old warbirds were designed to be lethal.but these guns, they’re not allowed for civilian aircraft obviously, that’s going to be a difficult job though for the A-10 because when they bring it in here to the museum they have to remove the gun. And it’s a gun that the entire plane was built around. Should be quite a job. Reporting from Nampa, I’m senior reporter Roland Beres Idaho News Six.
