G-Star Plane on Cover of Smithsonian Magazine & in PB Post!
The Palm Beach Post covered the delivery of a second historic warplane to the back lot of the G-Star Studios (www.gstarstudios.com) owned by the G-Star School of the Arts for Film, Animation and Performing Arts (www.gstarschool.org). The article and photos are shown below. However, this very same Grumman Mohawk OV-1 number 959 (serial number 15959) airplane was featured on the cover of the Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine in March 1997. Built in 1967, our Mohawk was memorialized in the article titled “The Last of the Mohawks” by John Sotham with photography by Erik Hilderbrandt. The number 959 is clearly visible on the nose of the Smithsonian Magazine plane and on the nose of our plane in the Palm Beach Post article. Mohawk 959 was the last of its kind. It flew it last mission over Korea and was retired after 29 years of operations “over some of the most hotly contested geography on the planet. It was the only fixed wing aircraft ever built specifically for the U.S. Army since the Air Force became a separate service in 1947.” The article goes on to say, “Because form followed function (for photographic and visual reconnaissance), the result was an airplane with a bulbous cockpit, slender fuselage, and odd triple-tail arrangement; it looked like a cross between a helicopter, an airplane, and an insect.” Upon further research we found it was a highly classified secret mission plane with much of its history still blacked out. We do know it operated the most sophisticated recon equipment of its time and that it’s missions are still secret today.
We are very proud to have this magnificent historic Grumman Mohawk OV-1 plane now enshrined next to our other historic WWII Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain plane that flew in Normandy on D-Day 1944 on our G-Star Studios back lot where our G-Star students sit underneath their life-saving wings during lunch.