After a paint job, familiar sight in front of Robins AFB will reappear at the museum

For nearly 30 years, an F-15 fighter jet on a pedestal has welcomed people to Robins Air Force Base, but now it is gone.

On Saturday, members of the 402nd Maintenance Group removed the plane. It will be relocated to the Museum of Aviation to be part of a planned memorial to deceased base workers, according to a post on the base Facebook page.

But first, the plane will be given a new paint job by the 402nd, part of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, the post said.

The plane was lifted by crane off the pedestal and set on a flat-bed trailer on Ga. 247, then part of the fence nearby was removed and it was moved onto the base.

The memorial is a relocation of a memorial on base. Each year, in conjunction with Memorial Day, the base has a ceremony to honor base workers who died during the past year. Their names go on a wall but many families don't have access to see the memorial, so it is moving to the museum, which is open to the public.

The plane has sat on the pedestal along Ga. 247 in front of Building 215, the command headquarters of the complex. It was near the visitor's center and main entrance gate into the base. Robins historian Bill Head said the plane was put there when Maj. Gen. Richard Gillis commanded the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center between 1988-92.

Roland Leach, base spokesman, said in an email that the plane will still be visible from Ga. 247 once it is at the museum. The memorial will be in front of the main parking lot near the highway.

The base does heavy maintenance and worldwide management of the fighter jet.

This story was originally published March 26, 2018 at 4:19 PM with the headline "After a paint job, familiar sight in front of Robins AFB will reappear at the museum."