I did not post yesterday due to Internet connection issues at the hotel but, since both yesterday and today were mainly spent at the same location, it probably doesn’t matter much.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I made a relatively early start and drove from Washington, Pennsylvania to Dayton, Ohio. This was an uneventful 235 mile drive west along I70 and the scenery changed from scenic hills and forests to largely flat and boring along the way. I arrived in Dayton around midday and went straight to the attraction that was highly recommended to me by a good friend, the National Museum of the US Air Force.  The museum did not close until 5 PM so I figured I would have plenty of time to explore everything I would want to see but, boy, was I mistaken.

The museum consists mainly of four very large rectangular buildings joined together by short hallways. Even though the hallways are short and you walk across the short dimension of each building it is still an amazing 0.8 miles from the entrance to the fourth building. As Donald Trump would say “this place is HUGE”. In addition to the shear size and number of exhibits the quality of the displays and the information provided is outstanding. Suffice it to say that, after four hours of fascinated viewing and reading, I had only explored one and a half buildings. I was exhausted from the slow walking and standing that always seems to get me in museums so I went to my hotel knowing that I would need to return Thursday morning. I spent a further four hours there today before driving to Starbucks so I could get an Internet connection and book a hotel in Cincinnati for tonight.

The map/video for Wednesday is here and Thursday is here.

The museum, of course, is chock full of aircraft ranging from Wright Flyers to a Space Shuttle. Building One covers early flight, WWI and  WWII, Building Two (the naming is not very creative)  covers the Korean and Vietnamese wars, Building Three covers the cold war but Building Four was my favorite. This only opened a few months ago and includes remarkable displays on Presidential Aircraft and Air Force research projects. They have three Presidential planes covering the time from President Roosevelt up to Bill Clinton and you are able to go on-board and walk through all three. The research projects are fascinating and described all sorts of crazy and interesting ideas and solutions. The many photos below include a few of these and there is a special photo embedded in Wednesday’s video to encourage you to view it. If you are anywhere close to Dayton this museum is a “must see”.

Air Force One – this plane was used by eight presidents from Kennedy to Clinton.

This photo shows about half of the communication panel in Air Force One that allows the President to connect with world, political and military leaders.
This jet plane takes off vertically, like a rocket, and then levels out. To land it slows down, turns to the vertical and then lowers itself to the launch ramp again – wow! Anyone remember Thunderbirds?

This photo is of the film bay in an early spy satellite. The film was incredibly thin and rolled up in the gold container. Once all film had been exposed it had to be returned to earth in this small re-entry vehicle. The vehicle protected the fragile film from thousands of degrees of heat during re-entry and then deployed parachutes to slow its fall. It was retrieved in mid-air by an Air Force plane to ensure it wasn’t damaged in a landing or fall into the wrong hands.
This is a largest air-borne camera ever built and was used for reconnaissance missions in the cold war. It is so sophisticated that it can identify a golf ball from a height of 40,000 feet.
The actual Apollo 15 Command Module as it returned to Earth.

And then there were many planes and missiles.