OK, who are we kidding? Mostly we wanted to tour the USAF museum.
I know that the last time I visited was on a Reily Elementary school field trip, probably in 5th grade. I don't recall much from that visit, circa 1983.
The museum doors open at 9am. Free parking! Free admission! Free wi-fi!
Why don't I go every weekend?!
We arrived at 10am for what the Reds advertised as an 11am start time. In the visitor center, Lou grabbed a map of the museum and discovered that the Reds Winter Caravan was set up in Hanger 2 (of 4) at the museum. Lou looked but did not find on the map Hanger 18.
We took our seats in eager anticipation of an entertaining and informative appearance by the Reds General Manager Dick Williams, broadcasters Jeff "the Cowboy" Brantley and Jim Day Domicile, Reds pitcher Amir Garrett, a Reds prospect named Tyler Stephenson (who?) and former Red Todd Benzinger (yawn).
At 11am, we were still waiting.
At 11:15am, we were still waiting.
At 11:20am they materialized.
Immediately, from the first word, the microphone for emcee Jim Day Domicile (standing, in the photo above) malfunctioned. The sound of his voice was barely audible over the feedback, screeching, buzzing, crackling. Each member of the Caravan was given his own mic. The microphones all performed similarly. And progressively worse. At one point we sighted 4 people hovering over the soundboard frantically trying to remedy the audio. The audio only worsened. 20 minutes after beginning with a Q-and-A of submitted written questions of suspect origin, the Reds pulled the plug on their presentation.
I went to the U.S. Air Force Museum and a train wreck broke out!
Faulty microphones laid aside, the Reds personnel proceeded with the standard autograph session. As we weren't particularly interested in obtaining autographs from Jim Day or Todd Benzinger, et al. [we've got Amir Garrett], and certainly not open to waiting 30 or 45 minutes to obtain said signatures, we bolted for the canteen for a lunch of burgers and fries.
Refueled, we ventured back into the hangers to check out all the cool aircraft. Lou most wanted to see the space program exhibits, my youngest niece was interested in seeing Air Force One and I most wanted to check out the Cold War era warplanes. The exhibits in the four hangers are organized, essentially, chronologically. As such, we headed for Hanger #4 (Presidential aircraft and space program) and worked our way backwards through the eras. In the 4 hours we had available to tour, we only made it through Hangers #4 and #3, plus the missile silo.
A return trip this summer is in the planning stages.
We first checked out the experimental USAF aircraft;
There wasn't an exhibit for the Jeep Main Battle Tank. Why would there be? However, suspended overhead was the Jeep Jet;
It weighed less than 300 .lbs and could be assembled in the field by 2 men in 20 minutes.
Don't believe the conspiracy theorists who will tell you the USAF is hiding alien spacecraft. They have it on the exhibit floor!
The star exhibit among the presidential aircraft is, of course, Air Force One. This is the iconic AF1 that was employed by JFK, William Jefferson Clinton and every Chief Executive in-between. In what was perhaps the most famous and certainly the most somber event to have transpired on this AF1, LBJ took his oath of office aboard this jet with Jackie Kennedy standing next to him, the blood of JFK splattered upon her dress.
Visitors to the museum are welcome to walk through Air Force One as well as the presidential aircraft that pre-dated AF1; Shangri-La (FDR; not photographed), The Independence (Harry S Truman);
And also Columbine (Dwight D Eisenhower):
I think the coolest of the experimental USAF aircraft on display is the massive, Concorde-like XB-70;
From the rear, its six engines (pictured, below) have an appearance of the Star Wars Star Destroyer spacecraft;
Sandwiched between Hangers 4 and 3 is the Missile Silo;
Mock-up (above) of a missile launch control room.
Random dude (not me; above) for scale.
The largest missile on display is the Titan II ICBM (below). Random dude (me) for scale;
As you maneuver about the museum -- looking here and there, up and away -- be careful that you don't bump into one of the many thermonuclear bombs that litter the exhibit floor!
Boom!
In the selfie (above) of a dummy [bomb! A dummy bomb you bullies!], I think I captured an image evocative of the films Dr Strangelove or Fail Safe. The eyes obscured, the dark and shadowy foreground contrasted with the large military aircraft brightly lit in the background.... a little eerie!
Everything we saw on exhibit is cool and merits far more attention than I can dedicate space to here. Some aircraft, though, are more awe-inspiring than others. To wit;
SR-71 Blackbird.....
B-2 Stealth Bomber.....
F-16 Thunderbird.....
F-117A Stealth Fighter.....
F-22.....
Two Soviet MiG's are on exhibit;
And an RAF Tornado;
Presidential aircraft are awesome in their own right, the missiles and bombs are frightfully awesome, the fighter jets are rock star cool, but I'm most interested in "the big birds." Specifically, the bombers. It's a Heavy Artillery thing. Such as the iconic B-52;
Among all the aircraft we saw on exhibit in Hangers 4 & 3, that which had me most agog was the too-big-for-photography B-36J Peacemaker;
Sporting 10 engines (6 rear-facing propellers, 4 jets), this was the 800-pound gorilla in the USAF Strategic Air Command; Quoting from Wikipedia:
The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engine aircraft ever built. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built, at 230 ft. The B-36 was the first bomber capable of delivering any of the nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal from inside its four bomb bays without aircraft modifications. With a range of 10,000 mi and a maximum payload of 87,200 lb., the B-36 was capable of intercontinental flight without refuelling.
There remains so much more to see at the USAF Museum. I'm looking forward with great anticipation at making a return trip this summer.
