A trip to the United States Air Force museum
United states of America are very proud of their military and air force, and, as a result, you can see some pretty impressive air force museums and exhibits all across the country. The most famous of such exhibits is probably the one in Washington D.C., called the Air and Space museum. I have visited it in September, and, although impressive, I like the National museum of the U.S. Air force in Dayton, Ohio much better. I live pretty close to it, so I have been there quite a few times. Well, more than twenty for sure. And why do I like it so much? Feel free to keep reading to find out.
Where is the Air force museum situated?
Dayton is a home of the infamous Wright - Patterson air force base. If you are into extraterrestrial stuff, you probably know that the Wright Patterson air force base is the home of the Hangar 18, which supposedly stores proof of extraterrestrial activity and some alien bodies, transported here from Roswell, New Mexico. Unfortunately, neither the base nor the Hangar 18 are open to the public, and the closest you can get to the base as a civilian, is the Air Force museum, which is situated on the outskirts of the base.
The National museum of the U.S. Air force is situated in the Beavercreek area, more precisely on the 1100 Spaatz street. The way there is so well marked that you will not even need a GPS. There will be multiple signs on the highway that will point you to the right exit, and once you get off the highway, you will be able to see huge hangars in the distance, and this is where you are going.
The museum itself consists of four enormous hangars, and you cannot really comprehend how big it is, until you step inside the first hangar. Just for the reference - the four buildings are a home of almost four hundred airplanes and other aircrafts. They even have a flying saucer in there, but more about that later.
The museum has an enormous parking lot, and you do not have to pay to park there, which is pretty uncommon for the museums in the United states of America, but it is usually full, so you will have to drive all the way to the back of it, which is where you usually find a parking spot. For the reference, the parking lot is so big that it takes more than five minutes from its farthest part to the museum entrance.
Even the entrance into the National museum of the U.S. air force looks majestic!
Admission and opening times
The National museum of the U.S.Air force is open daily from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, and it is free! Of course, they will appreciate your donations, but do not feel obliged to pay.
Once you enter the building, they will inspect your bags and you will have to go through a metal detector. And once you are all clear, you can decide what you want to do first. If you turn left, this is where the IMAX theater is, and it costs a few dollars to see the show, which I heard is very good, but I have not seen it yet. I will. Someday.
If you turn right, this is where all the exhibitions are, but first, you have to pass through a pretty cool gift shop.
The gift shop
The National museum of the U.S. Air force’s gift shop is pretty extensive, and it is basically a paradise for aviation lovers. Seriously, you can get everything, from clothing items, space food, to chocolate and actual pilot jackets in there. And the best part - it is not too expensive!
First building
The first building of the National museum of the U.S. air force exhibits aircraft from the beginning of flight. Looking at them makes me wonder, how did some people have so much courage to try flying one of these aircrafts, which look so unstable, like a gust of wind will ruin them. I am also thankful to these people, because, thanks to their efforts, I can fly to several different destinations nowadays, which would be impossible to reach without flying.
In this building, you will also find some cool artifacts, such as some of the first pilots’ uniforms, weapons, and the aircrafts from the Asian wars.
Would you dare flying in this? It looks like a fun plane.
Second building
This building is dedicated to newer aircrafts, and you can actually see the damage from wars in some of the exhibited planes. Keep in mind that these are all actual aircrafts, not replicas, and you are not allowed to touch any of them for that reason. You will notice plenty of signs throughout the museum, reminding you not to touch any aircraft. The coolest, funkiest plane in this exhibit, is the flat bomber and it is a shame that you cannot see the interior of it. I would love to see how people can fit in there.
One of the newer planes in the second building exhibit.
What a name for a plane! Oh, maybe the name and the picture are there so they can distract you from the fact about how weird this plane looks.
This building also offers two fun rides. In one of them, you are flying a war plane, and in one of them, you are flying through space. Both of them are the simulator - style rides, and one of them will actually turn you upside down!
Third building
The best part of this building is that you can actually walk through some of the planes. My favourite plane to walk through, is the presidential airplane. Looking at these planes from the outside, and then entering and seeing how many things actually fit inside, is a pretty cool experience.
Between the third and the fourth building, there is an amazingly cool gallery with nuclear missiles. Before seeing them there, I thought they are way smaller. Well, since they can destroy everything on their way, their enormous size makes sense.
I always thought nuclear missiles are tiny. Well, I guess they are not. Just take a look at their size!
When in there, you can take an elevator up to a small balcony, where you can see an exhibit about astronaut food.This is one of my favourite exhibits in any of the museums I have ever been to. It is just so funny to imagine that something that looks like a puddle of mud, tastes like biscuits and gravy, or whatever other flavours they have there. Just looking at these foods makes me feel bad for the astronauts, but, on the other hand, they get to spend some time in space, which also makes me jealous.
Fourth building
The fourth building is my favourite, simply because it is dedicated mostly to the space exploration. In this gallery, you will see a life - sized replica of the space shuttle, satellites, a flying saucer (made by humans, not aliens, and it actually flew a few times, but it had problems with stability), and a virtual reality ride. The ride costs eight dollars, and you will be an astronaut, trying to repair a space station, destroyed by a meteor shower. I am not easily frightened, but this ride actually made me dizzy because everything looked so real! Well, I guess that is why they call it virtual reality.
That is one sharp looking plane! Pun intended.
The planes outside
If you think there cannot possibly be any more airplanes that exist in the world that you did not see inside the museum, you are wrong. There is also an exhibit outside, which shows a replica of an older military airport, including the control tower and some of the planes that were flown at that time. When you are driving towards the museum, you will see those planes in the distance, and they appear to be quite small, but once you are standing in front of them, you will realize how big they actually are.
Tours
Volunteers that work at the National museum of the U.S. air force, are usually army veterans, and they lead guided tours through the museum every hour. The tours are free, and what I like about them, is that each guide will take you through the same exhibits, but each one of them will focus on a different information, based on what they saw and lived through when fighting for their country.
A few words for the end…
The National museum of the U.S. air force is not your typical museum with portraits and sculptures. It shows a different type of art - an art of flying. And whether you are looking for something to do in the Dayton area on a rainy day, or are interested in aviation and its history, this museum will definitely leave you amazed.
