Trip to the Birth Place of Aviation

Whenever i saw a fighter plane go past in the sky i used to think whether i will get a chance to watch these planes closely. Especially after all the media information regarding the fighter planes the USA has used in the Gulf War, Yugoslavia and the details of the fighters India is buying from Russia, Details of how Israel is upgrading the fighter planes with night vision capability etc. I was very keen to see them closely. And my dream came true when i visited the US Air Force Museum which is located in Dayton, Ohio.

Dayton, Ohio is called the birth place of aviation. The Wright Brothers about whom we all read a lot were born here. Dayton is located 3 hours drive from Detroit. The directions for the museum are pretty clear. The museum had a lot of aircrafts in the open space as it was difficult for them to put these also in the three hangars. All the airplanes exhibited here were in running condition. They were flown to the museum after their service had ended.

The first hangar housed the primitive airplanes. We saw the model of the first airplane built and successfully flown by the Wright brothers. Then there were exhibits with detailed description about the various developments that came in the aviation industry which led to the present day aircraft.

The second hangar housed the aeroplanes used during the war with Korea, Japan, Germany and other countries. These were mainly the planes used during the World Wars I and II. They had all the planes with famous names which destroyed the enemies.

The third hangar (my favorite) housed the latest aircraft which were running up to the Gulf War. They had the Stealth Fighters, Unmanned Aircraft, Missiles, B-52 Bombers etc. There was a plane which flew thrice the speed of sound (Mach3). There was a reconnaissance plane which could fuel other aircraft and also it had a small aiplane inside its belly which when required can fly and hit any targets and come back in to the plane. All this while the airplane was still flying.  

Outside the hangars in the open there were many more airplanes. There was a nuclear missile launcher which could travel in any terrain, dig a deap hole and launch the nuclear missile (ICBM). There was the famous C130 aiplane which could carry huge loads of cargo.

The store at the museum was full of books and posters. There was a book which gave details of each every exhibit in the museum. Buying this book was good as we don't have time to read each and every description so afterwards this would be a very good reading.

There was another hangar which was around 2 miles away which housed the Air-Force One. It had all the airplanes used by the Presidents of the United States till today. The planes are brought here after they are retired. They enclosed the seats, tables, rooms etc in glass chambers so that visitors do not touch them. As a result the passage way is only 17 inches in width. So fat people cannot get in to the airplane. There is a passage of the same width before one goes to the airplane to test whether he/she can fit in to the airplane. They definitely don't anybody to get stuck inside!!!

This was a very good trip which was educational, and also gave a view of the capabilities of the USA way back when we did not have airplanes at all.