Thursday, October 7, 2010

National Museum of the United States Air Force







Wow this was an amazing place for boys - especially those who are interested in flying machines, war and such things. Of course that does not really include myself but I still went anyway. My favorite part of this museum was the humongous planes outside on an old runway/parking lot. As the day was about 90 degrees in the shade this was a warm venture to visit.

The museum inside has air conditioning and is enjoyable and HUGE. There are many different parts to this museum and a gift shop for those knick-knacks and reminders or just to purchase postcards because your camera can't do it justice.

The stories that are told through the history of the aircraft is amazing. We even saw Kennedy's Air force One. Fancy that. Yes it was interesting and good to go back to again in a few years when perhaps my little guy is not so tired!

The galleries are filled with places, gliders, the Wind tunnel example that the Wright brothers used to work out how to fly/build their plane. One of their planes is on display too - exciting to see especially once you have studied flying! there are the Cold War and Missile Galleries too - not to be missed. Mannequins and other props are used to make this museum more friendly to visit.

The boys and their Dad paid to ride in the the Cockpit of a 'bomber' I think. They 'flew' over the mountains, down the valleys and had a 5 minute ride of fun. My oldest could not stop talking about it afterwards and the little guy said they nearly crashed into the mountains! He thought it was real!

We had an enjoyable time there and as it is not too far of a drive from home can be visited from here in one day too. It is free with a huge parking lot. During school times I am sure there are plenty of school tours but you can pick to get there later in the morning to avoid the crowds I think. This museum is open 7 days a week and is staffed mostly by volunteers which is amazing too.

I hope you enjoyed walking through our vacation to Ohio with us this year and some of our memories for years to come. I like sharing them with you too.

Here is a link for their website:

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum

1 comment:

Mindy said...

Wow! My guys would love the mock flying! When we lived in Pensacola, we visited the Naval Aviation Museum a few times. The Blue Angels practiced right over our house! Pretty neat.