US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB

[jayb]

Just got back from a family vacation through Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.  Among other attractions, we spent most of one day at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton.  Always wanted to go there, and finally made it this week.  What an unbelievable collection.  I'll let the pictures do the talking; sorry for some of the poor photo quality, but its pretty dark in some areas, and the place is so big that the flash doesn't light it up:

















































































































If you ever get the chance - go there.  You won't be disappointed.

[cjshaker]

Great stuff. Been there lots of times since it's not very far from me and since I LOVE vintage aircraft. They have some pretty rare specimens and a wide variety of the coolest planes throughout US aviations history. The WW1 fighter biplanes have always been my favorites since I was a kid. In fact, any radial engined biplane is just tops in my eyes. Glad you went and enjoyed it, Jay.

But on a sad note, it looks like you guys were about the only people there. While that's great for your visit, it's bad for the future of any museum. There's just not much interest in this stuff anymore, or history in general. Really really sad

While you were in the area, another great place to have visited would have been the Center of Science and Industry, or COSI, in Columbus. A neat place for the whole family and people of all ages.

[garyv]

It's an amazing place ! My wife and I spent 3 days there going through everything a couple of years ago.
It takes a lot of time when you consider how much stuff is in there besides the actual aircraft.  I loved the other
displays that are there.
The restoration hanger is great. You can go in and actually look at a restoration in progress. They were working on
the Memphis Belle when I was there.
My father was in the Air Force and flew mostly in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands with the 54th Troop Carrier Squadron.
Flew mostly C 124's.  There is one on display there and it spans almost the whole width of one of the hangers.
Huge plane for its time.  Took lot of pictures for him when I was there.
If you haven't been and love planes it's worth the trip.
garyv

[babybolt]

Wow, I've been there three times and it looks like they have added quite a bit since the last trip.

There a couple of little aircraft museums in and near Washington DC you need to see too, as well as Oshkosh.

[fe66comet]

When I see some of the restored aircraft with so many mission bombs you have to stand and count them it amazes me they made it that long. I have never been to the museum but I see them at military shows, you wonder how something so large was not shot down, a true testament to American engineering and spirit.

[machoneman]

2X for a visit. What a cool place. Can't begin to see all even in 3 days! Worth the time for sure.

[mlcraven]

XB70 Valkyrie and the Apollo program, I sometimes think human imagination in the realm of aviation and space peaked in the 1960s

[GJCAT427]

We were there in 2000 with my boys scout troop. Camped on the WP base and spent 2 days at the museum. My boys got to see some family history. Their great grandfather work at Bell Areospace in Buffalo NY  and worked on the X plane development. Was amazing to see all the aircraft he worked on.

[lovehamr]

I'm retired AF and have been there quite a few times.  I've got to say that it just gets better and better every time!

[Diogenes]

Wright-Patterson is an amazing place. I've been there a few times--its just a 2.5 hour trip down I-75 for me. It is very difficult to get good photos in there, though, unless you use a tripod. The lighting is fairly low, but that helps preserve the great history, so if you plan a visit and are into quality photography, take a mono-pod at the very least.

They have a great gift shop there , with a lot of unique and interesting inventory on the shelves.

Jayb, looks like you got some pretty good photos.