The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, has added to its collection in size and scope.
By Peggy Jordan, Associate Editor
October 2016
An airplane hangar nearly the size of four football fields? It’s almost too large to imagine. Yet it’s real, and it’s the new exhibit area at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
The hangar, which opened to the public in June 2016, is the fourth building on the museum site. Even if you’ve been to the museum before, you’ll want to return to see the newest planes and spacecraft that fill it.
The museum is operated by the U.S. Air Force and welcomes about 1 million visitors each year. It is the largest military aviation museum in the world. This latest addition, with doors that are 42 feet high and 175 feet wide, was built to hold large items related to the Air Force’s role in space exploration, among other activities.
What’s In It?
The building is connected to the rest of the museum, so your exploration simply continues from “previous” to “new.” Probably the first thing you’ll notice in this giant structure is a white giant itself: a very graceful-looking plane. It is an XB-70A Valkyrie, the only one of its kind left. It was built and tested in the 1960s and could fly at Mach 3 (more than 2,000 miles per hour). The plane is part of the Research and Development Gallery, one of the hangar’s four galleries.
Other R&D Gallery planes include stealth aircraft. The RQ-3 DarkStar was essentially an early drone (called an RPA, or remotely piloted aircraft). Several X-aircraft are here, too, built just for research.
Not far from the Valkyrie is a white missile that rests on 13-foot-high pillars. Like the Valkyrie, it is eye-catching. And imposing! It’s a Titan IVB rocket, and in this case, “huge” is not a big enough word, for it weighs more than 96 tons and is 204 feet long. Yet visitors can saunter safely beneath it to get a closer look.
The rocket is in the Space Gallery. This part of the hangar also boasts an X-15A-2, a plane flown in the mid-1960s that was the forerunner of the Space Shuttle. It could handle beyond Mach 5 speeds and altitudes above 50 miles.
And speaking of the Space Shuttle, visitors can walk through the original and only Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer. This simulator was used by all Space Shuttle astronauts. It’s not all just buttons and knobs, as you see in the control area; it also reveals the living and working area, sleep stations, bathroom, and more.
How did spy planes work before the advent of digital photography? You’ll be amazed by the C-119J Flying Boxcar Satellite Catcher and the GAMBIT 1 KH-7 Film Recovery Vehicle. The former caught our spy satellites so they would never be found (by our enemies) on Earth. The film recovery vehicle caught bucket-like vehicles (in midair); the “buckets” contained rolls of, shall we say, important film for development back in America.
From space and research we move on to the Global Reach Gallery and planes perhaps likely to touch the heartstrings of veterans. The airlift and cargo vehicles here include the Hanoi Taxi. This Lockheed C-141C Starlifter was the first jet aircraft built as a troop and cargo carrier. This particular plane flew the first American prisoners of war to freedom from Hanoi, North Vietnam, on February 12, 1973. It made flight missions for 30 more years. You can walk through this aircraft also.
Aircraft in the Presidential Gallery really drive history home, as you consider past presidents using them. The Columbine III, a VC-121E Constellation, flew Dwight Eisenhower to Geneva, Switzerland, for an important peacetime summit, among other missions. Franklin Roosevelt’s Sacred Cow, a Douglas VC-54C Skymaster, was modified to include an elevator that could lift the president and his wheelchair into the craft. He used it only once, to make the historic trip to the Yalta Conference in February 1945.
Visitors can walk through both of these planes, as well as perhaps the most famous former Air Force One in U.S. history. It was the first to have the blue-and-white paint scheme and the presidential seal. The Boeing VC-137C, with the call sign SAM26000, is where Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president after John. F. Kennedy was shot. The plane was retired to the museum in 1998.
Special areas in the new hangar called STEM Learning Nodes educate the public and school groups on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, among other topics. They’re like interactive classrooms, each with a different setup and function. The one nearest the Presidential Gallery contains tables and chairs, and its walls are lined with plane-like “windows” that appear to look out at clouds. In back is a separate area dedicated as a “holoroom” for the use of virtual-reality devices.
Many more fascinating planes and related items are displayed in the new hangar. If a previous visit to the museum required three or more hours, you now may want an entire day to take it all in.
And The Rest
So much was already here before the new building opened. Here is an overview of what else can be examined, imagined, and explored at the National Museum of the United States Air Force Museum.
The Early Years Gallery starts with Dayton’s hometown heroes, the Wright brothers. But how can one little area of a museum ever portray the impact these men had on the world? It can’t. After your visit to this museum, make a beeline to the other Wright Brothers locations that comprise Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. They include the Wright Brothers Aviation Center, with its original 1905 Wright Flyer III. Contact the Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau (see below) for details.
The Early Years Gallery has a reproduction of the 1909 Wright Military Flyer, considered America’s first warplane. Not even 10 years passed between the development of this craft and the popular Curtiss JN-4D Jenny, used as a training aircraft for pilots in World War I. It is astounding how quickly things developed. By the way, World War I will be given even more of a spotlight next year, as 2017 marks the centennial of the United States’ involvement.
The World War II area shows more evolution in flight technology. It includes a rare German Focke-Wulf; a British de Havilland D98 Mosquito (or “Mossie,” as they were called); Japanese fighter planes; and more. When you reach the Korean War and the Southeast Asia galleries, the planes look more modern.
In the Cold War Gallery, the very real threat of global thermonuclear annihilation is recalled via flashing lights and a scary film of a nuclear explosion. Nearby is the Missile Gallery. The space race is recalled with reminders of the Apollo missions, including a moon rock and other impressive artifacts. From here, the technology in the museum’s new building brings us to the present day.
One more thing to note: This museum has a good share of vehicles that are not planes. Helicopters, weather balloons, balloon baskets, and even a Sputnik satellite are ready for you to see.
Outside on museum grounds is Air Park, which displays some very large items, including a World War II control tower and a World War II Nissen hut. More planes are parked outside, such as a Lockheed C-60A Lodestar and a McDonnell Douglass F-15A Eagle. Children will like the playground, too.
Movies are shown at the Air Force Museum Theater (call ahead for ticket prices and show times), a huge digital setup said to be the biggest in southwest Ohio. Interactive simulators are at the ready, too, in case you’d like to know how it feels to be in flight.
For refreshment, head up the stairs or elevator (located at the gift shop) to the second floor. There, the Valkyrie Café offers snacks, sandwiches, beverages, and other items.
The museum’s roots date back to 1917, when it started as an aircraft engine museum for the military aircraft designers at Dayton’s McCook Field. It quickly broadened to display military aircraft, too. Over the years, the museum expanded, and it was moved to its current location on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1971. The museum is run by the Air Force; however, the Air Force Museum Foundation, a nonprofit group founded in 1960, funds building construction. Over the years, with ongoing growth, the foundation has continued its work. Completed at a cost of $6.5 million, the first of four buildings included 100 special aircraft on display. The price of the new building today? More than $40 million.
The price of admission to this priceless collection is zero. Parking is free, too. But if you are driving your motorhome to the museum, call ahead to learn where it’s best to park so as to avoid taking up regular-sized spaces.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is enjoyable just to visit. On a deeper level, you will leave feeling astounded by what the people in the United States have done and are technically capable of. Your patriotism and pride likely will rise to new heights.
Further Info
National Museum of the United States Air Force
1100 Spaatz St.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433
(937) 255-3286
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau
1 Chamber Plaza, Suite A
Dayton, OH 45402
(800) 221-8235
(937) 226-8211
www.daytoncvb.com
Area Campgrounds
The following may not be a complete list, so please check your campground directory or the RV Marketplace, found online at FMCA.com and in the January issue of FMC.
Dayton KOA Campground and RV Park
7796 Wellbaum Road
Brookville, OH 45309
(800) 562-3317 (reservations)
(937) 833-3888
Email: camp@daytonkoa.com
Frontier Campground
9580 Collett Road
Waynesville, OH 45068
(937) 488-1127
Miller’s Campground Inc.
6964 Township Line Road
Waynesville, OH 45068
(513) 897-0181
An airplane hangar nearly the size of four football fields? It’s almost too large to imagine. Yet it’s real, and it’s the new exhibit area at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.