Woodies USA roadtrip: it's the oldest & biggest in the world

Driving, driving and more driving was the plan - we had a date with some friends in Vermont in a couple of days. I don’t think we’ll get very far at this rate, especially if we decide to go back the next day. I’m talking about the biggest and oldest in the world! The US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio has three massive hangars full of US military aircraft. Starting with a replica of the Wright brothers airplane and ending with the most modern and sophisticated of military technology. There was even a silo full of enormous ICBM’s (inter continental ballistic missiles) & rockets used for launching satellites into space. We didn’t have much time so we started of with the newest planes hoping to get through most of the museum - no such luck. We only got through the first hangar. But Deanna and I both managed to misplace our hats. We stayed as long as possible but when we finally got kicked out we had made our decision we MUST come back tomorrow. We put in the closest Walmart on the GPS and it sent us down a road that had a closed gate. Luckily some nice fellows helped us turn around (they thought we were dumbarsed Aussies, - which is good cos we don’t them thinking Kiwis are stupid so we didn’t bother correcting them).

We planned to be back at opening time but over slept our alarm - which caused a little panic and a quick start, even Deanna got out of bed quickly – record timing for sure. Jacks went up, slide went in and we were on the road headed for a big day at, once again, at the museum

This time we started in the beginning (oldest planes) and worked our way back to the end where Deanna and I found our misplaced hats squished under the seats of the cockpit we could sit in. Before leaving we took in an Imax movie about the blue angels (an air show group) and how the first people flew, then rushed back to another auditorium for our briefing on what to do and what not to do at the Presidential Hangar. There were 2 areas, the first containing 4 versions of ‘Air Force One’ used to fly presidents from Roosevelt to Clinton but we all agreed Elvis’s was much funkier. The 2^nd dome was called the R&D Hangar with planes much more crowded - a nice lady showed us some of the funny looking ones & explained what they were about.

So... by now it was 3pm and we were a day behind schedule so Dad took the wheel again and we drove... and drove... and drove. In fact after a quick stop for pizza dinner Emma and I put the beds down and tried to sleep but the roads here are so bump I don't think we had much luck. We ended up making it as far as Buffalo where our wheels finally stopped turning about midnight. But at least we were within striking distance of Vermont tomorrow.

Til next time... from Amy

OK, Dad needs a turn on this one. This museum was a treasure trove - you really can't describe the number and condition of the aircraft there, and almost all seemed to have some historical significance. They say it takes 3 days to do the museum properly, in the end we had a day in total but I'm sure we missed plenty. Short video clips on everything from the Berlin airliftto the holocaust to the B2 bomber as well as an air force hall of fame amongst other exhibits.

I was really pleased that we had some flexibility built into our schedule becase we didn't even know this place existed but we were able to stop and take a decent look. The url for this place is www.nationalmuseum.af.mil if you would like to take a browse.

Also below, for those who are interested, are a few photos we took and a brief description of each aircraft.