National Air Force Museum

  Our adventures have not stopped because we are back in the United States. A recent one hour side-trip took us to the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio (yes, the very same Dayton, Ohio that plays host to the national amateur radio convention known as the Hamvention).

  www.nationalmuseum.af.mil

  Located on the grounds of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, this is a massive collection of well over three hundred aircraft and aeronautical memorabilia. We spent the whole day exploring everything from the Wright brothers' first Air Force "flying machine" to the latest stealth technology (while standing under the B-2 Stealth Bomber, our son called to see what we were doing. That was cool!). I even found my favorite from World War II, the P-38 Lightning. We had a great day exploring and found it fun to watch older former flyers showing their grandchildren around. The one disappointment was the in-house cafeteria. There were not very many healthy choices available and the facility prohibited picnic lunches. So if you plan to visit the museum, eat off-grounds before you arrive or after completing your tour. That being said, this was well worth the experience. The museum is very child-friendly, especially for elementary and middle-school aged kids. They would love it!

The 1909 Wright brothers' military flyer.

The Standard Aircraft Company's J-1 Trainer was built for the US Army Air Service during World War I.

Many of us are familiar with the famous French Lafayette Escadrille from movies of World War I. American flyers who joined the Escadrille flew SPAD VII's like this one.

We got a kick out of seeing the famed Sopwith F-1 Camel because of the cartoon character, Snoopy's adventures against the Red Baron.

Seeing this tribute to Bob Hope's many years of entertaining troops overseas was special because our generation grew up watching him.

It was nice to see the Tuskegee Airmen getting recognition in the museum.

Of course, I had to include a picture of radio gear, especially being in the host city of the national amateur radio convention, the Hamvention.

My personal favorite plane, the P-38 Lightning. I was thrilled to find it included in this collection.