Smithsonian Air And Space Museum

This post is just plane crazy! It's all about aviation but for an amateur historian still fascinating.

DH is an aviator and oldest DS would have loved to join the military but only if he could fly! Sadly for him, he is color blind an automatic eliminator. However he has become an airplane encyclopedia, there is very little he does not know about almost every airplane made! And he can still fly as a private pilot just not for the military or probably the airlines either.

 It is too hard to choose photos of these aircraft to show, so many fascinating pieces of aviation history.

 Here is one, the Blackbird.

 Models of some of the "flying machines" that litter the history of human flight.

So here is a quick trip around the museum, it is gigantic, massive overwhelming!

Not sure what this is but it looks dangerous!

Just one section of the building from the middle level.

Teeth to this one!

Engines, engines, engines DS#1 would be in heaven!

 

All wood, a glider.

Hmmmmm! Ungainly to say the least.

The uniform of a much decorated First World War aviator.

 The uniform of the famous Eddie Rickenbacker.

 And even some simulators.  Many years, decades ago our family visited Ft. Rucker Alabama when DH processed through fixed wing training. There we were able to take a ride in a helicopter simulator and I actually got to fly it!

Not sure which simulator this was but we ran out of time and the museum was closing so I had to make tracks to the gift shop to buy a couple of gifts! The four hours we had there were not nearly long enough to cover everything, a whole day would be better!