National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Visit: World War II Era

By Fred Harl

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has an extensive World War II Era collection, which includes aircraft, weapons and other equipment from Allied and Axis Powers.  A wide variety of military equipment, much of it nearly 70 years old, has been preserved in this priceless collection and well-packed into the exhibition hall.  Life-sized dioramas put you into the scene of a field maintenance operation or even a mishap in a Yale trainer. Put yourself in a B-29 or a Schweizer T-3 training glider, and everything in between.  Here is just a very small sample of the World War II Era Gallery.

Northrop P-61C Black Widow

Consolidated OA-10 Catalina

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Douglas A-12G Havoc

Douglas A-20G Havoc ground crew diorama

Curtiss C-46D Commando

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

Messerschmitt Me-262A Schwalbe

Focke-Wulf FW190D-9

North American P-51D Mustang

Messerschmitt Bf-109G-10



Martin B-26G Marauder

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

North American A-36A Apache

De Havilland DH-98 Mosquito



Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VC



Curtiss AT-9 Jeep/Fledgling

Bristol Beaufighter

Bell P-63E King Cobra

Douglas A-24

North American B-25B Mitchell

Douglas B-18 Bolo

Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero

North American BT-9B Yale



Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIa

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk

        

Solar Impulse Across America: Midwest Aviation Welcomes Visit to St. Louis

By The Aero Experience Team

Solar Impulse, the innovative Swiss-designed, solar-powered aircraft that has captured the attention of the world, has landed at its only planned Midwest U.S. destination - St. Louis, MO.  Solar Impulse Across America has so far included visits to San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas and St. Louis, and the flight will continue this week to Washington, D.C. and New York.  The aircraft, piloted by project Founder Bertrand Piccard, landed at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport at 1:28am on June 4 after flying for 21 hours and 22 minutes.  With an average ground speed of 26 knots, even rush hour on the highway seems fast.  But it has been demonstrated that plane and pilot can stay aloft over 20 hours on solar-generated power.  An around-the-world flight is planned for 2015 in a second-generation aircraft.  Here are some views of the aircraft and crew in the large transportable hangar set up for the visit to St. Louis.

  














New Development: The Solar Impulse will take off around 4:00am June 14 for a flight to Cincinnati, Ohio prior to flying to Washington, D.C.  Midwest Aviation provides another waypoint for the Solar Impulse as it works its way across the U.S.

Here are some more views of the Solar Impulse without the cockpit cover. 

 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Visit: The Vietnam War Era

By Fred Harl

The Aero Experience visit to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force takes us to the Vietnam War Era gallery. Again, it is dark and gloomy, like an R.G. Smith oil painting, with war clouds hanging over Southeast Asia.  Many of the Cold War Era aircraft and weapons were tested in this arena, with some performing well in a foreign environment while others proved inadequate for the task.  Putting the round peg of European-centric tank warfare weapons in the square hole of the Southeast Asian jungle was a daunting task indeed, but one that the U.S. military performed with the same grit and skill that it showed in past conflicts. Here are some views of the U.S. Air Force aircraft and weapons that were used in this conflict:

North American F-100F Super Sabre

Republic F-105G Thunderchief

 

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II

 

 

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PF Fishbed D, The Phantom's Adversary

 

McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo

 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Visit: The Cold War Era

By Fred Harl

The Aero Experience visit to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in our Midwest Aviation neighboring city of Dayton, Ohio finds us in the deep, dark recesses of the Cold War Era.  The dim lighting and dense arrangement of aircraft in the hall brings a sense of foreboding that is reminiscent of the cloud of nuclear threat that hung over the world the forty years following the end of World War II.  The collection reflects the dawning of the jet and rocket age, those weapons that kept the peace by threatening a war of annihilation.  Other aircraft used in the Vietnam War and Gulf War are covered separately.  

Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird

Convair F-106A Delta Dart

Radar and Infra-Red Falcon Missiles on Convair F-102A

Boeing RB-47H Stratojet

Convair F-102A Delta Dagger

Tightly-Packed Cold War Gallery

Convair B-58A Hustler



GE J47 Engines on Convair B-36J Peacemaker

McDonnell ADM-20 (GAM-72) Quail

Convair B-36J Peacemaker Cockpit

Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter

Republic RF-84K Thunderflash

Northrop F-89J Scorpion