The Ford Barn

VeryTangled · 08-13-2014, 01:14 PM

Hi Everyone,

On the way from the DC area to Springfield, IL, we're gonna stop at the National Museum Of The US Air Force in Dayton Ohio.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/index.asp

Anyone visited? Care to give any hints or tips?

Is it worth it to try to get onto the airbase to see the Presidential and R&D Galleries?

I searched their site for the word FORD and found over 10,000 matches. It looks like they have a Model T ambulance, an M151-A1 Jeep, and quite a few Trimotors, some electronics, and even a V1 type Buzz Bomb called a Loon.

Thanks.

MuskegonFlatheadFan · 08-13-2014, 01:27 PM

plan at least a full day, maybe more if available. The place is huge.

VeryTangled · 08-13-2014, 01:40 PM

Thanks for the reply MuskegonFlatheadFan,

If things work correctly, we'll get within an hour drive or so on Saturday night. Find a place to stay, then hit the museum at 9AM Sunday. Kill several hours, possibly more than 1/2 the day, then try to get to the other side of Indy and bed down. Monday we make the final leg into Springfield for a mid-afternoon arrival.

I do sorta want to see the XB-70.

Ross F-1 · 08-13-2014, 02:34 PM

You don't need to do anything special to get into the museum, it's not exactly part of the base.

If you have been to the Smithsonian's air museum (Udvar-Hazy), a lot is the same, but with more thoroughness and detail. Many more engines on display. I don't recall a lot of Ford stuff, a Tri-Motor maybe. It's FREE, too!

VeryTangled · 08-13-2014, 05:32 PM

Hi Ross F-1, Because I'm in the DC area one of the few benefits is the (semi) easy access to two of my favorite places, the NASM on the Mall, and the Udvar-Hazy out at Dulles. I can always have a good time there and have been in excess of ten times each.

The one at the Mall has a lot of good stuff on the Wright Brothers, and that's another motivation to visit because their Huffman Prairie flying field, where they perfected their machine after proving the concept in Kitty Hawk, is where Wright-Patterson is today. There's a lot of Wright Bros. history here with College Park Airport and Fort Myer. The Wrights fascinate me.

The Udvar-Hazy, as I remember it, has a fabulous engine collection, some of them are super tricky.

As I'm understanding, all exhibits except the Presidential and R&D are off the base. Those two require a bus ride to see them. The R&D is where the XB-70 lives. I've been on the Kennedy era Air Force One when it was displayed at the Andrews Airshow a few years ago.

Lawrie · 08-13-2014, 05:34 PM

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Make sure you have good shoes,that place is big.
Also go over to the other part that houses the spy planes and old airforce one planes,
Lawrie

Terranova · 08-13-2014, 06:12 PM

It's broken into (or at least was the last time I was there) into three or mor eras. Early flight, WWi WWII. Space flight and then post space race. Each has a fairly sizable hanger. If you have a favorite era, focus on that.

keith oh · 08-13-2014, 07:36 PM

To spend only a half a day, you will maybe get through the souvenir shops in that little time.

tamnalan · 08-13-2014, 08:27 PM

Hey Jeff - I work at Wright Pat. The museum is heaven if you're into military aviation. If you can only spend a couple of hours, then pick a theme (e.g. Wright brothers, WWI, WWII bombers, early supersonic fighters, ICBMs, etc) and stick to that. You'll be overwhelmed if you just show up and wing it. The main museum entrance is on Springfield Pike - no base access required. The presidential collection will require either a bus ride or base privileges. If you have a DoD or retiree ID then you can enter via gate 19B. The presidential collection is in an old hangar on C St.
Have fun! It's a most amazing place. I'm a professor at AFIT. We hold our graduation ceremonies near the B-52 in the main museum.

paul2748 · 08-13-2014, 08:37 PM

I visited the museum when CTCI had a covention in Dayton (hotel right next to the base). It is GREAT. You need two or three days to see it all in my estimation. A lot of very nice dioramas, great collection of planes. Unfortunately, I only had a short day and probably missed a lot.

jrhaelig · 08-13-2014, 09:02 PM

You will love it!! I finally got to go a couple of years ago while bringing a very tired son home from Indianapolis.

We did it in half a day - which was a track meet for sure, but I had to negotiate.

Definitely do the extra hangar for the XB-70 Valkyrie. Get your free bus pass at the counter early as they go fast.

I have been lucky enough to see a lot of great planes, so we focused on what we hadn't seen before. Maybe that is a strategy you can use, too.

tamnalan · 08-13-2014, 09:04 PM

Here's a couple of photos:
This one is of my '43 Willys taken at the top of the "acceleration runway" - a short downhill experimental runway built during WWII. The museum's restoration hangar complex is on the lower left, and the main museum in the back right. The restoration hangars contain the "Memphis Belle" - a famous B-17 bomber.

I took this second picture in 2012, behind the museum (left background on the pic above), during a reunion of the April 1942 Doolittle raid. About 21 B-25 bombers flew in for the reunion and did some formation flying above the museum. The sound of all those radial engines was inspiring.

Clem Clement · 08-13-2014, 09:12 PM

Tamnalan,
I also love the museum. I need to get back. I helped build the XB-70 while working at North American. I'm a hurricane hunter so the WB-50 was a joy to see.(I also have a 39 pickup.)

I have a piece of the Ship Osfreischland that the museum wants

tamnalan · 08-13-2014, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clem Clement

Tamnalan,
I also love the museum. I need to get back. I helped build the XB-70 while working at North American. I'm a hurricane hunter so the WB-50 was a joy to see.(I also have a 39 pickup.)

I have a piece of the Ship Osfreischland that the museum wants

Wow! The XB-70 is a most amazing plane. Glad to see it was finally moved indoors a few years ago.

I had to look up that ship. Funny! My coworkers are a bit frustrated with our local senior leadership right now and were discussing our need for a "Billy Mitchell moment"!

Marvin/TN · 08-14-2014, 03:02 AM

A full day just won't get it, you can walk through it in a day but can't really see it. In 2008 my brother and I spent 3 days there and yes it is worth going to see the R&D planes etc. If you have a militiary or retired military ID card you can drive over there otherwise you have to wait for the shuttle bus at the Museum. I found two airplanes I actually worked on and my brother found a 3rd one he had worked on as well. Some outdoor things to see as well such as a British Control tower and ready room. planes go all the way back to the Wright Bros. It open at 9 AM and closes at 5 PM 7 days per week . Admission and parking is free.

Marvin/TN · 08-14-2014, 03:04 AM

If I remember right if you are there on Fri you can go to where the Memphis Belle is being restored.

Marvin/TN · 08-14-2014, 03:12 AM

The AF 1 at Wright Patterson is the one that brought Kennedys body back from TX. The second AF 1 (Columnbine III) is there) The first AF 1 Columnbine II is deterating out in the desert. ( in AZ I think). Money being raised to try and save it before it's too late.

Marvin/TN · 08-14-2014, 03:14 AM

One of the guides told us that all of the planes are restored to flyable condtion.

tamnalan · 08-14-2014, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvin/TN

One of the guides told us that all of the planes are restored to flyable condtion.

I think that some are more flyable than others... but the restoration folks do a first class job. They do some really amazing work. Foundry.. machining... they do it all. The restoration hangars are a fantastic tour if a guy has the time and opportunity to do it.

I would love to do volunteer work there after I retire.. even to just clean parts or sweep the floors. Fascinating place.

Pat/Ohio · 08-14-2014, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeryTangled

Thanks for the reply MuskegonFlatheadFan,

If things work correctly, we'll get within an hour drive or so on Saturday night. Find a place to stay, then hit the museum at 9AM Sunday. Kill several hours, possibly more than 1/2 the day, then try to get to the other side of Indy and bed down. Monday we make the final leg into Springfield for a mid-afternoon arrival.

I do sorta want to see the XB-70.

Hi Jeff,

It was great seeing you in Gettysburg! How many do you have in your party? We have room for 3 if you want to bed down here. I am located in Wilmington...around 25 miles from the AF Museum. I would love to be going to Springfield, but my schedule won't allow me this time.

Regards,
Pat

08-13-2014, 01:14 PM	#1
VeryTangled Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: (Not far enough...) Outside of DC Posts: 3,387	Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Hi Everyone, On the way from the DC area to Springfield, IL, we're gonna stop at the National Museum Of The US Air Force in Dayton Ohio. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/index.asp Anyone visited? Care to give any hints or tips? Is it worth it to try to get onto the airbase to see the Presidential and R&D Galleries? I searched their site for the word FORD and found over 10,000 matches. It looks like they have a Model T ambulance, an M151-A1 Jeep, and quite a few Trimotors, some electronics, and even a V1 type Buzz Bomb called a Loon. Thanks. __________________ -Jeff H Have you thought about supporting the Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum? Last edited by VeryTangled; 08-13-2014 at 01:24 PM. Reason: added link for museum

08-13-2014, 01:27 PM	#2
MuskegonFlatheadFan Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Muskegon, MI Posts: 252	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff plan at least a full day, maybe more if available. The place is huge.

08-13-2014, 01:40 PM	#3
VeryTangled Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: (Not far enough...) Outside of DC Posts: 3,387	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Thanks for the reply MuskegonFlatheadFan, If things work correctly, we'll get within an hour drive or so on Saturday night. Find a place to stay, then hit the museum at 9AM Sunday. Kill several hours, possibly more than 1/2 the day, then try to get to the other side of Indy and bed down. Monday we make the final leg into Springfield for a mid-afternoon arrival. I do sorta want to see the XB-70. __________________ -Jeff H Have you thought about supporting the Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum?

08-13-2014, 02:34 PM	#4
Ross F-1 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: NM Posts: 2,438	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff You don't need to do anything special to get into the museum, it's not exactly part of the base. If you have been to the Smithsonian's air museum (Udvar-Hazy), a lot is the same, but with more thoroughness and detail. Many more engines on display. I don't recall a lot of Ford stuff, a Tri-Motor maybe. It's FREE, too! __________________ '52 F-1, EAB flathead

08-13-2014, 05:32 PM	#5
VeryTangled Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: (Not far enough...) Outside of DC Posts: 3,387	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Hi Ross F-1, Because I'm in the DC area one of the few benefits is the (semi) easy access to two of my favorite places, the NASM on the Mall, and the Udvar-Hazy out at Dulles. I can always have a good time there and have been in excess of ten times each. The one at the Mall has a lot of good stuff on the Wright Brothers, and that's another motivation to visit because their Huffman Prairie flying field, where they perfected their machine after proving the concept in Kitty Hawk, is where Wright-Patterson is today. There's a lot of Wright Bros. history here with College Park Airport and Fort Myer. The Wrights fascinate me. The Udvar-Hazy, as I remember it, has a fabulous engine collection, some of them are super tricky. As I'm understanding, all exhibits except the Presidential and R&D are off the base. Those two require a bus ride to see them. The R&D is where the XB-70 lives. I've been on the Kennedy era Air Force One when it was displayed at the Andrews Airshow a few years ago. __________________ -Jeff H Have you thought about supporting the Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum? Last edited by VeryTangled; 08-13-2014 at 05:43 PM.

08-13-2014, 05:34 PM	#6
Lawrie Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Qld, Australia Posts: 4,223	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Make sure you have good shoes,that place is big. Also go over to the other part that houses the spy planes and old airforce one planes, Lawrie

08-13-2014, 06:12 PM	#7
Terranova Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Grove City, Oh Posts: 255	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff It's broken into (or at least was the last time I was there) into three or mor eras. Early flight, WWi WWII. Space flight and then post space race. Each has a fairly sizable hanger. If you have a favorite era, focus on that.

08-13-2014, 07:36 PM	#8
keith oh Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Millersport, central ohio Posts: 668	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff To spend only a half a day, you will maybe get through the souvenir shops in that little time.

08-13-2014, 08:27 PM	#9
tamnalan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Dayton Ohio Posts: 104	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Hey Jeff - I work at Wright Pat. The museum is heaven if you're into military aviation. If you can only spend a couple of hours, then pick a theme (e.g. Wright brothers, WWI, WWII bombers, early supersonic fighters, ICBMs, etc) and stick to that. You'll be overwhelmed if you just show up and wing it. The main museum entrance is on Springfield Pike - no base access required. The presidential collection will require either a bus ride or base privileges. If you have a DoD or retiree ID then you can enter via gate 19B. The presidential collection is in an old hangar on C St. Have fun! It's a most amazing place. I'm a professor at AFIT. We hold our graduation ceremonies near the B-52 in the main museum.

08-13-2014, 08:37 PM	#10
paul2748 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Midland Park, NJ Posts: 3,986	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff I visited the museum when CTCI had a covention in Dayton (hotel right next to the base). It is GREAT. You need two or three days to see it all in my estimation. A lot of very nice dioramas, great collection of planes. Unfortunately, I only had a short day and probably missed a lot.

08-13-2014, 09:02 PM	#11
jrhaelig Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bridgewater, New Jersey Posts: 264	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff You will love it!! I finally got to go a couple of years ago while bringing a very tired son home from Indianapolis. We did it in half a day - which was a track meet for sure, but I had to negotiate. Definitely do the extra hangar for the XB-70 Valkyrie. Get your free bus pass at the counter early as they go fast. I have been lucky enough to see a lot of great planes, so we focused on what we hadn't seen before. Maybe that is a strategy you can use, too. __________________ John Haelig Bridgewater, NJ 1939 Ford Pickup 1963 Lincoln Continental 1939 Buick

08-13-2014, 09:04 PM	#12
tamnalan Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Dayton Ohio Posts: 104	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Here's a couple of photos: This one is of my '43 Willys taken at the top of the "acceleration runway" - a short downhill experimental runway built during WWII. The museum's restoration hangar complex is on the lower left, and the main museum in the back right. The restoration hangars contain the "Memphis Belle" - a famous B-17 bomber. I took this second picture in 2012, behind the museum (left background on the pic above), during a reunion of the April 1942 Doolittle raid. About 21 B-25 bombers flew in for the reunion and did some formation flying above the museum. The sound of all those radial engines was inspiring.

08-13-2014, 09:12 PM	#13
Clem Clement Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fairfax, VA Posts: 3,393	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff Tamnalan, I also love the museum. I need to get back. I helped build the XB-70 while working at North American. I'm a hurricane hunter so the WB-50 was a joy to see.(I also have a 39 pickup.) I have a piece of the Ship Osfreischland that the museum wants

08-14-2014, 03:02 AM	#15
Marvin/TN Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN area Posts: 832	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff A full day just won't get it, you can walk through it in a day but can't really see it. In 2008 my brother and I spent 3 days there and yes it is worth going to see the R&D planes etc. If you have a militiary or retired military ID card you can drive over there otherwise you have to wait for the shuttle bus at the Museum. I found two airplanes I actually worked on and my brother found a 3rd one he had worked on as well. Some outdoor things to see as well such as a British Control tower and ready room. planes go all the way back to the Wright Bros. It open at 9 AM and closes at 5 PM 7 days per week . Admission and parking is free.

08-14-2014, 03:04 AM	#16
Marvin/TN Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN area Posts: 832	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff If I remember right if you are there on Fri you can go to where the Memphis Belle is being restored.

08-14-2014, 03:12 AM	#17
Marvin/TN Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN area Posts: 832	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff The AF 1 at Wright Patterson is the one that brought Kennedys body back from TX. The second AF 1 (Columnbine III) is there) The first AF 1 Columnbine II is deterating out in the desert. ( in AZ I think). Money being raised to try and save it before it's too late.

08-14-2014, 03:14 AM	#18
Marvin/TN Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chattanooga, TN area Posts: 832	Re: Nat'l Museum of USAF, Ford Stuff One of the guides told us that all of the planes are restored to flyable condtion.