Air and Space Museum

Our original plan was to visit the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in D.C., but after some thinking we decided to skip that one since we have a fantastic natural history museum in Manhattan and visit the Air and Space Museum instead. We only had about an hour in our schedule to stop, so we were running through there snapping pictures and looking at as many things as we could, as quickly as possible.  

When you first walk in the doors, you look up and see all of these airplanes hanging from the ceiling. It's quite a sight and and makes for a dramatic first impression. 

We saw a Bell XP-59A Airacomet, the first American jet fighter aircraft. It was developed during WWII, but the P-59 never saw combat. It did however, open the way for future jet fighters in the U.S. military.

Standing against the wall below the planes were two rockets. On the right is a Soviet SS-20, a surface to surface missile that carries three warheads. On the left is a U.S. Pershing II, a U.S. an intermediate-range surface to surface to missile that can carry a single thermonuclear warhead.

The North American X-15, an experimental rocket powered aircraft, was the first winged aircraft to go four, five and six times the speed of sound. It was initially tested in 1959.

Below is the Rutan Model 76 Voyager, the first aircraft to fly completely around the world without any stops or refueling. This famous flight occurred in 1986 and lasted just over 9 days, setting a flight endurance record. The lightweight design is due to the materials used in its construction: kevlar, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. I don't think I would have been brave enough to ride in that one.

There was a whole exhibit on aerial photography and the important role it has played in spying. Brian loved this section! This is an early example of aerial photography, some guy just leaning out over the plane's edge holding a camera.

On display with all the aviation spyware was a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, a single manned, ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. It can fly at a height of up to 70,000 feet. The black shapes on the plane's underside (below the air intake) are windows through which the cameras can take pictures. This type of plane has been used by the U.S. Air Force since 1957.

A nearby display illustrated the setup of the U-2's pilot's cabin. The controls are set up in such a way as to allow the pilot to control the plane and take pictures from his seat. Because of the high altitude, U-2 pilots have to wear a partially pressurized space suit.

They had a U.S. Pilot survival kit on display. It was interesting to see the things included. This same kit was carried by Gary Powers who was flying a U-2 over Russia in 1960 when he was shot down. He survived the crash but was captured and imprisoned by the Soviets for nearly two years. The Soviets traded Powers for Rudolf Ivanovich, a KGB spy imprisoned in America. Ivanovich was living in Brooklyn, NY when he accidentally spent a hollow coin containing some information. The coin later broke open, revealing the information, and the feds traced the coin back to him and he was arrested. Powers kept a journal while in captivity and wove a rug (on the right), which he used to conceal the journal and smuggle it home.

We stopped for a moment to look at this model of one of Leonardo DaVinci's ornithopter flying machines. Its construction was based on his drawing.  The nearby plaque speculated that it was unlikely that DaVinci ever actually constructed any of his flying machine designs.

This Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, both a rocket and jet-powered super sonic aircraft, was the first aircraft to reach Mach 2. It achieved this feat in 1953.

We took time to walk through an exhibit about the Wright brothers. We had no idea that inside was the actual Wright Flyer, and when we discovered what it was we were super excited. The canvas wasn't the original, but the frame and everything else was. It was the first actual "heavier than air" powered aircraft to take flight. It is a surreal experience to stand in front of a piece of history you learned about when you were young.

During the flight trials at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, the Wright brothers made four short successful flights in this plane.

Vin Fiz, a Wright EX Biplane, was piloted by Cal Rodgers during the first coast to coast flight in 1911. At the time, there was a prize for the first guy to complete the flight within 30 days. With frequent stops along the way, Rodgers completed the flight in 49 days, too long to win the prize but successful nonetheless.

The propeller of the Douglas World Cruzer Chicago caught our eye, along with its exposed radiator. It was one of four specially built aircraft commissioned by the Douglas Aircraft Company for transatlantic flight. The Chicago led the first around the world flight (with stops)  in 1924.

The red plane below is a Lockheed Vega 5B. In 1932, Earhart flew this exact plane across the Atlantic Ocean and later that same year flew it solo, across the United States without any stops, becoming the first woman to do either one.

The Fokker T-2 made the first non-stop U.S. transcontinental flight from Long Island, NY to San Diego, California in 1923. The flight lasted 26 hours and 50 minutes. Crazy, considering today it only takes 7 to 8 hours to fly that same distance.

The Explorer II was the cabin of a high altitude balloon. It was launched near Rapid City, South Dakota in 1935, carrying two men and their gear to a height of 72,395 feet.

The museum also had the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane flown by Charles Lindberg as he made the first non-stop flight from from New York to Paris. The plane only has one engine. The flight occurred in 1927 and took 33 hours and 30 minutes. It was a smaller plane than I imagined and the surface materials seemed so thin.

Hanging from the ceiling in the first room we entered is SpaceShipOne. This aircraft is a suborbital air launched space plane, meaning it's a rocket powered aircraft designed for regular flight at the outer edge of the atmosphere with the ability to enter space and then later re-enter the atmosphere. It's also the first commercial space flight vehicle not launched by a governmental body.

We stopped briefly to look at the display on commercial airliners. It was fun to see the early versions and how they have changed over time.

I loved this little mail plane. It's a Pitcairn PA-5 Mailwing, designed to carry airmail over the eastern U.S. Built in 1927, the routes this plane flew helped to build the routes used by Eastern Air Lines.

Brian was super excited when he learned that the museum had the Stratos Capsule on display. I didn't understand his excitement until he told me what it was. In 2012, Felix Baumgartener rode in this capsule as it rose up to the upper most edges of the atmosphere (24 miles above ground!). He then proceeded to jump out of this capsule, setting a few records. First, he is the first man to break the sound barrier without any form of engine power. Second, he broke records for the highest altitude jump. Third, he broke the official record for the highest manned balloon flight.

I thought Brian was pulling my leg at first. I couldn't believe that someone was crazy enough to JUMP OUT OF A AIRCRAFT 24 MILES ABOVE GROUND!!! We watched the video later and it is as crazy it is sounds. I was freaking out about it for the rest of the day. You can watch the jump here.

They also had the suit he was wearing during the jump on display.

They had more than one drone on display. The middle one pictured below is a MQ-1 Predator. The bottom one is the RQ-7 Shadow. The drones looked very creepy, almost sinister (at least that's what I thought). Kind of cool to see them though.

It was a fascinating museum. I loved seeing all the different models together in one building. It really highlighted how much aviation has changed and grown over time.