A day surrounded by things with wings.

This week-end, I was blessed to have a good friend, Tom, and his young son Damien come to visit. And on Sunday, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Annex at Dulles to see some vintage military veterans.

Old NFO was waiting for us when we got there.

What? What did I say?

Anyway, the four of us spent a few nice hours walking among the warbird collection.
Here's the SR-71 that greets you when you come in.

Off to the right of the observation platform is this Chance-Vought F4U-1D Corsair.

Here's another shot, because who doesn't love Corsairs? (Old Japanese pilots excepted.)
I need this Corsair.

Ryan PT-22 trainer.

Northrop P-61C "Black Widow" night-fighter.

Republic F-105D that could not be more awesome if you...covered it with awesome sauce, I guess.

It's awesome.

The North American F-100 Super Sabre was America's first truly supersonic jet fighter.

Next to the Super Sabre sits a Curtiss Helldiver.

And just down the way sits a Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

Admit it...you're humming the song from Top Gun now...or at least thinking it.

North American's F-86 never stopped being cool.

This Cessna O-1A "Bird Dog" did just about everything that a light plane could do in the skies over both Korea and Vietnam.

And this Hawker Hurricane once kicked German ass in the skies over Britain.

Old NFO told us about how he used to fly on these Sikorsky H-34s.

He also had some great stories about his time on these Lockeed Super Constellations.

I'm pretty sure that he logged some hours on this Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny", too (snicker).

And what visit to this museum would be complete without a minute to reflect on one of the two Boeing B-29s that ended the Second World War seventy years ago?

A great day with great people surrounded by great planes. Who could ask for more?

Udvar-Hazy, The Jets

Well we did find one aircraft there that I really don't care to fly--the ME-163 Komet.

Basically a rocket with wings, it took off, climbed almost vertically and raced around until it's fuel was gone--about fifteen minutes--and then it glided back to land in it's skid, having jettisoned the wheels on take-off.

It was supposed to be one hell of a ride, but the Komets had a disturbing tendency to explode on landing if any of it's fuel was left in the tanks. Thanks, but I'll pass on this one.

Then we spotted this MiG-21, and Old AFSarge starts in: "Oh, there's one of the big-tailed MiGs...I think that one was made in 1963...on a Thursday...after lunch." Did I mention that he knows his airplanes?

And then there's this way-cool F-4 Phantom, one of McDonnell-Douglas' finest creations. Do you think that this one didn't evoke a few stories from Sarge?

Rear view of the Phantom. Maybe he'll post the story he told me about those dive brakes on his site.

Old adversaries, now neighbors. Russian-designed Mig-15 (left) and North American F-86 Sabre (right). Many of these birds used to tangle over the Yalu River between Korea and China.

This F-86A actually saw combat in the skies over Korea. Chuck Yeager once said that it was the sweetest-handling jet he ever flew. I only regret that I'll have to take his word for it unless I hit the lottery and suddenly find myself able to afford one. But if I ever do hit that lottery...

The MiG, Actually a Chinese-built F-2. Hey, thanks Britain for selling the Russians those Rolls-Royce jet engines after World War Two. They couldn't have had this plane without that technology.

Grumman A-6E Intruder, the first true all-weather attack plane. Navy Intruders flying off of carriers caused much pain for the Vietnamese communists...and at least one mediocre movie.

This Vought F-8 Crusader logged 400 combat hours in SE Asia and 7,475.2 total flying hours, the most of any Crusader. The F-8 was the first fighter to break 1,000mph in level flight. This one is shown with it's emergency generator deployed out the right side. Ideally, this generator would provide enough power to get the plane home if it's main electrical system went out.

OK, crank up the Top Gun music. This Grumman F-14D actually killed a real MiG over Libya in 1989.

The museum's North American F-100 Super Sabre looks airworthy and combat-ready to me....and it's awfully close to the door.

And then we have my favorite jet--the Republic F-105D Thunderchief, or "Thud", as it was renamed nby it's crews.

This single-seat D model flew missions in SE Asia out of Tahkli before it finished it's flying with the District of Columbia Air Guard.

This aircraft was originally designed to deliver tactical nuclear weapons to targets in Europe. It found it's fame as a low-level conventional attack bomber in Vietnam, however. This aircraft and it's crews brought the fight right to Hanoi and ultimately brought the Vietnamese to the bargaining table to end the war, but it did so at a cost: 350 were lost there out of 610 built.

Want some good books on the Thud? Try When Thunder Rolled by Ed Rasimus, Going Downtown by Jack Broughton, and Tahkli Tales by Billy Sparks. All three of these air warriors flew the Thud over North Vietnam and wrote about their experiences, and sadly, all three have since "Gone West".

An old fat guy contemplates the Thud, wondering what it would be like to actually fly it and sighing because he knows that he'll never get the chance to find out--the world will never see (or hear) another F-105 take flight.

Cool shirt at least, eh?

Udvar-Hazy (Part 3)

The Smithsonian was blessed with a number of captured enemy aircraft after World War Two was over. Those of interest to the US Military were brought back here for study, and a good number eventually were sent to the Smithsonian. (Insert tear here for those that were just scrapped.)
Notable in the Smithsonian collection is this German jet-powered Arado Ar-234 "Blitz" bomber.

Nine of these were captured in Norway at war's end. Four were shipped back here for study at Wright-Patterson Air Base. This is the only one existing today.

Next to the Arado is a Dornier Do 335 fighter, believed to have been the fastest prop-driven fighter built. The Germans claimed to have had it up to 474mph in level flight.

It had two engines, one in the front and one in the rear. The one in the rear apparently had cooling issues. The spindly landing gear was another problem. It sure was tall though.
48 were built by war's end. Two were brought back here for study, and this, like the Arado, is the only survivor.

And here's one that I'd give my left foot to fly...at least one of them. It's a Focke-Wulf FW-190, and these were supposed to be some sweet flyers indeed. It could reportedly whip any Allied fighter until the Spitfire MkIX came along in late 1942. It was also the only German fighter to use a radial engine.

I tried to get OldAFSarge to pull a fire alarm so we could sneak it out the emergency exit but his wife and daughter walked up before we could pull it off.

Hey, it's a shiny new Curtiss Helldiver!

This was not here last time I was looking around.

Oh, wait...it was. It was in the restoration shop in pieces. Looks like it's done now, and done darn nice.

So what't in the restoration shop now?

It's a B-26 Marauder jigsaw puzzle!

It's Flak Bait!
During World War Two, this bomber flew over two hundred missions over occupied Europe, collecting over a thousand bullet and shrapnel holes in the process.

For the ongest time, it's cockpit section alone was displayed at the main Air and Space Museum in DC. Every time I saw it sitting there without it's wings or fuselage, I was always reminded of that "moose scene" from the movie Arthur. ("Where's the rest of this B-26?" "You must have hated this B-26.")

Also on display is this Grumman F8F "Bearcat", made into a racer by aviation legend Darryl Greenameyer.

Yeah, it was fast, but--ugh! Chopped wings! Can't decide if I hate Greenameyer more for wrecking Kee Bird or doing this to an F8F.

Another classic Grumman aircraft here is this amphibious Grumman Goose. Just pure cool. This one also spent a long time disassembled and on partial display in the main museum. Glad to see it all in one piece and here now.

And here's an aft view of the Goose, with a Beech Bonanza in front of it. A split-tailed Bonanza is high on my list of planes to replace the Cessna with. This one, the fourth one ever built, flew from Hawaii to New Jersey in 1949, a record-setting flight at the time.

And back in the corner is a particular favorite of mine--a Lockheed Super Constellation.

Such a sleek plane. Kinda like a flying greyhound. Rumor has it that Old NFO flew on this plane one...of course rumor also has it that he flew on the USS Macon. (At least that's what OldAFSarge said.)
Note the cute little Cessna 152 "Aerobat" in front if it. I really should have looked harder for one of those. +6/-3G's... Really!

The Super-Connie's big, but they made her fit in here. And she's wearing the colors of the West Virginia Air Guard's 167th Airlift Wing, the same outfit that flies flew those C-5 Galaxies from my home field in Martinsburg.

Ah, that triple tail. And they've got three more of these out at Pima!

Gotta go for now, but come back later--we haven't even touched on the jets yet!