Mar 26, 2025

Old Friends and other Flying Things


Many summers ago, my son and I took the opportunity to travel out to Dayton, Ohio to pay a day visit to the U.S. Air Force Museum and Wright Patterson Air Force Base. As it was a very long drive each way from our home in Pennsylvania for basically a day tour, it was certainly a trip with a specific purpose, but was most worth it. If you should have the opportunity to visit there, you should take it. You will find housed within the massive hangers both in the museum and on the adjoining Air Base, an amazing array of aircraft on display, from the earliest history of aviation to the our countries (as much as our government will allow that is) most advanced creations. Among the seemingly hundreds of birds on display, were a few that I had the opportunity to serve on (or simply get a ride in) while in the Air Force and it was great fun to see Hayden experiencing them for the first time.

The images here are of bit and pieces I found in my eye when walking around the museum, from the mind bending (and challenging physics it seemed to me) experimental craft, to ones that have carried our Presidents, to those that sadly carried out the terrible acts of wars that we have fought.

The one found in the top image is a C-141B. Although I never personally flew on this particular bird, I certainly logged allot of miles on it's counterparts and always...well mostly always...enjoyed my time in them. It was quite a formidable plane, one which has served our country's interests well and even though a few storms buffeted (and worried) us while in the air, this fine craft along with well skilled crews I was privileged to serve with, always returned us to the ground in one piece. Have this opportunity to stand underneath one of these planes for the first time in 30 years, being able to feel the seams of it and look up at the 'whale tail', was much like visiting a long lost friend...my memories returned and there was a long lost familiarity found in it's presence. The very best part of that day though, was not the trip down memory lane or the pride I felt in the tasks performed long ago for my country...but only that I had the privilege to be able to introduce some of these old friends of the air to my son. That he too could marvel in the 'flesh' at these amazing structures and the true wonder that any of them is able to break the gravity and rise into the sky.