(upbeat music) - [Robert] Greetings from Dayton, Ohio. Today we're finally visiting the National Museum of the Air Force, the Wright Brothers Memorial, and then a little farther north, the Armstrong Air & Space
Museum in Wapakoneta. It is going to be a museum kind of day. Enjoy. (bright music) ♪ I'm riding ♪ ♪ Riding riding ♪ ♪ Riding in my RV ♪ ♪ My RV ♪ ♪ Wherever I want to be ♪ ♪ Because I'm free in my RV yeah ♪ - [Robert] This is one of those museums I've been hearing about for many years. And needless to say, it is massive. This is one of those that
would take more than one day if you really want to see everything, and one of those you must visit
in person for that matter. But I'll try and do my best
here to show you the highlights in just a couple of hours. I mean, this is the definitive museum if you want to see airplanes, and it is completely free. There is plenty of parking, so we can do it with trailer in tow. (upbeat music) As we walk towards the museum, this on our right is Memorial Park. Here is a memorial to the United States and Allied personnel
who flew the Himalayas in the China Burma India
Theater in World War II. Here in the museum, there
are four huge hangers housing several galleries, and we're going to begin
with the Early Years Gallery. We begin with this timeline of
the early history of flight, beginning with hot air balloons in 1783 to heavier than air flight in 1903. Here's the Chanute 1904 glider. Jumping to 1916, here
we have the Fiat A.12 6-cylinder engine. And I apologize for the
lower video quality here, but this museum is kept pretty dark. And this is a wind tunnel from 1901. Here's a piece of fabric from the original Wright 1903 Flyer. The original aircraft
is, of course, on display at the Smithsonian in Washington. This, by the way, is
the 1909 Military Flyer. Very cool to see these machines from the very early days of
aviation and military flight. (lively music) Then, of course, came the World War I era, and airplanes were actually
constructed like this using wood frames and metal fittings. Here's a rotary engine
first appearing in 1909. The Herald Torpedo from 1917
invented here in Dayton. It was never used in war. Here's the Caproni Ca.36, an Italian heavy bomber. Very rare. Only 153 of them were delivered
between 1923 and 1927. Here's the Martin MB-2, the first US design bomber
produced in large numbers, first ordered in June of 1920. I could really go through
every single one of these. And believe me, I'm tempted, but then this would be
a very, very long video. You are gonna have to
come here to the museum one of these days. (bright music) Here we have the Interwar Years before we move to the
World War II Gallery. (bright music) We go from Nazi concentration camps to a map of the Japanese
objectives as of December, 1941. Let's step into the World War II Gallery, sadly, the deadliest war
the world has ever seen, at least in recorded history. And airplanes for the first
time played a major role. Here's a Curtiss P-40E Warhawk widely used at the beginning of the war. Here we have a B-25 bomber, one of America's most famous
airplanes of World War II. (gentle music) The B-24D Liberator,
another famous bomber. (gentle music) Very cool to see all
these airplanes up close. That, by the way, looks
very uncomfortable. So many airplanes, and we
are just getting started. We still have Southeast
Asia, Korea, Cold War, which is the one actually
I'm more interested in since I was alive at the time, and then the space presidential galleries. This is definitely one of those you need at least a whole day, probably two, to be able
to assimilate everything. Here we have some German
weaponry and aircraft as well. The small one is a 163B Komet, which had a rocket engine. Way ahead of its time. And here's the Me 262 Schwalbe, the world's first operational
turbo jet aircraft. The R-4 up there was the world's first
production helicopter. And here's the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Here we can see the evolution
of clothing in the Air Force. (gentle music) We continue to the Korea and Vietnam Wars. Here's a Douglas C-124
heavy lift cargo aircraft. Let's go into the belly of the beast. Mainly used during the Korean War, it could lift up to 34 tons. Hmm, interesting. (gentle music) Let's step inside the only B-29
bomber to become a jet ace. To become an ace, a pilot
must score five aerial kills, and this one killed five Soviet MiG-15s during the Korean War. (serene music) This one looks really cool. The B-45C Tornado. We're definitely in
the jet engine era now. Now, this is different. A North American F-82G Twin Mustang, famous for its very long range. It broke records, in fact. Here's a Soviet MiG-15 fighter. This one flown by a North Korean defector into South Korea in 1953. And here's the American
counterpart, the F-86A Saber. And here we have the emergence
of stealth technology. The F-22 Raptor was the first
stealthy air dominance fighter released in 1997. It combined stealth, maneuverability, and the ability to fly long
distances at supersonic speeds. Now onto the Cold War Gallery where we are greeted by a
giant B-52 Stratofortress. If you've ever seen one
of these up in the air, you know it is a site to behold. An F-105G. The B-52 is so large that
we have to see it in parts. I thought I was going to enjoy this part of the museum a lot more. And I am, don't get me wrong. But to be honest, we're getting tired. There are so many airplanes. I think this museum is
best enjoyed in sections. Just come one day and
just do the Cold War, and do another section a different time. It is free after all, so you can come as many times as you want. Here, we have some laser-guided bombs. (gentle music) It is like everywhere you look, you know, it is almost too much. Here we have a Soviet MiG-21. This one was made to replace the MiG-15 of the Korean War era. The MiG-17. Very cool to be able to get so close and get a glimpse inside the airplane. This Sikorsky HH-3E was
nicknamed Jolly Green Giant. Here's a UH-1P from the Vietnam War. - [Announcer] (indistinct) over 100 feet. - [Robert] We continue walking
around the Cold War Gallery, the gigantic B-52 ever
present in the background. (indistinct) Here's a sneak peek at the B-52 cockpit. I'm pretty sure the ones still in use may have updated electronics. You gotta have coffee, right? If you're flying the B-52. This is fascinating. Wondering what it would be like
flying something like this. Here we have more Cold War
history like the Berlin Airlift, which lasted over a year after the Soviet Union located all land supply routes to West Berlin. One of the saddest events of the Cold War actually may have been the
construction of the Berlin Wall built by East Germany to prevent mass migration to the west. As a result, families
got separated overnight, the city divided. Two different worlds separated by the so-called Iron Curtain for decades. Guess what? We still have a whole other half of the Cold War Gallery to see. (upbeat music) Here we have a Convair B-36J Peacemaker, a strategic bomber
predecessor to the B-52. The Convair had the six main engines and four smaller ones for
additional bursts of speed. Take a look at the wingspan on this thing. (bright music) Let's see what this is. Hmm, an XF-90 prototype. This one was used to test the
effects of a nuclear explosion while the aircraft was parked. This one is a Boeing WB-50D Superfortress. (gentle music) Okay, this is really cool to see. The inside of a fighter
jet packed with technology. Air conditioner, even a 250-volt inverter. Ooh, breathing oxygen. Yeah, very cool. It is an F-86 Sabre. (bright music) Here's the legendary SR-71 Blackbird. It was in service from 1964 to 1990. And during that time, it was the fastest and highest
flying operational aircraft in the world. And here's the legendary F-16. (bright music) No Cold War exhibit can be complete without talking about the Berlin Wall, which I talked about it briefly earlier. The wall finally came down
in 1989 after the collapse of the Eastern Europe
communist governments. Here, a car built in East Germany. Yeah, they weren't that great. Here we have more Russian aircraft. This one being the MiG-29. And here's an F-15. You see what I'm saying? It keeps going and going. It is almost too many
airplanes and helicopters, weapons, artifacts, you name it. (gentle music) Oh, here is the very
high-tech temper tent. Here's a Northrop B-2 Spirit test aircraft built without the engines
or the instruments. The B-2 Spirit had the
high aerodynamic efficiency of a flying wing design
with composite materials, special coatings, and the
classified stealth technology. As a result, the B-2
became virtually invisible to even the most sophisticated
earth defense radar systems. Now entering the missile gallery. Coming up next, the Presidential Gallery
and the Space Gallery. Here, they have a space shuttle exhibit, which is actually NASA's first
crew compartment trainer. Even though the outside doesn't
look all that authentic, the interior should be. There you go. Here's a previously classified
early warning satellite here in what would've been the cargo bay. That would've been the cargo bay. Now, what is this? These are very futuristic looking drones, Unmanned aircraft. Let's go look for the
Presidential Gallery. Satellite catcher. Here's the very unique
XC-142A built in the 1960s. It was both a chopper and an airplane. This particular design
never went into production. In fact, this is the only one left. But eventually other
aircraft like the V-22 Osprey took advantage of this technology. I see what looks like an
Air Force One over there, so we must be getting close
to the Presidential Gallery. This in front of us happens
to be the first aircraft purposely built to fly the
president of the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Douglas VC-54C Skymaster. Here, they have a gate
to make sure you can fit because it is kind of narrow in there. The airplane was officially
named the Flying White House, although it soon became
known for its moniker, the Sacred Cow, because of
all the security around it. ♪ Dada dada dada ♪ Let's step inside. This is going to be so cool. It's like stepping back in time. Here, we have the cockpit. Now I feel like I'm doing an RV tour. Here's the galley with two burners, sink, and even a refrigerator. On the other side, we have bunk beds. By the way, a refrigerator on a plane was very rare at the time. Moving right along. Here we have some storage
for luggage and other things. (gentle music) Could this be pantry storage? Here's a four-person dinette. On the other side, two sofas, a telephone, and a bunk overhead. Here, we have some closet space. This would've been the
executive conference room with a private lavatory and there's a Murphy bed behind the sofa. (bright music) Let's walk around and see
it from the other side. (gentle music) Here's more sitting and what looks like another
lavatory way in the back. Next we have the Douglas
VC-118 called The Independence built for Harry Truman, the 33rd president who took
over the executive office after FDR's untimely death. This was the second
aircraft built specifically to transport the president
of the United States, and is basically a military version of the DC-6 commercial airliner. Let's step inside The Independence, named after the town in
Missouri where Truman grew up. As we step inside, it looks like there is a
lot more technology here. This one had reversible pitch propellers, weather radar, a radar
altimeter, autopilot. And here, we have the cockpit. (bright music) Going towards the back. Check it out, Dead Reckoning Computer used as an aid to navigation. Computer. We're talking here late '40s, early '50s. Here, we have some more
technology on the other side. Let's keep on walking towards the back. Here, we have a small
sitting area for four. And more sitting areas here. Pantry storage, perhaps. Here is the very nice
galley with four burners, oven, sink, refrigerator. The conference room doesn't
seem to be as nice as FDRs, but it did say somewhere that items have been
removed for conservation. Way in the back, we
have a private lavatory. Yeah, there was another lavatory towards the middle of the
aircraft that I missed. Nice deck. Next, we have the Lockheed
VC-121E Columbine III, Eisenhower's Airplane from 1954 until he left office on January of 1961. It is a military version of the famous Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation commercial airliner. Welcome to the 1950s. Here, we have a little more technology. Here towards the front of
the aircraft, radar perhaps? And here's the cockpit. Lots of gauges in this one. (gentle music) Here's the radio station. Now let's walk towards the back. Eisenhower named this aircraft, which happened to be
his third constellation, Columbine III, after the official
state flower of Colorado in honor of his wife, Mamie. Still, none of these can match the comfort of a wide body like the
current Air Force One. But I'm sure at the time, this was luxury. Is that a Berkey water filter I see? Hmm, probably not. Very nice, the galley here. They keep getting bigger and bigger. (bright music) Here's the head, the lavatory. (lively music) Check it out, movie projector. Yeah, television as we know it was still in its infancy at the time. (gentle music) Here in the back, we have Mr. And Mrs.
Eisenhower's lavatory. Very nice, actually. I wonder what size are the holding tanks. Now, finally, things
start to look familiar. This is of course the first jet aircraft build specifically for the
president, Kennedy's airplane. It is a Boeing C-137C. Basically, a highly modified 707-320B. Besides Kennedy, SAM 26000 here carried seven more presidents. Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton. Touch-tone telephone. Things are getting modern. And since this one wasn't used until 1990, I imagine they have
updated it over the years. (bright music) This one looks a lot more high-tech in an '80s sci-fi movie kind of way. The galley, however, seems smaller. There may be another one towards the back. This is a much larger aircraft. (bright music) Ooh, nice conference room. And here's another conference room. - [Tour Guide] Yeah, it was. Kennedy and Nixon. - [Robert] Kennedy and Nixon? - [Tourist] That's the
way to fly right there. - [Robert] It's a little bit narrow here. - Now, this is the staff.
- Yeah. - [Robert] Yup, late '80s
technology all around. - [Tourist] Now you
know why they put that. - [Robert] This look pretty comfy. And yeah, there's a larger
galley here towards the back. It is a little crowded
in here, by the way. Seems to be a popular plane. And those are the lavatories. - [Tourist] Got another galley. - [Robert] This Gulfstream
carried senior American leaders like ex-presidents, presidential spouses, secretaries of state and
defense, foreign dignitaries, and many higher ranking civilian officials and military personnel. Finally, we have the Space Gallery. - [Tourist] How GPS works? - [Robert] I think GPS is
one of those technologies that has had the most
impact in our daily lives. Here, we have several
spacecraft and spacesuits. Mercury spacesuit. Apollo spacesuit. This is really cool. Solid rocket boosters, huh? Like, on the space shuttle. Check it out. Space Force. Whoever designed that logo has
got to be a "Star Trek" fan. And there's the pen that Donald Trump used to sign the Space Force Act, thus, creating this new
branch of the US Armed forces. Here's actually a KH-9
reconnaissance satellite. These were used from 1971 to 1986, and they actually shot film, which then was sent back to earth. Here we have a Gemini-B spacecraft, part of a top secret
program to take photos of Cold War adversaries, like
the Soviet Union and China. And here's a Mercury spacecraft. And that is really cool to see what's under the hood, if you will. This was America's first spacecraft to take astronauts into orbit. Very tight quarters in there, but we had to start somewhere, right? Now we're going even
earlier to the late 1950s, to the balloon gondolas. I didn't even know this existed. They were used to study the effects of high altitude on humans. How about parachuting
from the edge of space? Yeah, they did that too. I think we've had enough fun for one day. Oh, check it out, the
Canadian flying saucer. (bright music) We are retracing our steps
looking for the exit. What a great museum. We are exhausted and overwhelmed
at everything we've seen. But there is another place here in the area we want to visit. (bright music) I am glad there are not too many people so that we can park
with the trailer in tow. Of course we couldn't live at Dayton, Ohio without first paying a visit to the Wrights brothers, of course. Check it out. Yeah, this is the Wrights brothers, the Wright Brothers Memorial. Eh, let me walk this way because I think there's a view here, just like a terrace with a view. And there's a small museum
back there that I was tempted, but after seeing the Air
Force Museum, you know, it's, we kind of museum doubt at this point. Tomorrow we may visit another cool museum, but I mean we've seen this... I mean, we all know the
story of the Wright Brothers, for the most part. And this around here may have been the world's first airport. Well, the Huffman Prairie Flying Field is considered the world's first airport. And I don't know if we
can see it from here. I don't know if we're gonna be able to drive over there
with the trailer in tow because I don't think
there's a turnaround. But it's somewhere over there
near the Air Force base. Look at that. There's something mesmerizing about seeing a large
airplane land from afar. Super cool to see that aircraft land at the Air Force base. Okay, apparently, what the sign says, after their success at Kittyhawk, they came back here to Dayton, Ohio. And they basically created what would be the world's first airport, and that's where they really perfected, you know, controlling the aircraft. I'm gonna try and see. I'm gonna look on satellite view to see if there's a turnaround
down there so we can see it. Otherwise, we're heading north. I thought it was that down there, but that's just a dam. Little bit beautiful day here. It's a little warm in Dayton, Ohio. (bright music) We couldn't quite find our
way to Huffman Prairie. I think you have to go into
the Air Force base first. But anyway, we're going to continue north towards a town called Wapakoneta. Yup. (gentle bright music) This is where we're staying, at the Wapakoneta KOA Holiday. A little bit of a splurge,
but that's how we do it. We really want full hookups tonight. (bright music) Well, as you can see, full hookups, baby. And let me tell you the idea tonight, the idea for today was
to stay at a Walmart or, you know, some boondocking. But then again, we're
running short of water, our gray is at two thirds. And when we got out of the museum there, of the Air Force Museum, I made an executive decision and decided, instead of boondocking and
then staying one night halfway between here and Michigan, how about we get something nice? We haven't stayed at like
a resort site in a while, so, we splurged. We got a patio site here
at this place for tonight. And tomorrow we're gonna go... By the way, this is Neil
Armstrong's birthplace. So, I think they have
a museum or something. So we're gonna explore that. So tonight we're just gonna relax. Maybe I'll get some work done, but we're just gonna relax. We got a fire going. And maybe tomorrow we'll
do even some grilling. It's because that's how we do it. All right. See you tomorrow. We're really hungry, so I left the cameras in the car. But we're doing some fish and stir fry. Here's the final product of the fish. (gentle music) (serene music) (crickets chirping) Good morning. We still have some Georgia sausages. Oh, yeah. Yum. Let's dig in. Let's go for a little ride to this roadside attraction right here. Well, here we are. This is one of those
must-visit roadside attractions here in Wapakoneta, Ohio. This is called "First on the Moon," and it's a mural here
on the side of the road. Unfortunately, there's no,
like, easy way to park here, so I'm kind of, you know, illegally parked there on the side of the road. But, I mean, I had to
stop and check it out. Of course, this is the
birthplace of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. It's a mural by John Cerney. Yes. Now let's go to the museum. (gentle music) Oh, here we are at the
Armstrong Space & Air Museum. Or Air & Space Museum, rather. Let's check out this
plane real quick here. And I think they have like
the lunar lander over there. Really cool airplane here. Oh. Let's go see the lunar lander, I mean, the command module, rather. And here, we have a representation
of the solar system. Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, you know, you know the rest. That's what I wanna see. That solar system, by
the way, not up to scale, unlike the one we saw in Anchorage. That was up to scale. Here we go. This is the command module mockup. It is not a real thing. Landed astronauts on the moon. And more importantly,
return them to earth. And this would be the
Gemini spacecraft mockup. Gemini 'cause they had two astronauts. I have a feeling the real
thing had a lot more buttons. But yes, this... It was tight quarters in here, for sure. You really have to like each other, let's put it that way. All right. Let's go inside the museum. And here, we have a
statue of Neil Armstrong. Young Neil Armstrong with
an airplane in his hand. (gentle music) Here, we have a statue of Neil Armstrong as a test pilot, perhaps. Ohio Astronauts. John Glenn. James Lovell too? That's a lot of Buckeyes in space. Here, we have a timeline of achievements in flight and in space. (gentle music) Young Neil Armstrong memorabilia. They even have the yearbook. That's the yearbook. - [Announcer] Here then, on the record, a man who must be the proudest
father in the country, if not the world. (gentle music) - Sputnik. That's what really started the space race. And here's Armstrong's Gemini 8 spacesuit. Here's the Gemini 8 spacecraft. For it being a relatively small museum, they do have a lot of artifacts and information about the
space race of the 1960s. (indistinct) Yeah, it might take another space race for us to get back to the moon. (gentle music) And here, we have a moon rock. (gentle music) That's the Mars rover, one of them. And here's a statue of Neil
Armstrong in his space suit. I saw them using this in
"Apollo 13," the movie. It makes me dizzy. - [Announcer] Legacy of Apollo 11 inspired and will continue to
inspire generations to come. - The lunar landing
simulator is out of order. Well, I have really enjoyed this museum. Space shuttle. They have a space shuttle simulator. Let's see if I can land this thing. Whoa. Here, we have some
Russian artifacts as well. They drank Pepsi-Cola. Exit through the gift shop. All right, that was a nice museum. Actually, I enjoyed the movie. You know, we've all, you know, heard the story of how they landed
on the moon and all that, but sometimes it's nice to hear it again. I don't think we're gonna
do anything else here. But if we do, you'll be the first to know. Actually, let's check out
the Learjet 28 Longhorn. It was first manufactured in 1977. Only five of them made according
to the interpretive sign. (whimsical music) In 1979, Neil Armstrong
set five world records while flying his Learjet 28. All right, now for real. Let's go. (whimsical music) On the next one, the road will take us to
Michigan for the M23 meetup, and then we're going to the mothership. Until then, thank you
so much for watching, and see you on the road. (bright music) ♪ I'm riding ♪ ♪ Riding in my RV ♪
