Day 115: Planes, planes, more planes, and a bicycle?

We're on the road back home from IL, and hubs decided to make a stop at the US Air Force Museum in Dayton.  He's a bit crazy about planes.  He knows many of their names, calls them honey...you know.  hehe.  I'm almost ashamed to admit that my airplane knowledge is along the lines of, "Oooh!  That one's interesting looking,"  "Gee, how pretty!" and "Love the colours on this one."  So while he oohed and aahed over planes of many sizes and shapes and knew all about where they flew and who flew them and what they did, I oohed and aahed over these:

A bicycle from Orville and Wilbur Wright's shop:

Snoopy's Sopwith Camel, because even I know that was Snoopy's plane.

And, after being riddled with gunfire, he'd shake his fist and yell, "Curse you, Red Baron!"  Baron Von Richthofen flew a plane like this, a Fokker Dr.I.  Only red, of course.  They had a piece of fabric from the Baron's plane on display as well.  Seeing as how hubby has every book written about the man, he stopped for a moment of reverential silence.

They didn't have a display of the classy little French cafe where Snoopy nurses a root beer.

To amuse myself plane after plane after plane after...I took these.

Shadows on the hangar walls.

A flood light behind a prop.

And more props.  Why?  Because props look cool.  These are from a Beaufighter, a British WWII plane.  How do I know this?  Because I'm sitting next to Meryl in the car and I asked him.  Otherwise, all I could tell you is that they were neat looking and were probably from a WWII plane, which I would have deduced simply because we were in that part of the exhibit! 

Actually, I'm not griping.  It's a pretty neat place.  My knowledge, however, is sadly lacking in that area, although I do think the earlier planes are, indeed, 

very pretty.

Like this one, a detail from the first military flyer, built by the Wright brothers for the Signal Corps in 1909:

And this, a DH4 from WWI:

Yes.  Very pretty.  The yellow is almost the same shade as my living room.  Hmn...

Didn't make it to the other two hangars, which means that next time you'll get pictures of engines and industrial looking shots from modern planes.  And shadows on hangar walls.  And props.  Coz, as I've said before, props look cool!

We'll be back home again tonight.  See you tomorrow!