Hello friends and readers. Today I'm going to take you on a tour of great museum that show cases a lot of military aircraft. It also has a lot of history and exhibits on space exploration. I will also show you some missiles and rockets. I won't be able to show you every aircraft I seen today but I will show a few.
First off the Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a command from 1946 to 1992. It was intially head quartered in Andrews AFB,MD before being moved to Offutt AFB, Nebraska in 1948. SAC was dismantled after the fall of the Soviet Union, at the time nuclear deterrence fear became lower.
USSTRATCOMM is the entity that was formed in its place and is still functioning today, also at Offutt AFB, Nebraska. I have worked at Offutt AFB, Nebraska since 1994 in the capacity as an Active Duty Military Airman and as an Air Force civilian. Now Offutt AFB, Nebraska has a very rich history and I will have more to say on it later in this article.
The first aircraft you will see before even parking and paying is the B-1B "Lancer". A bad ass flying machine that can hold 125,000 lbs of ordinances!! This aircraft was designed in the early 1970s. The top end of this aircraft is close to 1400 mph and it's range is 6100 miles without being re-fueled. It's still used today of course with some newer modifications. I seen one parked on our flight line a few weeks ago. So disappointed that I didn't witness it land or take off, heard it if that is a consultation prize.
Right before you enter the museum are some rockets and missiles. I'd love to tell you more about them but I haven't met to many people who work with them. I'll just say those in that field are wired a little different. At the height of the Cold War there were so many of them that our planet could have been destroyed many times over.
As I walk in the museum there is a SR-71A "Blackbird" aircraft hanging from the ceiling. This is one of my favorite aircraft. One of the fastest aircrafts ever built. Used for reconnaissance to get intelligence on enemy forces and get out of dodge quickly.
Interesting facts about this aircraft.This aircraft could reach speeds of 2200 mph (just over mach 3) It holds several speed records, one that impressed me was it's flight time from London to New York. An astonishing 1 hour and 55 minutes. Who needs first class or business class if you can get across the pond in the that time,haha.
The Black Bird was introduced to the Air Force in the late 1960s and was retired twice actually. Once at the beginning of 1990s and towards the end. I got to see one fly into Offutt AFB sometime in the late 1990s it was the NASA version. Just fun facts, there is a new aircraft that's in prototype stages, SR-72 which is said to have a maximum speed of Mach 6. Gitty up,now you see me now you don't, haha.
Let's flex on the ladies of aviation. There were a half dozen or so others but I want to show case these two. Amelia Earhart is probably the most popular women aviator of all time. First women to fly solo across the the Atlantic. I didn't realize she was second to do it though. Just shows women can do what men can do. It's sad about her disappearance on her last flight. If she would have lived longer I'm sure she would have had even a bigger impact on all future aviators.
Another women aviator who is very accomplished is Dr. Sally Ride. She is coined as the first American women in space. Also would become the youngest American Astronaut in space at just 32 years old. After NASA she became a professor in the physics department at Stanford. She was later offered the NASA Director position but declined it.She was a women that had to work extremely hard to get where she got. Another true inspiration to both men and women aviators.
Next up is the "Lady Bird" U2 aircraft. This one has been around since the 1950s and still used today. It was suppose to be replaced by the SR-71, I guess it's smaller size and it's unique utility is why it's still used today.
It can reach altitudes of 70,000 feet so special suits must be worn due to the atmospheric pressure up that high. Body fluids expand at the altitude and without this suit you can pop like heated popcorn kernels. Similar suits were worn by SR-71 pilots as well because that aircraft could reach altitudes of 85,000 feet.
I have actually seen the U2 many times. A very cool aircraft to witness take off and land. Not sure why, but it wasn't illustrated or mentioned that chase cars are used to give directions to the pilots landing and taking off because of limited visibility, low clearances, and bicycle like landing gear. What kind of cars? Through the years it's been a majority of muscle cars. So nearly flying 70 years this aircraft has seen some classics cars chase it.Other U2 pilots drive the chase cars.
Here we have a B-29 bomber. It was tested and put into action during World War II. It remained in the Air Force inventory until about 1960. This aircraft logged many hours in its day. It was the replacement for the B-17 aircraft and became the first bomber aircraft with pressurized cabins. I like this exhibit because you could get up and close to it.I even got adventurous and took a bomb bay shot while almost crawling underneath the aircraft.
We are still on the B-29 aircraft. What does the model represent above? It was one of the production facilities that produced many of them. Both the "Enola Gay" and "Boxcars" were built in this facility. These two aircraft were the ones that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. This facility is the Martin Bomber plant which today houses many organizations of the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, NE.
I worked inside the building from 1994 to 2007. The building floor was built with wooden blocks. This was done to prevent static electricity. The building has areas that still remain untouched to this day. The area I worked in still has a majority of the floor in these wooden blocks. Also there are hoists, windows, doors, and pipes that are original to its construction.
Time to shift focus, so I'll show you some things on space exploration. Above are some re-entry vehicles used by pre-shuttle astronauts to come back to Earth. I intially thought they would be much larger. I believe these were prototype models not the real McCoy.
It's no secret that the United States and the former Soviet Union were pioneers into space exploration. The Soviet Union would be the first to land on the moon but Untied States would be the first to have a man walk on it. After the fall of the Soviet Union the two countries worked for some time together on there space programs.
Space shuttle time, being a kid in the 1980s I was amazed with the shuttle. I had posters, models, and toys of it. I watched most of the launches. I'll never forget the tragedy event of 1986 when Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after taking off killing everyone onboard. I'll say it was about this time I kind of lost a little interest in it as well.
So one of the exhibits here was a test station of the cock pit of the Space Shuttle. The test station is an exact replication of the real cock pit down to every button and knob. This station was used to test flight aviation equipment and software.
Last picture is space suit from a local born astronaut, Clayton Anderson who flew to space numerous times. He did a lot of work on the international space station and worked with Russian counter parts. He's spent just under half a year in space. Interesting enough he did a lot of Russian based training. He's currently the President and CEO of this museum.
The last thing I checked out in the museum was the restoration area. I was shocked to see this F-117 "Night Hawk"stealth fighter.This aircraft was primarily used in the Gulf war.It was the very first aircraft to use stealth technology. It was basically replaced by the F-22 Raptor which also incorporates stealth technology but is much faster and has better maneuverability.
It was cool to see a worker actively working on it. I imagine the F-117 will be hanging from the ceiling somewhere (my guess). Also in the back ground is an Vulcan bomber. I have heard a lot about them but I have never seen one. Unfortunately you can't go in there and check them out closely. I'll have to wait to eyeball the Vulcan more closely when it's completely restored.
So here I am I've shared quite a bit with you but there is a lot more that I didn't. The first picture above is a painting that gives a good representation oh what aircraft are here. There's a few that aren't here.
The second picture is one of two hangars here. It's incredibly hard to get a perfect solo picture of single aircraft because they are crammed like sardines.The B-52 & the B-25 bombers I will incorporate into a future article. Also I will include some more information and pictures of the Martin Bomber building. That won't be all as I will have some other aircraft that aren't at this Museum.
That's all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed and learned a little bit about aviation and space. Please take care, be safe, and enjoy what's left in your day.
