The Boeing Tri-Motor. Boeing built the earliest Tri-motor with an open cockpit. Some pilots wanted their hair blowing in the wind. However, Boeing decided that an enclosed cockpit was the only way to go when one of the high executives was flying as a passenger to California. He decided to go to the cockpit and talk to the pilot. He found the pilot so relaxed in the sun and breeze that he was asleep. Boeing never built another open cockpit airliner.
View from the south end of the Flight Museum. On the lower floor is the SR-71 with a ramjet drone on top. The first time a drone was launched from one of these planes, they crashed together and both planes were totally lost.
The Taylor Aerocar. The wings come off, the rear fuselage comes off and you can drive the car around town. This is the third version of this flying car.
Air Force 1. This plane was used by Eisenhower and Kennedy. The plane was replaced shortly before Kennedy was killed.
This fueslage and cockpit is a theater. The cockpit is visible through a clear plastic bulkhead. There is room for abouot 40 people in airline seating for a movie about the plane.
I went to the Flight Museum with Sachi. We used her new digital camera to take all of these pictures. This is a Bede 5J jet plane. This model was featured in a James Bond movie. You can see them flying at airshows. This plane will do about 325 mph.
This section of the museum features very small homebuilt airplanes and helicopters. The P47 in the background is a flying scaled down replica. I've seen this plane many times in the past few years and just now noticed the grin painted on the nose.
Sachi took the opportunity to try out the P-47 scale replica. This is a favorite room for kids. On this visit, half of the planes had been removed.
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