| United States Air Force Museum |
Avg. visitor rating:  (364 visitors) |
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Description
- THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE MUSEUM
- near Dayton, Ohio is the oldest
and largest military
aviation museum in the world. The Museum uses
both chronological and
subjective layouts to tell the exciting story of
aviation development from
the days of the Wright brothers at Kitty
Hawk to the Space Age.
Exhibits include over 200 aircraft and missiles,
plus family oriented
and historically interesting aeronautical
displays. Over one and a half
million visitors from around the world come to
Ohio each year to tour
this unique free attraction.
- Location.
- The entrance to the Museum is on
Springfield Pike at
historic Wright Field (Gate 28-B),
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
six miles northeast of Dayton. I-70 travelers
should exit at Ohio
Route 4 south towards Dayton 8 miles to the
Harshman Road exit. Those on
I-75 should exit at Needmore Road, east six
miles. Route 4 drivers
exit at Harshman Road and follow signs to
Springfield Pike.
(Alternate access from I-70 via Exit 44/I-675.)
- Special Exhibits.
- All exhibits and displays are well
identified to permit
touring without guides. Photography is
encouraged, although flash
equipment will be required for most interior
pictures. Documentary
films are shown free in Carney Auditorium
on Saturday, Sunday and
holidays. A gift shop, bookstore, model
shop and poster shop,
operated by the Air Force Museum Foundation,
sell aviation-oriented
items with profits used to assist the Air Force
Museum. A cafe is available for refreshments.
Picnic tables are available during the summer
months. Sack lunches cannot be accommodated in
the Museum building.
Handicapped facilities include special parking,
an elevator to the
second floor, restroom facilities, lowered
water fountains and a
volume-controlled telephone. Baby strollers
and wheelchairs are
available on a limited basis for use inside the
Museum building. A
visitors' center, operated by the
Dayton/Montgomery County Convention
and Visitors Bureau, is available on the
grounds to assist
travelers with requests for lodging, local
restaurants and other
attractinns in the area.
- Museum Annex.
- Approximately 25 aircraft, including the
Museum's collection
of Presidential aircraft, are exhibited in two
hangars on the historic
Wright Field flight line, about one mile
from the main Museum
building. Access to the Annex is available by
free shuttle bus (Note: Please call ahead
for availability).
Annex operates daily on a reduced schedule, which
is posted in the Museum
lobby. Visitors are not permitted to drive their
own car or walk to
the Annex. The Annex aircraft exhibit is an
interim display. This
temporary display is austere. It is set up
to protect aircraft
recently restored by the Museum and to prevent
further deterioration of
aircraft awaiting restoration. No pets are
permitted at the Annex.
Limited baby strollers, wheelchairs and
restroom facilities are
available. No other services are offered in this
area.
- Research
- A research facility is located at the
Museum, maintaining
prints, technical manuals, aircraft drawings,
photographs, and other
USAF-related documents. These reference
materials are available to
serious researchers on week days only from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. by prior
appointment. A document copy service is available
for a nominal fee.
Appointments may be made by calling (513)
255-4644.
- Memorial Park
- Adjacent to the Museum is a Memorial
Park of statuary memorials,
plaques and trees dedicated to individuals,
organizations and military
units associated with the Air Force. These
have been funded by
families, friends and members of various
organizations or veteran
associations. For information on stablishing a
memorial at the Air
Force Museum, contact the Museum's Public
Affairs Office at (513)
255-4704.
- Friends of the Air Force Museum
- The "Friends of the Air Force Museum"
membership program
draws together aviation enthusiasts interested in
the activities of the
Museum and assists in the growth of the
facility. For a nominal
annual fee, members receive such benefits and
privileges as discounts
in the gift shop and bookstore, newsletters, and a
Museum calandar, plus
much more. For more information, write:
- Air Force Museum Foundation,
- P.O. Box 1903,
- Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433.
- Air Force Museum Foundation,
- Public Assistance
- The public is encouraged to
offer suggestions for
improvements and to offer suitable items for
donation, such as personal
memorabilia, photographs, uniforms and documents
associated with Air
Force history. All offers should be
submitted in writing. For
additional information write: United
States Force Museum
Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio 45433-6518 Telephone:
(513) 255-3286 No
pets please!
- IMAX at the U. S. Air Force Museum
- Seeing an IMAX film is an amazing
emotional experience. It
puts you at the center of the action in a way
no ordinary movie can,
drawing you in with images that are so real you
want to touch them, so
powerful you can feel them. This stunning film
experience relies on
the best motion picture system available in the
world - the IMAX system.
IMAX incorporates state-of-the-art technology,
film frames three times
the size of conventional 70mm frames. The
six-channel stereo sound
system is critical to the IMAX experience, adding
to the sensation of
being in the middle of a real event
Shows start on the hour seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). For current prices and film showings or for reservations call (513) 253-lMAX. Group and student rates are available.
The IMAX Theatre is operated by the Air Force Museum Foundation.
General Information
- Hours of Operation
- Sun-Mon 9:00am to 5:00pm
- Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
- Admission
- Free
- Parking
- Free
Reviews / Comments by our visitors
| Jim , Virginia |  The correct website is www.nationalmuseum.af.mil 06/13/2016 @ 13:08 [ref: 55959] |
| craig wood Schenectady, New York |  Why is it so damned dark inside? Some aircraft like the B2,B1 are hard to view or photograph when it is so dark! Is the museum trying to ruin the visitors enjoyment? I drove 670 miles to have an enjoyable only to have my time ruined by rotten lighting. 05/30/2016 @ 10:12 [ref: 55954] |
| Carolyn , Indiana |  The museum was great but way too dark. I could not see a thing, and certainly could not read things! A great disappointment in that regard. Loved the content, but wish I could see it. 05/23/2014 @ 09:07 [ref: 55609] |
| Dave , New York | I'm surprised no one mentioned the R&D and Presidential display. Where else can you come close (and touch, if no one is looking) to an X plane ? Walk thru where Kennedy's body got shipped back. First class place !! 11/26/2012 @ 01:15 [ref: 55351] |
| Msgt. Chuck Hoeppner, Ret. Indian Head, Maryland | I am seraching for the present location and disignation of my old C-135. This aircraft was C-135B,WC,VC, for the Det. 1 of the old 89th MAW at Hickam. We have the other Det aircraft, 61-2671, 60-376, 62-24129 but can not locate 61-2668. Three WC-135B's wer converted into VC-135C's in the late 70's. 671 is at Tinker on display and 669 (former Speckled Trout) is now registered on DM's data base. But, no knowledge of 668?? We know that 129 went to OFF as a TC-135R did 668 also end up there as well ?? Any assistance of this would help. Our serach can be traced on FaceBook as FOD (Freinds of the Det.) I only rated you 4 stars because of the in-consistancies you have on the B-58, 458. Sorry. 06/21/2011 @ 07:33 [ref: 17900] |
| Al Newlin , Kansas | Of course it is a really great collection, but too dark to see and definitely too dark to photograph. They seem to be trying for some dramatic lighting effect. Some of the restorations were poorly done with crude attempts at metal work that looked like they faked it with aluminum foil. 11/21/2010 @ 20:37 [ref: 11815] |
| Chris Anderson Las Vegas, Nevada | I first walked into this museum in 1970 when I was enlisted in the Air Force. It has grown considerably over the years since it was in it's old location in Fairborn. Today it is the most remarkable air museum I have ever been in and I have been to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum twice. This museum beats it in my opinion because of the variety and scope of the collection. I also enjoy the stories included on the displays more because they are more easily read. A first class job all the way. 11/14/2010 @ 23:11 [ref: 11795] |
| Nick vanderDussen Nanaimo, British Columbia | The best. A must visit everytime i'm in the neighbourhood which is not often enough. Sadly enough I moved to the otherside of the continent which reduces my chances too visit. Picture taking is difficult because of the low light levels. Flash is useless so you will need to make time exposure shots and hope nobody walks in front of the camera. Fortunately I have been able to get a decent collection of photographs over time thanks to digital cameras. 11/12/2010 @ 23:08 [ref: 11789] |
| Ken , New York | The museum has a great collection and a great book store. The problem of lighting is major. Even if you use flash, the pictures do not come out that well. I think that the use of skylight for some outdoor lighting might help. 09/12/2010 @ 06:54 [ref: 10788] |
| Scott Ferguson fairfield, Ohio | I think the last few reviews have hit the lighting problem on the head. The only reason for putting exhibits in low light levels are for dramatic lighting, or too cheap to put uv protected glass on the display cases. I've been going to this museum for over 20+ years and have seen it evolve and decline in it's exhibits. It's not world class like the Paris museum, or the Duxford museum. Go to the Air & Space museum to see how it's supposed to be done. I'm frustrated by exhibits done wrong like .50 cal guns in most of the WWI aircraft(.30 cal is correct). Look closely at almost every exhibit and you'll see mistakes. Winter uniforms in the Caproni bomber display instead of summer,most display aircraft are missing wiring; some are missing engines that are in storage. If it didn't fly into W-P it isn't restored. The crowning glory of lazy exhibits is the Norway "Carpetbagger" display. Did we really drop non-functional weapons to them to fight the Germans? The bolt is missing in the SMLE rifle. Has been for almost 10 years. This could be a world class aviation museum with a new direction. Don't just throw it together, restore it like the Smithsonian does. Please take some pride in your work if you're going to call yourself "The keepers of their memories" 03/15/2010 @ 10:58 [ref: 9299] |
External pages about this museum
| http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/index.htm |
Last updated: 02/14/00.
Send corrections/additions by e-mail to museum-info@brooklyn.cuny.edu