For anyone out there actually reading my dispatches from America, I ended the last one with a reference to Wapakoneta and a famous person born here. Perhaps the title of today’s post might have given the game away? It was of course, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon and we were fortunate to visit the Armstrong Air & Space Museum which is dedicated to his exploits through the years and which pays homage to one of the most famous men in history.
Ohio was really put on the map as the birthplace of aviation following the exploits of Orville and Wilbur Wright and has continued over many years to enhance its reputation in both normal and space flight with 24 astronauts now currently resident in the State. We didn’t get to meet an actual astronaut but did learn that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, was also an Ohio product!
Remarkably, not too far away in Dayton, Ohio sits one of the most incredible aviation museums you will ever visit - The National Museum of the United States Air Force (USAF). As an aviation geek, I regret to say I’d never even heard of it but it contains a stunning display over 20 indoor acres of everything relating to US military aviation and space over the decades. The museum was established in 1923 and so is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
We might not have met an astronaut but we did meet someone who had actually served on one of the retired Presidential aircraft that resides in the museum and it was weird that he knew the plane and its Presidential users so intimately.
We didn’t do it justice in the couple of hours we allotted because in truth, a couple of weeks would have been more appropriate. Oh, and the most staggering aspect of the whole thing, it was totally free!
Next update from Indianapolis and beyond as our journey around the mid-west continues.
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