USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB

AdamZ

AdamZ

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Adam Zucker
I'm considering visiting the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson AFB on my way to or back from Osh this summer. I expect I can't actually fly in to Wright Patterson so which of the surrounding airports would be best to fly into to visit the museum and is there public transportation from the airport to the museum?
 
I19 Green co. is a good airport that is really close. Call mac air and they will give you a crew car to go or you can get a rental there.
 
Springfield is also a good choice. I am currently assigned to Wright Pat AFB, and the museum is awesome. There is a recognition of the Doolittle raid at the museum in a few weeks, check the website of the museum.

It is huge, much larger than NASM, and focused on the Air Force, of course.

Springfield is a great airport, but you can always fly into Dayton as well.

Have a good experience.
 
I used Green Co., called them the day before my arrival and they had a nice small rental car waiting for me when I arrived and directions to the museum. I stayed at I think was a Hampton Inn near the museum.

Nice small GA airport, clean, neat and great service for fuel, tie downs, and a car.
 
Be prepared to spend 2 days.

awesome place.
 
Tom-D said:
Be prepared to spend 2 days.

awesome place.
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Yup. We went there when we went to the Dayton airshow for the 100th anniversary of flight in 2003. Spent an entire day and didn't come CLOSE to seeing it all! Just ran through to say we "saw" it!

Of course, we saw the Blues, the Thunderbirds, the Snowbirds, AND the Golden Knights the day before! :yes:
 
The lighting in the museum is pretty low level, so if you want to take photos you will either need a tripod or pretty big flash. The Wright brother's original shop is also nearby on base.
 
Wright brothers airport just outside of Dayton is a good destination, and I've heard they have a car you can use to get to the museum. That said, if you play your cards just so a certain someone might meet you where you land and provide some ground transportation...
 
Yep, great place. Take a side trip over to the Wright Bicycle shop while you're there.

Greene County, Dayton/Wright Brothers, and Springfield are all close. Depending on what you're flying, Moraine Airpark is also fairly close - Moraine is the closest to the Bicycle Shop (though Moraine is somewhat trickier to fly in and out of).

I personally like Wright Bros. airport - good folks, choice of FBO, great service.
 
It's a little bit further north of Dayton, but you could stop at I-17, perhaps before or after the museum. That's the Piqua Airport, and I'd be happy to give you a tour of the Hartzell Propeller factory if you're passing thru on a weekday.

The airport doesn't have much to offer but a tie-down & cheap (self serve) fuel, but if your interested, it's a nice stop off.
 
Another nearby airport is Urbana I74-Grimes field. Its a few miles away but rental cars are available and they have their own museum on site. They're restoring a B17 and have a number of other neat aircraft in the museum. There is also an excellent restaurant with wonderful pie. I can't recall the exact mileage but I'm thinking about a half hour north/northeast of dayton. As for the statements about the museum I agree wholeheartedly. The AF museum is outstanding and worth checking out.


Frank
 
AcroBoy said:
The lighting in the museum is pretty low level, so if you want to take photos you will either need a tripod or pretty big flash. The Wright brother's original shop is also nearby on base.
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You may wish to call ahead to find out if tripods are allowed. Many museums do not allow monopods or tripods, claiming potential liability because of people tripping over the things... [E.g. The Air & Space Museum at Dulles does not allow it]
 
steingar said:
Wright brothers airport just outside of Dayton is a good destination, and I've heard they have a car you can use to get to the museum. That said, if you play your cards just so a certain someone might meet you where you land and provide some ground transportation...
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Would that certain someone have a vehicle that can seat 4 adults or would we be required to hold on to the luggage rack on the Spider?:D
 
AdamZ said:
Would that certain someone have a vehicle that can seat 4 adults or would we be required to hold on to the luggage rack on the Spider?:D
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I have a car that would hold 4 adults total and some luggage, probably as much as could be schlepped by a GA aircraft. Services are offered once the date is firmed up.
 
Herman vanOoijen said:
You may wish to call ahead to find out if tripods are allowed. Many museums do not allow monopods or tripods, claiming potential liability because of people tripping over the things... [E.g. The Air & Space Museum at Dulles does not allow it]
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I was there in 2008, and didn't see anything about prohibitions against tripods.

I spent two full days there. All I did was run from one display to to the next to set up the tripod and camera, hit the shutter, then run to the next one -- all to bring those photos home to see if I had a good time. (I did) :D

Photos here.
 
AcroBoy said:
The lighting in the museum is pretty low level, so if you want to take photos you will either need a tripod or pretty big flash. The Wright brother's original shop is also nearby on base.
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In my experience, flash get lost in a museum.

Here's a shot from the RAF museum - top image with flash, the bottom without:

B-24 with flash




B-24 no flash




Depending on where the light is coming from, using the flash to fill-in light can be helpful:

Shorts Sunderland- no flash

I think this one looks better:

Shorts Sunderland with fill flash
 
Tripods are fine in the AF museum- check the website.The light in the museum is particularly bad, and they admit so on the website as well. It is not just dim, it is dark. Either a long exposure at low ISO on a tripod will work, or you can try a diffused strobe, but neither is ideal.

For modeling purposes, most of the landing gear, etc. are in deep shadows. The examples above also had a whole wall of natural light in the second case, and a white floor to reflect light from the ceiling. Neither if from the AF museum.

Take a look at their website for more discussion regarding the lighting. Regardless, it is a great museum.
 
AcroBoy said:
Tripods are fine in the AF museum- check the website.The light in the museum is particularly bad, and they admit so on the website as well. It is not just dim, it is dark. Either a long exposure at low ISO on a tripod will work, or you can try a diffused strobe, but neither is ideal.

For modeling purposes, most of the landing gear, etc. are in deep shadows. The examples above also had a whole wall of natural light in the second case, and a white floor to reflect light from the ceiling. Neither if from the AF museum.

Take a look at their website for more discussion regarding the lighting. Regardless, it is a great museum.
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I didn't know the ceiling was white until I saw the pictures- much of the RAF museum is dark too- that is a 1/5 second exposure. The second example had a wall of light that tended to put the planes in silhoulette, and the flash helped even out the light.
 
Tiff and I went to the aF museum yesterday. Great time. Take good shoes mthe place is huge. Don't miss the reproduction WWII control tower outside.
 
The 99's North Central Section will be meeting in Dayton at the end of April, and I plan on attending with them and visiting the museums.
 
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