Picture five large hangers full of airplanes - some of them hanging from the roof - and then mix in plenty of kiosks and other displays of memorabilia.
That's a lot of material, and most of it is of high caliber - along the lines of the Smithsonian. Walking around the place is history in many forms.
Just for example, the plane shown above is the Memphis Belle. That vehicle was the one that dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki that essentially ended World War II. Then there's the Air Force One vehicle from the Sixties and Seventies. You can stand in the spot where Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President shortly after John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Nearby is the plane taken by Harry Truman on his business trips, and the plane Franklin Roosevelt used to go to Yalta for the summit conference with Churchill and Stalin.
There's more, much more - with planes dating back before World War I. There are vehicles from the Wright Brothers, and a B-2 bomber. How about the plane that took two loads of prisoners of war home from Hanoi to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War? ICBMs from the Cold War era? It's all here. There's even the command module from Apollo 15, which went to the moon. It adds up to 19 acres of space.
For more information, guided tours of each of the hangers are offered during the day. A movie theater offers films on a wide range of subjects. Yes, there's a big gift shop too. Best of all, there is no charge, and there are volunteers all over the place to answer your questions.
Most of the videos for the Museum are more than 10 minutes long. You are welcome to search YouTube for one that does this place justice. I'll settle for a quick overview:
I'm not sure how I missed hearing about this place, but it's really a national treasure. If you are anywhere near Dayton, make the drive and visit it.
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