An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsonian.)

[PaulST]

Hi all,
A previous boss (who's married to a QF 717 pilot) coined the term aerosexual and I use it to describe myself with pride. haha
I visited the USA for the first time last/this month (just flew into Sydney on QF18 this morning) and was keen to experience a lot of the country, but in particular their aviation museums. These include a flight to Seattle to visit the Boeing factory and the amazing Museum of Flight. I also visited Washington DC and went to the Smithsonian Space and Air museum including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre. I also flew domestically with AA, Alaskan and Virgin America and internationally with QF. Enjoy the photos and videos, and feel free to post up your own experience as these fantastic museums!

So I flew from Sydney down to Melbourne to catch QF94 to LAX. The ex-MEL flight was $800 cheaper and was an A380 (I love the 747 but IMO the A380 is better). Here's the trip report for my flight in business class (upgraded from PE on points).
[video=youtube;7V31RMgaCas]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V31RMgaCas[/video]

Here's a photo of the A380 I took. It was a great flight and the J service was quite good (especially when compared with the First Class service in the US I'll talk about later...)

After visiting Vegas and San Fran, I flew up to Seattle and immediately after landing, I picked up my rental (a Camaro SS) and drove to the Museum of Flight. This is south of the city (opposite direction to the Boeing factory) and is fantastic.
Because there was talk of rain, and there wasn't any at that time, I checked out the outside displays first. The best thing is that you can walk up through these aircraft as well as get quite good access to the underneath of them. The outside display is highlighted by a Super Constellation although I was more excited about seeing the Concorde (first time I've seen on in the metal) and JFK's airforce one (well, it was called that when the president was on board)(and also the first time I've seen a 707 in the metal). There was also one of the 787 prototypes which was interesting (although not the first time I've seen one).

Here's JFK's plane. A Boeing VC-137B which was a modified B707.

JFK's Seat:

And one of BA's Concords. Sadly I've never seen one fly. Amazing engineering, nonetheless.

A prototype 787:

Now inside to find another plane I was really looking forward too - the SR-71 spy plane! Sadly the light wasn't brilliant so I'll post up more photos of it later when I see it again in Washington DC.

An actual piece of the moon!

 

[PaulST]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

Another photo of the Concorde's very sleek nose.

Here's a B17 "Flying Fortress".

The next day I visited the Boeing factory for a tour. Sadly cameras were banned so I was only able to get a few photos of the outside. You'll spot Jetstar's newest 787.

And now off to Chicago in one of AA's newer 737-800s in First Class.

[video=youtube;6m32z7aG5tI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m32z7aG5tI[/video]

Chicago was interesting, although nothing aero related so I'll skip saying anything about that and then I flew to Washington DC (in AA First again).

After visiting the amazing National Mall, I caught some rather complicated public transport out to the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Centre, which is out near the Dulles airport.
Here I was particularly keen to see Enola Gay (a B29) and the Discovery space shuttle. There was also another SR71 and a Concorde.

So here, the SR-71 one which looks fantastic! So sleek and evil looking.

And Enola Gay, the B29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I was fortunate enough to visit Hiroshima last year so it was interesting to reflect upon my time there and at the ground zero and peace museum.

 

[PaulST]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

And the space shuttle Discovery, which was certainly a highlight! Not every day that you see a real space ship!

A Boeing 367-80 (707 prototype).

And more SR71 photos:

Interestingly I flew from SFO to Seattle in one of Alaskan's older 737-400 which was my first experience in one of the 'classic' version of the 737. It certainly sounds good on take-off.
[video=youtube;MnvJLJR5-o4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnvJLJR5-o4[/video]

 

[PaulST]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

And back to downtown DC to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. It seemed more space orientated while the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Centre seems more aero orientated.

Here's the Bell X-1. This actual aircraft, one of three built, was the first to travel faster than the speed of sound. It performed this in 1947 after being launched from a B29.

A training version of the lunar module which was a lot larger than I expected!

And the Apollo 11 (Columbia) command module which carried Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to the moon and back.

Have you see the movie Captain Phillips? The one where Tom Hanks is a captain on the ship Maersk Alabama? It was based on a true story and here's the actual drone that was involved.

 

[straitman]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

I was surprised the first time I saw an SR-71 as they are no where near as large as I expected. (Did you know they leaked fuel when on the ground)

 

[PLANT]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

Back you go thr SR-71 IN OMAHA space museum is worth seeing on top of what you have seen..... Have it suspended flying..... Awesome

 

[ffhound]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

Re the Apollo 11 command module. It looks suspiciously like a movie prop

 

[PaulST]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

Re the Apollo 11 command module. It looks suspiciously like a movie prop

They said that it was the real one. It looked burnt enough to be real.

For completeness sake, here's my trip report for the return flight to Australia.
[video=youtube;Arp-X-t5PME]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arp-X-t5PME[/video]

 

[jb747]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

Re the Apollo 11 command module. It looks suspiciously like a movie prop

It's the real thing...just nice to see that movie props are sometimes reasonably accurate. The Apollo 10 capsule is in the science museum in London.

 

[aaronjames000]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

It's the real thing...just nice to see that movie props are sometimes reasonably accurate. The Apollo 10 capsule is in the science museum in London.

I think the movie prop comment was a bit of light hearted banter referring more to the conspiracy theory of the staged lunar landings...

 

[ffhound]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

I think the movie prop comment was a bit of light hearted banter referring more to the conspiracy theory of the staged lunar landings...

Correct.

The aliens told me to post it.

 

[TomVexille]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

Great photos. Love it all

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: An aerosexual's pilgrimage to the US (Museum of Flight, Boeing factory, Smithsoni

This one's a prop (or at least not an operational module).