Universe Expansion & Contraction

[Satanic Mechanic]

I want to see the Enola Gay at the NASM. 
Once I went to Detroit on a business trip and the engineer with me wanted to go to Dayton to see the museum.  Unfortunatley the company called us back early so we could not go.
Here is a picture of the B-29 I got to go on when it was in Spokane around 2001:

[Satanic Mechanic]

Additional:
Let me say that the B-29 is huge on the outside but pretty cramped on the inside (meant for military not commercial use).  Basically the B-29 is a flying gas can.  You have to crawl to the rear guns through a tunnel that goes above the bomb bay.  It is an amazing machine and it had an automated gun system with a computer.  I asked the pilots about the computer but they did not know the details.  I should do some research on it. 
Great plane none the less!  Go see one if the chance comes up.

[LunarOrbit]

I wish I had been older when I went to the NASM back in 1985. I think I saw the Enola Gay but I'm not 100% sure. I think I also saw the X-1 and the Spirit of St. Louis. And the NASA exhibits! I wish my parents had at least taken some pictures!

[Bob B.]

I wish I had been older when I went to the NASM back in 1985. I think I saw the Enola Gay but I'm not 100% sure. I think I also saw the X-1 and the Spirit of St. Louis. And the NASA exhibits! I wish my parents had at least taken some pictures!

The last time I was there was 1984, but that was a very quick visit because I was just passing through Washington for the day.  I went there another time as a child, probably late 1960s.  I just dug up and scanned the pictures I took in 1984.  They were taken with a little Instamatic camera so don't expect much.  I don't even know what the last picture is (obviously the inside of some space module).  Any guesses?

http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_1.jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_2.jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_3.jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_4.jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_5.jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_6.jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/NASM_7.jpg

[LunarOrbit]

Your pictures look exactly the way I remember the NASM (especially the Spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Bros. plane). I'm not really sure of the dates when my family was there, it could have been in 1984. Wouldn't it be funny if I was there the same day you were? We were only in Washington for one day too, we were just passing through on our way to Virginia Beach.

Could the last picture be a Skylab display, or maybe the inside of the ASTP docking module? The hatch in the center of the picture looks like the hatch inside the Apollo CM.

[Bob B.]

Could the last picture be a Skylab display, or maybe the inside of the ASTP docking module? The hatch in the center of the picture looks like the hatch inside the Apollo CM.

Those were my initial guesses as well.  Since my last post I've done a little investigating and figured it out.  It's illegible in my scan, but by using the original print and a magnifying glass I was just barely able to make out a sign that says "Apollo Telescope Mount control and display panel".  The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) was a major experiment flown on Skylab.  With a little more digging I found that the ATM display and control panel was located in Skylab's Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA).  Here is a photograph of the MDA:



The astronaut is working at the ATM control and display panel.  If we rotate my photograph 90-degrees clockwise it is obvious we're looking at the same piece of equipment.  There was a hatch at each end of the MDA, one to the Apollo CSM and the other to the Workshop.  I'm not sure which one we see here.

[Bob B.]

Once I went to Detroit on a business trip and the engineer with me wanted to go to Dayton to see the museum.  Unfortunatley the company called us back early so we could not go.

I'll have to go over there some weekend and take a bunch of pictures for you guys.  (I just recently bought my first digital camera.)  Do you have any requests?  As best as I recall, the museum is divided into five major galleries:  Pre-WWII, WWII, Cold War, Modern era, and Space & missile.

[Satanic Mechanic]

Do you have any requests?  As best as I recall, the museum is divided into five major galleries:  Pre-WWII, WWII, Cold War, Modern era, and Space & missile.

Bob,
If they have a B-36 Peacekeeper, I would love a picture of that!

SM

[Bob B.]

If they have a B-36 Peacekeeper, I would love a picture of that!

I'm pretty sure they have a B-36 on display in one of the hangers.  I've heard the B-36 called both Peacekeeper and Peacemaker.  Can I assume these are different variants of the same aircraft?  I don't know which model the USAF museum has.

[tomcat]

Do you have any requests?  As best as I recall, the museum is divided into five major galleries:  Pre-WWII, WWII, Cold War, Modern era, and Space & missile.

Bob,
If they have a B-36 Peacekeeper, I would love a picture of that!

SM

A beautiful plane, almost as dramatic as the SR-71.  Here it is; the peacemaker:





[attachment deleted by admin]

[Satanic Mechanic]

I'm pretty sure they have a B-36 on display in one of the hangers.  I've heard the B-36 called both Peacekeeper and Peacemaker.  Can I assume these are different variants of the same aircraft?  I don't know which model the USAF museum has.

Bob,
Two years ago, one of the guys here at work had his father come in and give a speech about the B-36.  He was one of the original engineers of the project.  He made some overheads and there were at least a dozen variants of the B-36.  Lots of them were converted to jet engine reconisance versions (RB-50 I think?).  It was a great presentation and I wish I brought a videocamera.  It was better than anything History channel could put out.

SM

[Bob B.]

Do you have any requests?  As best as I recall, the museum is divided into five major galleries:  Pre-WWII, WWII, Cold War, Modern era, and Space & missile.

Bob,
If they have a B-36 Peacekeeper, I would love a picture of that!

SM

It's been over a year since your request, SM, but I finally made a trip back to the USAF museum.  Unfortunately the B-36 they have on display is very hard to get a good picture of.  It is inside a hanger crowded with other displays, thus there is no way to get the entire aircraft in a single picture.  The actual model on display is a B-36J Peacemaker.  I managed to get the following three photos:







Here are the high-resolution images:

http://www.braeunig.us/pics/Convair%20B-36J%20Peacemaker%20(1).jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/Convair%20B-36J%20Peacemaker%20(2).jpg
http://www.braeunig.us/pics/Convair%20B-36J%20Peacemaker%20(3).jpg

I'll probably keep the highres images on my server for only a few days, so if you want them, grab them before they disappear.

[Satanic Mechanic]

Bob,
Thanks for the pics of the B-36.  That is one big plane.  The Air Force Base I grew up close to, Fairchild AFB, use to fly those before getting the B-52's.  It was one of the few bases that had a long enough runway to accomodate it.

Thanks once again,

SM