While on a Good Friday motorcycle ride (more photos on my "Racing with the Wind Page" to the Hampton Roads area saw many things. Stopped by the Hampton Air Park where I saw this F-105 Thunderchief. It was a Vietnam era fighter-bomber flown by the US Air Force. The museum is one of my favorites.
I have been here many times and enjoy the collection of aircraft, rockets and spacecraft found there. It is on "Mercury Boulevard" right off a I-64. Found it once a few years ago and have been there a few times.
This place at left is an F-100 Super Sabre which also saw action in the Vietnam War. I think it was the first US fighter that could go supersonic in a straight line (if not in a climb). I always thought this a very beautiful aircraft.
This is an old air defense missile which was designed to shoot down Russian bombers. Like many of the weapons there, it never (thankfully) did that role. I could see that many of the weapons have been repainted and cleaned up, and there is still some work to do as can be seen at left. Still it is a very cool to see all the items in the park and you can't beat the price which is free. There is also a small museum inside a building there but it was closed for the holiday.
Photo here is of a T-33 trainer. It was based on the P-80 Shooting Star which was the first real US Air Force jet. The P-59 Airacomet was the first plane with a jet engine but was not put into production. The P-80 (later F-80) and both were developed in World War II. Neither flew in the war. The F-80 did see action in the Korean War. The T-33 was the most widely produced version and was in use for over 20 years. It was considered the best jet trainer in the world.
I had a great time (as always at this museum) Wikipediia has some more information on this museum (just punch up "Hampton Air Park") and usually make it a regular stop when I am in the Hampton area. It is a great area to see aviation items with another museum - The Virginia Air and Space Center - which is the official site for the NASA Langley Center which is local to Hampton. Langley Air Force Base is also in the area and usually (but not this year) puts on a really good air show. I have some photos in a previous post from last years show. Fun city for an aviation fan, as is nearby Oceana Naval Air Station. Oceana will be putting on it's air show this year and look for photos of that (weather permitting) in a future post this September 16-17.
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