Even a casual visitor to this site would know quickly I am a huge fan of aviation. So it is with pleasure that I show a few highlights of my girlfriend's home town...Dayton, Ohio. An amazing place and one of the cradles of aviation. Here the Wright Brothers designed their planes. While first flown in North Carolina, here the early design was perfected. That was first done with the Wright Flyer III which can be seen in Carillon Historical Park. The park is remarkable.
One of the most interesting places in Dayton is Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Not just for the C-17's (one at left) that fly along with many other interesting aircraft but also for the many historic sights to be found near it. Dayton was also the home of many aircraft manufacturers and in fact...it still is. With all the aviation names and tributes to the Wright Brothers it was a fun places to just drive around. It was also a very good place from time to time...to look up.
This is a recreation, but in looking at old photographs very accurate (though the Wright Brothers used wood no doubt). It is a copy of the type of catapult used to launch the Wright Flyer III which was developed at Huffman Prairie. That happens to be on base at Wright Patterson but though an open gate.
There is actually quite a lot to see there, but the big plus is to stand on the actual ground where history was made.
Also at Wright Patterson Air Force Base is the US Air Force Museum. I went though it on my last visit to Dayton earlier this year and it is nothing short of remarkable. One of the best aviation museums I have been in..and I have been in a few.
This is a C-130 which is one of the outside exhibits. Most of the aircraft are in a closed series of buildings, but a few are outside. I missed them last time, saw them this trip.
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