NASA Langley Open House (October 21, 2017)

Up early and down the road for a very rare visit to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. It was the first open house in a long time, this one to celebrate the center which has been in operation since 1917 (that is a 100 years in case you didnt do the math). For much of that it was as NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Became NASA in the 1950's but this Aeronautics is still the first "A" in NASA. 

 Still doing some amazing flight research. A lot of history for the past 100 years have been made in these buildings. Much of the developments in aviation and certainly many in spaceflight have come out of the minds that work in these buildings and do the research there. I got there early and stayed for some four hours exploring the buildings and meeting some of the people who are making the world of flight so amazing and changing the world we live in. 

 One of the coolest things I saw was this. You are inside what is known as the "14-by 22 foot subsonic tunnel. It is a wind tunnel used to test models and larger models of fixed wing and helicopters (and other V/STOL) aircraft. They can be set up in a number of ways such as seen here, or on a tether.
Got to see a number of models, as well as the amazing control room where the tests are conducted.

 This is the outside of the Subsonic tunnel. There were a number of amazing things and buildings and can't forget again to mention the people who make it all happen. It was a very fun and exciting day and want to thank everyone at NASA for making this remarkable event happen. I just hope they do it again real soon...would love to go back again! 

Dayton Trip - Part 2 (October 7-14, 2017)

Went to the Navy Bean and Seaplane Festival in Rising Sun, Indiana where Debbie and I watched planes such as this and enjoyed the festival which was held October 13-14 (we were there the 14th). Bands, food and a rides (amusement park and probably plane rides) were available. It was a lot of fun.

 After a great visit to Indiana for a few days, had to get back to the airport to head back to Richmond. Took this photo right after takeoff and that below is Dayton, Ohio. It was a wonderful time and a very interesting city to enjoy. I have more and more fun there the more times I go to it.

Flight back to Richmond had a stop in Atlanta where I changed planes (from an MD-88 to a Boeing 757). I have to say the 757 is a wonderful airplane to fly in. Between Atlanta and Richmond is Charlotte, NC and this is a view of that city below. It was also once where I lived (well in nearby Concord, NC) for 14 years but explored Charlotte a lot of times. Wonderful place. Never know what the future holds and what will happen in the days and years to come. Sure enjoy the ride though!

Dayton Trip - Part 1 ( October 7-14, 2007)

Add caption

Early in the morning got on board a Boeing 757-200 and headed for Atlanta. It was right about dawn when we took off, and on the way there got this photo of Richmond from the plane. I always get the window seat cause I love to fly and love the view. Love this city too and this was cool to see. Nice flight...the 757 was a fantastic plane and the best part was to and from Atlanta rode it both times. From Atlanta to Dayton flew on an MD-88. Nice way to travel.   

 We saw some new sights in Dayton. Just outside the city was the graves of the Wright Brothers at the very beautiful and historic Woodlawn Cemetery. Here the brothers are at rest flanking their sister. Dayton sure celebrates their famous inventors with a lot of the sites they lived in and created the first airplane (and the ones that followed) which Debbie and I also saw some of both on this trip and a previous trip to the area. I love aviation and this was a real treat for me exploring the city.   

 The city is very interesting and is seen here at left also taken from the cemetery. Smaller I think then Richmond, this was my first time in a long time to actually explore it (last visit we just saw some sights on the outskirts..the flying field, the Air Force Museum, and the Carillon Park with the Wright Flyer III). Got out a bit and saw some new sights in the city. 

Debbie is at left in the pink shirt, this is Warped Wing Brewing in Dayton, Ohio. I have had a couple of their beers at the airport in Dayton, but wanted to try some of them here.
Richmond is a big craft beer town and was cool to have a couple here in this building. I am sure it was an old factory which has been converted to making beer by Warped Wing. The two I had were pretty tasty and it was a nice place to hang out for a little bit. 

We also made a stop at the Wright Cycle Shop and a return visit to the Carillon Bell Tower before making a tour of the Dayton Art Institute. It was a nice art museum with some very interesting items. Much smaller than the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts but a good diverse collection of works and enjoyed looking at them. There is a lot to see and do in Dayton. We scratched the surface of things to do there, both aviation wise but also otherwise. Don't have to love aircraft to have a great time there. It was a very fun day and finding Ohio to be a very, very interesting and fun place. The day before I took a ride on a friends motorcycle there and that was a lot. Wrote about that on my "Racing with the Wind" Page. I will have more on the vacation trip with Debbie on my next post.