 Since the beginning of time there have been those men who look to the sky Who envied birds their graceful soaring flight Who said to themselves If I could but fly I have slipped the surly bonds of earth and Dance the sky on laughter silvered wings Some would have climbed And joined the tumbling birth of sun's blood clouds and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of Wealed and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence Up there I've chased a shouting wind along and flown my eager craft through footless halls away Up the long delirious burning I've topped the winds wrapped heights with easy grace Where never lies Nor even evil flew and while the silence Lifting my I've tried the high untrust past sanctity of space put up my hand and touch the face of God Man's dream of powered flight culminated at Kitty Hawk in 1903 From that first flight the landing on the moon took a mere 66 years The advances made from the beginning of flight to the present is what the United States Air Force Museum is all about Planning of the permanent Air Force Museum began in the early 60s The Air Force Museum has had four different locations prior to the move to the current site All were within a few miles from where the Wright brothers had their bicycle shop In 1971 the museum's permanent home was established at Wright Field seven miles from its previous location Funding for the facility was provided by donations to the Air Force Museum Foundation and by many groups and individuals The new structure was designed to accommodate 100 aircraft inside thousands of artifacts The building design also allowed for a 500 seat theater a gift shop and a restaurant The move of nearly 100 aircraft down the highway was a rare spectacle to the local populace The operation which took several weeks to complete required the cooperation of city county and state officials working with the Air Force on September 3rd 1971 the Air Force Museum building was dedicated by President Richard Nixon now on the ramps around the museum and in this building and behind me are the great airplanes that have been built through the years and As we look at those planes we can think of the tremendous developments that have occurred But more important than those planes. I know we all realize Are the men who have flown them and what they have given to America? But they have sacrificed for America how much we owe to them Each year approximately 1 million people from all over the world visit the museum Here they learn of the dedicated men and women who created built and today sustain the United States Air Force Almost everyone knows that in 1903 the Wright brothers made the first flight in a heavier than air-powered airplane at Kitty Hawk Following their initial flights They returned to Dayton where they work to perfect their techniques in flying the airplane at Huffman Prairie near the side of the present-day Air Force Museum At Fort Meyer, Virginia the rights demonstrated their aeroplane to the army and In 1909 the signal corps purchased from them the first military heavier than air-flying machine After only a few flights as a passenger then Lieutenant Benjamin D. Folloy taught himself out of fly through Correspondence with the Wright brothers years later during a visit to the Air Force Museum retired General Folloy remembered And I sat down wrote to the Wright brothers and told them what I'd done. They wrote back and told me what I ought to have done As a result of those instructions I received the Wright brothers I probably qualified as the first correspondent pilot in history today Volunteer tour guides host thousands of school children and other special groups each year It is displayed in this fashion so that you can see how they were constructed in 1917-18 They used wood and the wood they used was spruce wood which is ideally suited for this because it is both lightweight and Durable very excellent qualities for a flying machine They covered the body with fabric. They would put a layer of fabric Lacquer it put another layer and they did this three times They supported it with the wire spoke. You notice the wire that's holding it all together And it is one of the first aircraft that they actually use seatbelts before that You had to bring your own rope along and tie yourself to the seat so that you don't fall out because It is not an enclosed cockpit at all. It's open Before American pilots went overseas during World War one. They were trained in such planes as the standard e1 Scout the Curtis Jenny and The standard J1 a rare 92-foot cocoa observation balloon like those used in France during World War one is Suspended over the famous wood and fabric combat planes of the era It had a basket suspended beneath which held two observers and communications and charting equipment The observers directed artillery fire and reported German planes and enemy activity American pilots in France flew mostly foreign-built airplanes such as the Camel The camel displayed in the museum was built by the restoration specialists working from original factory drawings American pilots of the famed Lafayette Eskidrill were equipped with the spad 7 a French design pursuit plane Captain Eddie Rickenbacker became America's ace of aces while flying spads during the first world war Over the years captain Eddie was a close friend and frequent visitor to the Air Force Museum Birth of the airplane really originated with the Wright brothers right here We got to remember the effort of those pioneers that made it possible to get the information and to get the facts of What aviation really met because if it hadn't been for these boys in their flying kites and flying machines So to speak why they'd never be an astronaut because there wouldn't be any information there to make it possible for them to get This scientific data following World War one McCook field in Dayton served as the Air Corps research and development Center This was a period that saw rapid advances in aircraft structures engines And accessories such as landing lights and propellers The McCook field wind tunnel achieving speeds up to 460 miles per hour Allowed for testing of high-speed aircraft under development in the early 20s The Army Air Corps was striving to demonstrate to the world the capabilities of the airplane The proof of the advancing air age came with America's successful historic first around the world flight in 1924 when two Douglas world cruisers circumnavigated the earth The open cockpits the temperature extremes and long distances faced by the aviators during the record flight Tax their endurance and required various types of protective clothing The museum's artifacts of the journey include fur flying suits leather helmets and gloves Plus diaries maps flight logs and personal memorabilia Hey dad says right here. They had to cut down a whole force to get this plane out Yeah, it's on right now The 038 observation plane crashed in a remote area of Alaska and remained there for 27 years The aircraft was relatively well preserved, but getting it out took a Herculean effort Towering trees had to be chopped down to clear an area for helicopter airlift Army and Air Force helicopters airlifted the plane out and it was flown by a C-130 to the Air Force Museum's restoration shop in Ohio In a hangar near the museum Reconstruction specialists work with precision to restore planes to their operational likeness a number of highly qualified volunteers use their talents to assist the museum's specialists on restoration projects a Rare Martin B10 the first of the modern-day all metal bombers is a good example of the museum's continuing acquisition program It took 10 years of negotiation to obtain it for the museum collection In the pre-World War II era there were rapid developments in aircraft from the vintage P6E biplane to the Seversky P35 The P35 marks the beginning of modern technology as the first single-seat all metal pursuit plane with retractable Landing gear and enclosed cockpit used by the Air Corps at Pearl Harbor The P36 Hawks were among the first American fighters to get off the ground to meet the enemy The P36s were the forerunners in the development of the rugged P40 Which also engaged the Japanese at Pearl Harbor In China from 1941 through 1944 the P40 served as the backbone for the famed Flying Tigers as America built up for World War two the fledgling aviators learned to fly the PT-13 PT-19 and others In order to simulate flight conditions without leaving the ground World War two aviation cadets spent a lot of time in linked trainers These trainers as with today's sophisticated flight simulators allowed for economical and safe training of student pilots In England during World War two American pilots manned the three themed Eagle squadrons of the Royal Air Force They flew spitfires and hurricanes in combat from mid 1941 to the autumn of 1942 When they were transferred to the United States Army Air Force Many Americans serving in England during World War two stayed in nissen huts like the one reassembled here donated by the Royal Air Force Many reunion groups and individual veterans come to Dayton each year and recall their service days a Growing number of veterans organizations are establishing memorials at the museum in memory of their units The museum's display of POW artifacts are from World War one and two Korea and Vietnam Men who spent time in prisoner of war camps view these exhibits with mixed emotions You seem to have a lot of interest in these items in the case here Yeah, it's kind of brings back some memories. I know the fellow in the picture there was an old roommate of mine when I was in jail in North Vietnam The shoes that kind of bring back memories because I think I left them with the museum back to 1973 when I came home women served as nurses office staff and in a number of other vital roles in World War two Including the ferrying of aircraft from the manufacturing plants to the flying units The pilots were known as women Air Force service pilots or wasps The Air Force Museum hosts many special events such as the highly popular tribute to the major Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band Many guest artists perform at these special functions Here ex-Sgt. Ray McKinley who stepped into the leader's post after Miller's plane was lost plays with the Air Force's airmen of note in a Miller arrangement Glenn Miller's personal trombone was taken from the museum's display to be played during this special performance Personnel from the museum's research library are very exacting and authenticating insignia and markings on all museum aircraft Hundreds of researchers either visit or write the museum's library each year for assistance During the Korean conflict the f-86 gave a good account of itself flying against the MiG-15 And there aren't many places where a person can see a Russian MiG During the Vietnam conflict this C-123 was nicknamed patches Because of the many metal patches used to cover its battle scars The aircraft sustained over a thousand hits Four purple hearts were awarded to its crew members In the museum's gift shop models of aircraft are frequently based on authentic design information maintained in the research center A rapidly expanding area of the museum is dedicated to American space and missile efforts The Apollo 11 mission to the moon had a special significance to the Air Force Museum Neil could you tell us the significance of this artifact that you took to the moon with you? co-executor of the right estate Ask the Air Force Museum whether it might be possible for Some remnants of the 1903 right flyer to be carried aboard the first flight to the moon and it was very Much of an honor for us in Apollo 11 to take those remnants along with us and now return them to the Air Force Museum The museum's display of these remnants reflect the gigantic bridge that man is built extending from Kitty Hawk to the moon The astronauts of Apollo 15 Apologized for not being able to bring the moon buggy back, but they didn't forget the museum Do you remember the lift off on the surface of the moon? The original score of the air course on was carried to the moon and back by the Apollo 15 crew And is on display at the museum for all to see and appreciate Many of the museum's visitors are amazed at the cramped space. Some of the missile capsules afforded the early astronauts As the Air Force continues with space research more items of historical value take their place in the museum's collection These X-24 lifting bodies made major contributions to the proven success of our space shuttles more than 80 years of aviation history and Imagine if you will what new and innovative flying machines could be here in the next 80 years As long as there are people to appreciate and Help support its growth the United States Air Force Museum will continue to record our stepping stones to the stars