Strategic Air and Space Museum

Hello Friends,
I didn't plan this post to coincide with Memorial Day weekend, but the timing worked out well.  I was planning to visit the Strategic Air and Space Museum later this summer, and then I met a new friend who volunteers out there doing restoration work.  I've been fascinated by airplanes since I was little, so it was great to visit with someone else who shares that interest and could give me behind-the-scenes stories about planes in the collection - and a chance to climb into the cockpit of a B-36! 

The museum is located just off of exit 426 on Interstate I-80, about halfway between Omaha and Lincoln.  I missed the entrance on my first visit and almost missed it on my second.  You can't see the building from the highway, but it's the turn immediately west of the main entrance to Mahoney State Park.  Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.  Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-12, and $9 for senior citizens and active duty/retired military.  Guided tours are available at 11:00 daily at no extra cost. 

When you enter the museum, you're instantly in the presence of greatness.  Just behind that glassed-in front sits one of the greatest aircraft ever created, poised as if it's slicing through the air on one last mission.  Ladies and gentleman, I give you the SR-71 Blackbird...

The Blackbird was used for reconnaissance from 1966 to 1990.  It flew at speeds of over Mach 3.2, but it's exact maximum speed is still classified, and it still holds speed and altitude records.  A strange fact that I learned from my friend is that the Blackbird actually leaked jet fuel when it took off.  This was not considered a problem, though.  As it flew, the plane would expand, and this sealed up the leaks. The Blackbird could take surveillance photos of 100,000 square miles in an hour, flying so high and so fast that no one even knew it was there.  Developed by the secretive "Skunk Works" division of Lockheed at the request of the CIA, it was a crucial tool to have during the Cold War.  I'm adding Skunk Works to my summer reading list.  It was written by one of the key developers of both the Blackbird and the Stealth fighter, and the preview on Amazon looks terrific.  

The B-52 Stratofortress has been an integral part of the Air Force since the 1950's, and it's still used today.  This heavy bomber is a true work horse.  It can perform many tasks, including sea surveillance, suppression bombing, precision strikes, and aerial mining.  It can drop bombs by free fall or deliver air to ground missiles.  It was originally designed to carry nuclear weapons, but let's hope it's never used for that purpose. (The museum also has a B-29 Superfortress on display.  B-29's were used to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII.) 

You might notice that this B-52 isn't in the best shape.  It still shows wear from when the museum was located near Offutt Air Force Base, and the planes were displayed outside.  You might also notice the Strategic Air Command (SAC) emblem just below the cockpit.  It features an iron fist holding both an olive branch and a lightning bolt, and it says a lot about the role SAC has played over the years.  Housed at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, SAC was a crucial hub for reconnaissance gathering/analysis, coordination of long-range bombing missions, and defensive missile control from 1948 until 1992.  When I was a kid, my uncle was stationed at Offutt for awhile.  He told me that if America was ever attacked, Omaha would be the first place wiped off the map, because SAC would be a primary target.  He was right, of course - SAC was tucked in the middle of the country for a reason - but was that really something a 7-year-old needed to know?  Sheesh.

Near the B-52 is the B-36 "Peacemaker."  For some reason, I didn't get a photo of the outside - probably because it's so huge - but you can see it here at the museum's website.  The Peacemaker is the largest production aircraft ever built and the only U.S.  bomber that never dropped a bomb during wartime.  (Ironic, huh?)  It had the ability to fly to another continent, drop its weapons, and come back without re-fueling.  Obviously, it couldn't out-maneuver enemy fighters, and our fighters didn't have the same range.  So the engineers came up with a unique solution...

This photo is of the underside of the B-36, standing in the open bomb bay and facing toward the cockpit.  It was dark inside, but my flash lit it up fairly well.  Notice that contraption at the front?  It was made to carry one of these...

When an enemy challenged the B-36, the tiny Parasite could drop out of its belly to provide protection.  When the enemy was vanquished, the Parasite could hook back up to the B-36 for the ride home.  It didn't work too well in practice, but it was quite an idea. 

The cockpit wasn't technically open during my visit, but with a friend in high places - no pun intended - I got to climb inside.  (The museum does have special days when the planes are open for all visitors.)

 

This was the most amazing part to me.  Check out these controls.  Parking brake at the top, and right below that?  Yeah - you really, really didn't want to hit the wrong switch coming down the runway.

This photo was taken from the "sunroof" in the cockpit looking back toward the tail.  It gives you an idea of how big the plane is, although my camera lens could only capture a small section of the wings.

The wings are actually 7' thick, and crew members could walk back and forth inside of them to service the engines in flight.  The B-36 is unique because it has both propellers and jet engines.  Fires were so common upon takeoff that men were stationed below the plane with fire extinguishers.  How would you like to have that job?!

The F-4 Phantom was the primary fighter used in Vietnam. The model on display here has been outfitted for reconnaissance rather than combat. 

The arch-nemesis of the Phantom was the Soviet-designed MiG-21.  When a MiG was delivered to the museum, the boxes arrived with a simple message - "Don't ask questions."  Museum workers didn't know what they'd gotten until they opened the crates and started putting the pieces back together.  The aircraft, which is currently being restored, carries the insignia of the North Vietnamese Air Force.  The MiG is smaller and more maneuverable than the F-4.  How we acquired enemy aircraft during wartime remains something of a mystery, but it allowed our pilots to find ways of fighting against a plane that had previously outmatched them.

The EC-135 is not currently on display.  In fact, it's not even fully assembled.  This is a shame, because the "Looking Glass" was an important part of SAC's mission from 1961 until 1990.  For almost thirty years, one of these planes was in the air 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  They circled the area on constant alert, ready to take command if the unthinkable happened and the land-based control centers were destroyed.  The plane in this photo was the last one to land when that program ended.  It's now parked behind the restoration hangar.  We still have planes on 24-hour alert, but they are land-based rather than in the air now.  

In 2001, the museum's name was changed from the Strategic Air Command Museum to the Strategic Air and Space Museum.  There are several rockets on display in front of the building, and there is a permanent exhibit on Clayton Anderson - an astronaut from Ashland, Nebraska.  If you have kids, they might enjoy a trip to the "International Play Station."

The museum also offers summer camps and "Top Gun" weekends for kids from 8-13.  (I'm so jealous!  I could pass for 13...maybe....)  Okay, maybe I can't pass for 13 - but kids of all ages can try out the flight simulator for $5.  And a new Star Wars exhibit just opened this weekend.

The museum also has a book store, gift shop, and the Plane Food cafe.  Individual and family memberships are available, which provide free admission to the museum, invitations to special events, and discounts on gift shop purchases and summer camps.  I don't go often enough myself for an individual membership to be worthwhile, but I would be tempted to get a family membership if I had kids.

Well, a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, but no picture even begins to convey the experience of standing next to an SR-71 Blackbird.  You'll have to check it out for yourself.  Hope you have a great ride.