The Warbird Air Museum

Mark and I slept in this morning, and when we got up and ready we called my cousin, Steve.  He and Bernice came to spend the day with us to do whatever we wanted to do.  Mark wanted to see the Warbird Air Museum.  

Out of the four of us, I am the only one who knew nothing about the planes and helicopters in the museum.  When Mark was in the Air Guard, he used to guard military planes and sometimes he got to tour them.  Steve used to fly helicopters.  Bernice has spent her adult life working for various airlines as a crew member.  She is the one that makes sure the cargo is packed into the plane in an even way to maximize space usage and weight distribution.  She has just been hired to do charter flights for sports teams and such.  She flies with them and makes sure everything goes smoothly.  So they all had some level of experience with the information we picked up there.  I am probably the worst person to report on the events of today, but I’ll do my best.

This plane was inside the museum.  It has quite an interesting story.  It was on an aircraft carrier on Lake Michigan and the pilot was concerned about it sparking so he turned a handle to thin out the fuel.  When it came time to take off, he forgot to turn the handle to give rich fuel, which a plane needs if it's going to take off.  The plane fell into Lake Michigan and sunk.  The pilot was alright, but the plane stayed on the bottom of the lake for almost fifty years.  No one knew what had caused the plane to go down until they pulled it up and discovered the handle was still in the thin fuel position!

This plane was inside the museum. It has quite an interesting story. It was on an aircraft carrier on Lake Michigan and the pilot was concerned about it sparking so he turned a handle to thin out the fuel. When it came time to take off, he forgot to turn the handle to give rich fuel, which a plane needs if it’s going to take off. The plane fell into Lake Michigan and sank. The pilot was alright, but the plane stayed on the bottom of the lake for almost fifty years. No one knew what had caused the plane to go down until they pulled it up and discovered the handle was still in the thin fuel position!

We were looking at the exhibits in the museum when this man entered with his daughter and her fiance.  Turns out he was an off duty tour guide, but he wanted to show his daughter and her fiance around.  He let us tag along as he told about the various things we were looking at.

We were looking at the exhibits in the museum when this man entered with his daughter and her fiance. Turns out he was an off-duty tour guide, but he wanted to show his daughter and her fiance around. He let us tag along as he told about the various things we were looking at.

Not only does the man guide tours at this museum, but he also helps renovate the planes and he used to be a flier himself in the air force.  This was one of the planes he used to fly.

Not only does the man guide tours at this museum, but he also helps renovate the planes and he used to be a flier himself in the air force. This was one of the planes he used to fly.

He was telling us about this helicopter.  It's a rescue copter and he said one time a crew was called out to do a rescue mission.  The pilot and the crew chief had gotten in and were ready to go, but they couldn't figure out what was holding up the co-pilot.  Pretty soon they heard a knocking on the side of the helicopter.  The co-pilot was on the ground and his foot was pinned under the front wheel!

He was telling us about this helicopter. It’s a rescue copter and he said one time a crew was called out to do a rescue mission. The pilot and the crew chief had gotten in and were ready to go, but they couldn’t figure out what was holding up the co-pilot. Pretty soon they heard a knocking on the side of the helicopter. The co-pilot was on the ground and his foot was pinned under the front wheel!

He was talking about the foot and hand holds on the side of the helicopter for climbing in and his daughter, who happens to be a rock climber, demonstrated.

He was talking about the foot and hand holds on the side of the helicopter for climbing in and his daughter, who happens to be a rock climber, demonstrated.

This is a replica of the Red Baron's plane.

This is a replica of the Red Baron’s plane.

The guide said this is the plane Snoopy (from Peanuts) would have flown.

The guide said this is the plane Snoopy (from Peanuts) flew when he was fighting the Red Baron.

Mark says this is a DC-9.  It was used for carrying supplies into West Berlin when Russia blocked access to the city.

Mark says this is a C-47. It was used for carrying supplies into West Berlin when Russia blocked access to the city.

The DC-9 was the only plane we were allowed to go inside.

The C-47 was the only plane we were allowed to go inside.

Mark was telling Steve and Bernice that he used to guard this kind of plane.  It is an F-101 Voodoo.  He said they called it Voodoo because when the front wheel would lift off the ground, the back two would do sort of a shake and shimmy like a voodoo dance.

Mark was telling Steve and Bernice that he used to guard this kind of plane. It is an F-101 Voodoo. He said they called it Voodoo because when the front wheel would lift off the ground, the back two would do sort of a shimmy shake like a voodoo dance.

This was another tour guide we listened to for a bit as he explained about this helicopter.

This was another tour guide we listened to for a bit as he explained about this helicopter.

This must be a display for children.  I thought it was cute but wasn't sure if its size would be obvious alone, so Mark came and gave me a strong man pose beside it!

This must be a display for children. I thought it was cute but wasn’t sure if its size would be obvious alone, so Mark came and gave me a strong man pose beside it!

After we were finished looking around the museum, Steve and Bernice asked if we’d like to go out to dinner.  None of us was familiar with the area, so Bernice looked up restaurants on her phone and found a street where most of them were located.  We drove down that street and found a restaurant with a view right on the water.  It was very nice and the food was excellent.  Here was the view from our table:

This is Cape Canaveral across the water from us.

This is Cape Canaveral across the water from us.

It costs $50 per person to take tours of Cape Canaveral, so we are content to look at it from across the water!

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