There was shop in Indianapolis... 
One in Spiceland .....

and two in Richmond.

We arrived at the Museum with about 1.5 hours before it closed.

Obviously, the new fourth building draws the visitors for them.
The part of the fourth building we had time for today pertained to the experimental and test aircraft on display.

One of the main reasons we were interested in these exhibits is the XB-70 which we had seen in 1969 on a weekend trip to the museum while I was stationed in Columbus to finish my USAF career. It is still quite a striking looking aircraft.

Some of the experimental aircraft were manned or unmanned and unpowered to assess how something like the space shuttle might be able to maneuver when if came in to land.



There was an early version of what would become the Harrier which could hover and rotate then pick up speed to fly off - see the exhausts located on the side of the aircraft.

There was an experimental aircraft to test stealth technology,

and an inflight training simulator,

as well as an attempt to create a circular winged aircraft (looks like a weather balloon to me!). Unfortunately if it flew more than 3 feet off the ground, it became unusable. Not very helpful.

Finally, they had the Hanoi Taxi - C141 that brought POWs home from captivity in North Vietnam.


A couple of days in this area to see more of the museum and other places that have status in the history of aviation which is so strong in this area.
Marty


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