A pilot's bucket list

[jb747]

Enterprise was on display at the visitors center.

There was a mock up called Explorer on display at the visitors centre. That's now been renamed Independence, and is the shuttle that's on the 747 carrier at Houston.

Enterprise did the glide tests. It was originally intended that it would be refitted to orbital flight standard, but design changes with Columbia led them to build Challenger instead. After the loss of Challenger that was reconsidered, but it was decided to build Endeavour instead. It was held by the Smithsonian from 1985. It moved to NYC when it was replaced in the museum by Discovery.

At least they survive and are on display. The Soviet Buran was a very interesting machine, but has largely been erased from history. In some ways it was a smarter design.

 

[kevrosmith]

SQ are also flying direct into SEA a couple days a week if that’s helpful as an entry point and could work your itinerary that way.

 

[flyer89]

If you are going to Houston and KSC then this is pretty redundant but the Endeavour at the California Science Center was great. It’s displayed in a different way to the others I believe.

 

[jb747]

If you are going to Houston and KSC then this is pretty redundant but the Endeavour at the California Science Center was great. It’s displayed in a different way to the others I believe.

I was checking up on that one last night. The plan is for a new building to the put up for it, and for it to be stacked to a tank and boosters, and shown vertically. The most recent pictures don’t seem to show much progress towards this though.

So ultimately, LA will have one in the launch configuration. KSC’s is ”in orbit”, and the Smithsonian’s is just after landing. It’s a bit of pity that Enterprise ended up in NYC, as it would have been perfect to mount on the 747 carrier, especially as it has more time there than any of the others.

 

[flyer89]

I was checking up on that one last night. The plan is for a new building to the put up for it, and for it to be stacked to a tank and boosters, and shown vertically. The most recent pictures don’t seem to show much progress towards this though.

So ultimately, LA will have one in the launch configuration. KSC’s is ”in orbit”, and the Smithsonian’s is just after landing. It’s a bit of pity that Enterprise ended up in NYC, as it would have been perfect to mount on the 747 carrier, especially as it has more time there than any of the others

Yes when we were there a few years ago they were saying that so not sure what’s happening. We were told in order to win the contract to display it they had to prove that it could withstand an earthquake and they have it on a special stand. Being able to walk under it and smell it (yes, geeky I know) was brilliant.

 

[jb747]

Well, starting to be set in stone... Booked with SQ from Melbourne. A 15 hour slip in Singapore, and then to LA via Narita. Return is from Houston via Manchester and Singapore. So around the world...

Interesting watching the way the points availability has been moving over the last few days.

 

[Quickstatus]

Did you manage to book all international SQ sectors in J on the days you wanted?

What’s you IAD-MAN?. Is your intermediate stop in the US or EU?

 

[Himeno]

Did you manage to book all international SQ sectors in J on the days you wanted?

What’s you IAD-MAN?. Is your intermediate stop in the US or EU?

SQ operates IAH-MAN-SIN. Just like their SIN-FRA-JFK and SIN-NRT-LAX flights.

IAH is Houston Intercontinental
IAD is Washington Dulles.

 

[EestiTiger]

If you are staying in Titusville - it might be worth a visit here too - Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum Titusville, Florida

I managed to visit all the remaining space shuttles in the one year as part of the trip report here: GlobalTrash 2017 - London, Estonia, Slovenia and United States

Pensacola was really good. We caught a blue angels practice session and then saw them do the routine at Miramar a week or so later.

 

[JohnM]

Pensacola was really good. We caught a blue angels practice session and then saw them do the routine at Miramar a week or so later.

I was once in SFO just before Navy Week. The Blue Angels doing some practice over the bay was great.

 

[Franky]

I was once in SFO just before Navy Week. The Blue Angels doing some practice over the bay was great.

Speaking of practice manoeuvres, my first posting in the Navy in 1962 was to HMAS Rushcutter, where the Navy divers were then based. It is now where the Sydney-Hobart yachts berth. Navy Day was approaching and the RAN air acrobatic team then flying Sea Venoms were coming up from NAS Nowra daily to practice their show over the harbour for the big day. We were out playing volleyball in our lunch break, and stopped to watch. They did their routine and flew up for the bomb burst to finish off, and disappeared into some fairly low cloud, but unfortunately, two of them had a minor collision. A few seconds later, one of the aircraft tumbled out of the clouds, the pilot ejected just in time and he and the aircraft hit the water not far from Pinchgut Island. The divers sprinted to their boats and were on the scene within minutes, rescued the pilot, and put a couple of divers over the side and located the jet on the bottom of the harbour pretty quickly and marked it with a buoy, from where it was eventually recovered. The pilot lived to tell the tale.

 

[Ekka]

My bucket list includes a number of aviation museums. I've been to some on my work travels, but I'm currently planning a trip to the USA to tick off some of their offerings. I'm going to try to use points to get me there. Staff travel is just too iffy.

The list I want to see:
1. Chino (in LA) has two museums, and lots of flying warbirds.
2. Houston, for obvious reasons.
3. Pensacola, USN aviation museum.
4. Orlando, for KSC.
5. Washington, Smithsonian.
6. Dayton, USAF museum.
7. Seattle, Museum of Flight.

It's basically a loop around the USA. Which means I can start, or stop at any place along the line. I'd rather not have to hire a car, as I hate driving in the USA, but I expect that I might have to in a couple of these places. Hopefully Uber will suffice otherwise.

So, first question...what's Houston like as an entry or exit port from the USA?

There are two major airports in Houston, and the Level Nine tour is a must.

Personally I'd always enter the US via HNL.

It's important - perhaps especially for you - to remember that the Yanks did not win WWII by themselves (when they eventually had a go at the end of 1942, no less than three years after Australia had done its bit); far from it, in fact Australians taught them how to fight and fly, and MacArthur kept his headquarters in Brisbane until 1942.

Perhaps you should visit the MacArthur museum in Brisbane, plus Archerfield, Eagle Farm and Amberley before you go to the US.

 

[provedor1]

Just a couple of extra museums-
McMinnville in Oregon - Spruce goose and a lot more Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum | McMinnville Oregon
Cradle of Aviation Long Island Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, Long Island, NY
enjoyed both as well as Washington museums

 

[ajw373]

Did the Smithsonian on the Mall back in 2008. It's been rebuilt since then. Didn't get to Dulles that time around..

I was in DC about 6 weeks ago and the museum at the mall had just started a major refurb that is going to take a few years. About half the items are no longer on display, including the Wright flyer which was at Dulles in the repair shop.

Dulles is still going strong and without a car is now much easier to get to (compared to when I first went in 2010). You can now get the metro to Wiehle-Reston then a bus to the museum. The bus runs every 20 mins and takes the metro card.

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks for the thread JB747 - I'm going to add Huntsville to my RTW next year.

 

[gilldo]

We Went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum on the National Mall in DC, and I was impressed. The one let down was the lack of truly decent-sized aircraft. Thankfully, I mentioned this as a question just before we left.

They directed me to their secondary facility (Udvar-Hazy Center) out next to Dulles Airport. No easy way out here - you need a car! No admission fee, but it's $15 for the car park.

In short - sensational! Well worth the drive. So grateful to have discovered it (even if by accident).

Lots of war birds, from a variety of nations too. A Concorde (Air France), a Space Shuttle, and a B-29 (the Enola Gay) round out the seriously large craft dwarfing the room.

Museum of Flight lined up for this October, along with the Boeing tour.

 

[Himeno]

They directed me to their secondary facility (Udvar-Hazy Center) out next to Dulles Airport. No easy way out here - you need a car! No admission fee, but it's $15 for the car park.

They've been building a new metro line out to IAD. Phase 1 opened in 2014, the current terminus is Wiehle-Reston East Station Google Maps. The next phase, into and past the airport, is due to open in July.
There are public transport buses from both the airport terminal and the current metro terminus to the museum.

 

[BorisWood]

We visited the PIMA air and space museum in Tucson, Arizona some years ago and it was the best we have seen. There are over 350 aircraft there now. The highlight was the associated visit to AMARG where 4,000+ military aircraft are parked in the desert. You do need to book ahead now for AMARG.

With 12 trips there, driving is the only option for us in USA as any other method of transport is too restrictive and expensive.

 

[jb747]

Well, this is proving to be a fun thread. Apart from the having to pay for stuff bit, being a tourist has much to recommend it.

Did you manage to book all international SQ sectors in J on the days you wanted?

What’s you IAD-MAN?. Is your intermediate stop in the US or EU?

Had to juggle the days a bit, but yes, all business. Out of IAD the aircraft goes to Manchester. I've built things to have break in Singapore.

If you are staying in Titusville - it might be worth a visit here too - Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum Titusville, Florida

I managed to visit all the remaining space shuttles in the one year as part of the trip report here: GlobalTrash 2017 - London, Estonia, Slovenia and United States

Pensacola was really good. We caught a blue angels practice session and then saw them do the routine at Miramar a week or so later.

Sadly Pensacola is now shut to anyone without a US military ID card. I've written to them asking if this may change, but, I've probably already planned around it anyway.

I was once in SFO just before Navy Week. The Blue Angels doing some practice over the bay was great.

I saw them do a display in San Francisco. In A-4s. It did look like fun.

Speaking of practice manoeuvres, my first posting in the Navy in 1962 was to HMAS Rushcutter, where the Navy divers were then based. It is now where the Sydney-Hobart yachts berth. Navy Day was approaching and the RAN air acrobatic team then flying Sea Venoms were coming up from NAS Nowra daily to practice their show over the harbour for the big day. We were out playing volleyball in our lunch break, and stopped to watch. They did their routine and flew up for the bomb burst to finish off, and disappeared into some fairly low cloud, but unfortunately, two of them had a minor collision. A few seconds later, one of the aircraft tumbled out of the clouds, the pilot ejected just in time and he and the aircraft hit the water not far from Pinchgut Island. The divers sprinted to their boats and were on the scene within minutes, rescued the pilot, and put a couple of divers over the side and located the jet on the bottom of the harbour pretty quickly and marked it with a buoy, from where it was eventually recovered. The pilot lived to tell the tale.

In my early days of airline flying, I flew with him in QF.

There are two major airports in Houston, and the Level Nine tour is a must.

Thank you for that. I'll try to.

It's important - perhaps especially for you - to remember that the Yanks did not win WWII by themselves (when they eventually had a go at the end of 1942, no less than three years after Australia had done its bit); far from it, in fact Australians taught them how to fight and fly, and MacArthur kept his headquarters in Brisbane until 1942.

Perhaps you should visit the MacArthur museum in Brisbane, plus Archerfield, Eagle Farm and Amberley before you go to the US.

This isn't really a warbird trip. It was mostly built around seeing the XB-70, and B-58. Anything else was a bonus ('cos I've probably seen them somewhere). It's morphing into a space trip, and at the moment might encompass all of the shuttles that actually flew (orbital or not).

I was in DC about 6 weeks ago and the museum at the mall had just started a major refurb that is going to take a few years. About half the items are no longer on display, including the Wright flyer which was at Dulles in the repair shop.

Ah, I though they'd done that. Ok...

Dulles is still going strong and without a car is now much easier to get to (compared to when I first went in 2010). You can now get the metro to Wiehle-Reston then a bus to the museum. The bus runs every 20 mins and takes the metro card.

Dulles is a must this time. Did not know they'd extended the metro. It was pretty good back in 2009, but obviously did not go that far.

They've been building a new metro line out to IAD. Phase 1 opened in 2014, the current terminus is Wiehle-Reston East Station Google Maps. The next phase, into and past the airport, is due to open in July.
There are public transport buses from both the airport terminal and the current metro terminus to the museum.

Excellent.

 

[RSD]

I'm guessing that you aren't going to Oshkosh?