Best Aviation and Weaponry Collection

Jim,

I believe Henry Ford took the Wright's building back to his museum.

I've done work on base giving me clearance to visit the not so accessible museum buildings on base and the stuff in outdoor storage in front of the restoration hangar. Much of which has since moved to the new wing/hangar (is that the C-99 behind the F-82?). They had an Iraqi Mig-25 in the restoration hangar and were restoring the Memphis Belle (first B-17 to complete 25 missions in WWII) the last time I went through. In my opinion it is, by far, the best aviation museum in the world.

The stuff the museum has is so comprehensive that it blows my mind each time I go. The early stuff through the inter-war years is amazing including an early military observation balloon, the first US military aircraft (built by the Wright brothers), a B-10 (the last in existence), etc.

Regards,

Art S.

 

Awesome museum for sure, no one posted the XB-70. I think a thats my fav out there, only one!

 

I did some work with the museum a while back and was given access to one of their WW-I aviation photo albums, so got to go through some of the back areas. What most folks never get to see is the huge collection of parts they have dating all the way back to pre-WW-I. Shelves upon shelves of engines, airframe parts, etc. Really fascinating collection of impossible to find spares and incomplete airframes, many parts in original boxes.