Visit to Eastern US

Many thanks for all the suggestions, guys, very much appreciated – & mexicanbob, will PM you once I have planned our route.

Will report back after the trip

Alan,

I live here in Charleston SC. If you come this direction, get in contact with me and I’ll be glad to show you around. I’m in the USAF, so I can get yall on base to look at the static display planes and possibly one of my C-17s if your interested. Patriot’s Point has previously been mentioned and it’s well worth the trip. It’s about twenty minutes away from the base. There is lots of other historic stuff here in town as well. The Confederate submarine CSS Hunley is here, The Civil War started here and parts of the American Revolution were fought here as well.

On a blistering hot July day in 2003 I walked from the Metro station…

How to spot the Englishman in America. He’s the idjit walking. 😀

Welcome to USA. the land of the free.

Goody, no taxes. And lucky me, there’s a get a green card popup on several website I visit. :rolleyes:

If countries had to validate their advertising, there’d be a lot less of that kind of misleading stuff! 😉

Forgot Georgia:

8th Air Force Museum , Museum Of Aviation at Warner Robins near Macon, Veterans Park at Cordele
Tony Andrews

Patriots Point…………..that’s the place I was trying to think of………USS Yorktown is the carrier if I remember rightly and well worth a visit.

Washington Navy Yard Corsair

On a blistering hot July day in 2003 I walked from the Metro station (miles away!) to the Washington Navy Yard without booking ahead, got signed in (British passport was useful) and looked around for aircraft. The only one I found was this Corsair hanging from the ceiling. Nice museums there, though, and the air conditioning in the US Marines Museum was almost too cold!

As well as the two Smithsonian Aircraft Museums in DC there are some interesting aircraft at the Washington Navy Yard (note that you have to call ahead) and the National Postal Museum

In Virginia there are:

in Richmond, the Virginia Aviation Museum which has a really interesting collection plus a few aircraft at the Virginia Science Museum. Further south (I think ) is Jerry Yagen’s Fighter Factory with a fine collection of airworthy warbirds, then heading down to Hampton/Norfolk are three diverse museums, Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, Air Power Park and Virginia Air & Space Center.

From here you can head to North Carolina:

going south down the coast gets to the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kittyhawk, then inland in North Carolina to North Carolina Aviation Museum, Carolinas Aviation Museum, and Western North Carolina Air Museum. There are a few aircraft on display around MCAS Cherry Point and there’s also a pretty good aviation collection in two museums at Fort Bragg which seem to be still open to the public. Finally there’s the Battleship North Carolina.

In South Carolina:

there’s the excellent museum at Patriots Point.

And that’s just the main museums …

Tony Andrews

Dayton AFM.. worth a trip to this ‘birthplace of aviation’. Also can visit Wright Brothers cyclery.. If lucky can get a ‘Wright Brother’s Aircraft Company Crew’ Authentic t-shirt..

Welcome to USA. the land of the free.

Mid Atlantic Air Museum at Reading, PA, is worth a trip. Last time I was there they were in the process of restoring a P61 Black Widow to airworthiness. A B25 and DC3 are also based there.

Charleston AFB, South Carolina, has a few preserved airframes at the entrance and also not far away is a berthed carrier museum with all manner of exotic types static all displayed on deck and below.

Hope this helps…………..

If you’ve got the time to go to other than established museums you could get Michael Blaugher’s book “Guide to over 900 aircraft museums in the US & Canada”. Mine is the 21st edition – the current one perhaps has increased the figure “900” in the title. It is I think only available by mail so unless you can arrange shipping to somewhere in the US you probably don’t have time. He does make them available on ebay.com.

It is a state-by-state listing of aircraft museums, military memorials and individual display aircraft (ie in city parks) but I found it not 100% accurate. Trying to find an F.86 in one town in Missouri I was eventually told it had been “taken away years ago”

Bob Ogden’s books (as mentioned) are available and recommended but some are a few years old. Vol 6 covers the South Eastern states and includes North and South Carolina.

Bob told me he probably wasn’t going to do any new editions as so much info is available on the ‘net. – a shame.

Roger Smith.

Alan, when you say NASM I guess you mean both the one in DC and Udvar Hazy out at Dulles, that one will cost you if I remember correctly $12 to park your car then entry is free, well worth it. If you also like modern aircraft don’t miss the film ‘Fighter Pilot’ showing in the IMAX, its really good and shows a RED FLAF at Nellis, including a brief glimpse of Sea Harriers.
You should get a copy of Andy Mardens book, US Military Out of Service 2003, this lists all preserved airframes in the area your visiting.
My copy is at home so I can’t pick any sites out at the moment

Got Bob Ogden’s book(s)? No? Gettm. 😉

Aircraft Museums of the World, Bob Ogden.

Never leave home without them, because I hate Amex. 😀