Museum of Flight

Success four flights Thursday morning all against twenty one mile wind started from Level with engine power alone speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 second inform Press home Christmas.
-- Orville Wright

Friday, October 12, 2001
Two years ago: Down the Stairs
Three years ago: Dialing Up
Four years ago: Dancing and Housework

Today Jack's daughter H---- was off from school, due to some sort of teacher in-service day. So I'd suggested that it would be a good opportunity to go to the Museum of Flight! I'd never been there, and neither had Jack. I also suggested that H--- should ask one of her school friends to come with us.

I think the reason I'd never been to the museum is a lingering prejudice against non-Smithsonian museums, where you actually have to pay to go inside! That just doesn't seem right to me, having grown up on going to the Mall on almost a weekly basis, back when I lived in northern Virginia.

Another reason why I'd proposed this is because of H----'s interest in aviation; she's taking a class in aviation at school, in addition to attending Civil Air Patrol meetings and training.

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We picked up H---'s friend G---- at her home, on a dead-end street in the Delridge neighborhood. No problem getting to the Museum -- it's a short drive from West Seattle to West Marginal Way. I never drove down here much before moving; I knew where a few spots in Georgetown were, if I followed a specific route, but now I'm getting familiar with the lay of land in the South End and don't have as much trouble.

We paid our admission and entered the "Great Gallery", all glass. There were several docents around the door, so I checked with Jack to see if he wanted to wait five minutes and join a tour. He said he'd rather wander on our own. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think it was better for the girls to have the freedom to walk from plane to exhibit, as their interest dictated.

Jack showed us the spy plane and fighter plane that he worked on as a mechanic in the Air Force. H---- enjoyed the cockpits of several planes that you can climb into. We went on a simulator ride that takes you on a computer-generated Desert Storm mission from an aircraft carrier, which was worth the few extra bucks.

The Apollo and Space Station exhibits were interesting, but I think I liked the Flight Zone intended for little kids the best! They've done a good job of demonstrating the physics of flight and how airplanes are built, in a hands-on way.

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By this time, we were getting parched, and H---- said the drinking fountains tasted "nasty", so we all had sodas in the cafe. They've got items of air memorabilia embedded in the tabletops -- I was tempted to walk around and look at each one!

We walked outside and over to the 707 Air Force One. It's the plane that was used for Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. You can see where Johnson hung his cowboy hat, and the doggie doors for his beagles! The security guard was teasing H---- and her friend, and claimed that he'd worked on the plane when he was in the military. I'm not sure that was true.

The Red Barn was the last section of the museum we went through. This was the original building where Boeing got started, and was a boatworks before one of the Boeing founders bought it for ten bucks! It's been fixed up and is a very pleasant wooden building. (I kept thinking of it as a dance facility as we walked around!)

This is where they cover the early days of aviation -- lots of models, some old film clips, and actual airplane parts you can touch.

On our way out, we toured the gift shop but didn't buy anything (no one had any money but me). I was tempted by the stuff with that image of Rosie the Riveter as future gifts for H----; "We Can Do It!" is such an inspiring motto. An elderly man overheard H---- talking about watching The Spirit of Saint Louis on video at school, so he buttonholed us and told a tale about meeting Lindbergh when the speaker was a young pup starting at Boeing in 1938. True? It's possible, I guess!

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Instead of taking H----'s friend G---- straight home, I suggested she come home with us. She and H---- were planning on going to see a movie tomorrow, but what movie, when, where, and other details, weren't settled yet. I figured they'd nail this information down more easily if they were in the same place! So they fooled around online, trying to find the information they wanted. G---- proposed going to a theater in Renton, since she knew how to get there on the bus. Only then did I drive her back home.

This was a fun day! Jack said he was more impressed with the museum than he expected to be. I think they do a good job of explicating some rather complicated topics.