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Surprise find at the museum

Started by Drew Hallenbeck, May 26, 2021, 09:48:53 AM

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Drew Hallenbeck

I went with my daughter on her 8th grade school trip to Washington D.C. last week. One of our stops was the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I spent some time as an Aircraft Electrician in the US Army and have always been fascinated by all things aviation so I was already super excited to be there.
We were up on a platform next to the space shuttle Discovery and I noticed there was a glass wall behind us overlooking the hangar where I'm guessing they do repair work and get aircraft ready for display. I looked down and saw something really cool....
THEY HAVE AN X-WING FIGHTER!!!
Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

Drew Hallenbeck

Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

matmosphere

Cool!! They have some neat sci-fi stuff around those museums. It's not uncommon to see R2D2 rolling around there or the one downtown from time to time.

The one in DC proper also has the original model of the Enterprise used for the Star Trek tv show in the sixties. It's pretty cool, and quite a bit larger than I expected.

Drew Hallenbeck

Quote from: Matmosphere on May 26, 2021, 10:00:00 AM
Cool!! They have some neat sci-fi stuff around those museums. It's not uncommon to see R2D2 rolling around there or the one downtown from time to time.

The one in DC proper also has the original model of the Enterprise used for the Star Trek tv show in the sixties. It's pretty cool, and quite a bit larger than I expected.

Seeing the Discovery was pretty impressive too. I always knew the space shuttles were big but, that thing just seemed absolutely massive in person!
Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

mattc

Was the SR-71 still there?   That was the one that surprised me as to how big it was.

EBK

Quote from: mattc on May 26, 2021, 12:11:16 PM
Was the SR-71 still there?   That was the one that surprised me as to how big it was.
That's my favorite one in the collection.  So big and so flat! 
"There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history." --Roger the Shrubber

Aentons

I have an SR-71 down the road from me at battleship in Mobile bay. Yes, they are big. I'd love to see that X-wing tho

jjjimi84

Man, I am jealous that is super cool. Any pictures of the discovery?

mjg

Very cool photo.  The x-wing looks like it's seen some action.

We planned to go to the Smithsonian when we went to the USA, but the government shut down due to some politics, and all the museums and national parks closed.  Hooray.

thesmokingman

that's more put together than the last pics I saw of it I think on ... slashdot or nerdist last week
once upon a time I was Tornado Alley FX

Drew Hallenbeck

Quote from: mattc on May 26, 2021, 12:11:16 PM
Was the SR-71 still there?   That was the one that surprised me as to how big it was.

Yup, still there. I saw one when I was a kid in the museum at Wright Patterson Air Base in Ohio.
It's always been one of my favorites!
Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

Drew Hallenbeck

Quote from: jjjimi84 on May 26, 2021, 06:13:33 PM
Man, I am jealous that is super cool. Any pictures of the discovery?

Yeah, I have a few...
Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

Drew Hallenbeck

Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

Drew Hallenbeck

Building with my daughter and occasionally selling as "Daddy Daughter Pedal Works"
Not for any real profit, just trying to have a self-funding hobby.

PapaKev

Quote from: Drew Hallenbeck on May 26, 2021, 10:03:57 AM
Seeing the Discovery was pretty impressive too. I always knew the space shuttles were big but, that thing just seemed absolutely massive in person!

Really? I thought they were small. We were there for a landing and our tour bus happened to pass it when it was being towed back to the hanger. I was amazed at how small it seemed.