My first trip in an aircraft was while I was in college, on the way back from Harrison, Arkansas.
Hiller OH-23A Raven, which I assume is the type used for the opening credits of M*A*S*H. At the Combat Air Museum.
A guy with what made me think of a Korean War helicopter from M*A*S*H was giving flights for $20. We went up a few hundred feet, circled around a bit, then landed.
It was one of the best $20 bills I’ve ever spent.
Like a lot of other kids my generation, I was fascinated by flying. But I never got a chance to be at the controls.
I still have a fascination for aviation. It’s a fascination that Vicki does not share, who when I had a spare couple of hours camping south of Topeka, Kansas, she stayed at the camper while I visited the Combat Air Museum just south of town.
It was a fun trip for me. These planes are beautiful, even the ones that are in pieces in the workshop hangar.
And while I had doubts about climbing the steps with this bad hip to see the interior of a four-prop reconnaissance plane used in the Cold War, I was glad I made the effort. It’s a great blend of aviation, electronics and history.
Snoopy finally gets the Red Baron in his sights … at the Combat Air Museum, Topeka, Kansas. Wooden Doghouse (Snoopy), Fokker Dr. 1 Dreidecker (von Richthofen)
The display of a 75% scale replica of a Fokker triplane (think Baron von Richthofen) being pursued by a toy Snoopy doll on his doghouse/Sopwith Camel was delightful
Before she was Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jeane worked at the Radioplane Corporation, which made drones for the U.S. military. This is at the Combat Air Museum.This is the engine from a Radioplane drone at the Combat Air Museum.
Same thing for the photos of Marilyn Monroe in her early career in the defense industry, working on engines for an early line of drones.
It’s mostly photos, but if you’re into old planes, I think you’ll enjoy them.
Fokker Dr. 1 Dreidecker, or Triplane. This is a 75% scale replica at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasMeyers OTW (Out to Win), first of 102 planes used as trainers and for other purposes. Interesting history at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasYou’ve heard of a rotary engine? This is a true rotary engine, the LeRhone 80hp engine that spins around a fixed crankshaft. Built by the French in WWI and on display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas. It was used on the Nieuport 11 and the Sopwith Pup.A replica of the Rowley-Curtiss JN-4D-2 Jenny at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasNot sure what these two are … I missed the info placques. British biplane and a German monoplane from WWI at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasLike the sign says, a Bendix Twin .50-Caliber MG Turret from a B-29 Superfortress at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasPart of the Battle of the Atlantic (my favorite bit of history of WWII) was played by air power. The battle gets a small display at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasSikorsky NCH-43A Sea Stallion at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasInside the Sea Stallion at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasNot sure if this is a toy or something else. at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, KansasMiG 21 at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.Polish MiG 15 at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.BT-13A trainer in an outdoor display at the Combat Air Museum.No ID visible, but I assume this is a Duck Boat used in WWII beach landings.North American F-86 Sabre being restored at the Combat Air Museum.A 1951 Solar pulsjet engine used for a Navy drone. Clearly copied from the German V1 buzz bomb.RCAF Harvard Mk. IV, a two-seat trainer at the Combat Air Museum.Another view of the RCAF Harvard trainer
Fuselage nose art is always fun. Not a lot of examples at the museum, but here are three.
You’ve got to love nose art. The Beech Baby II is a Navy Beech SNB-5 used to train navigators. It’s a Model 18, also known as the Twin Beech, a model popular in civil aviation.More nose art, a bit more tame this time, on a C-47 Dakota, the miltary model of the DC-3. The planes in this series are in the work hangar of the Combat Air Museum.My great-grandfathers fought for the Confederate States of America, but I will be happy to see emblems such as this cycle off American planes and military bases. This is on an F-105D Thunderchief at the Combat Air Museum.
I was surprised at how fascinating the inside of the early AWACS plane was for me. I tried to imagine myself being on the crew of this plane, which would have been pretty crowded with all the air crew and techs on board.
External displays include a EC-121T-LO Warning Star being restored at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas. At right is an F-84. Not sure about the Navy plane at left.The radar stations on the EC-121T-LO Warning Star being restored at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.Here’s the radar console on the EC-121T-LO Warning Star being restored at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.The Combat Operations Console set up to display the last operational mission of the EC-121T-LO Warning Star being restored at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.Infor on the last operational flight of the EC-121T-LO Warning Star at the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas.Combat operations plotters worked from these chairs, behind the plexiglas chart shown earlier.The radio operator’s desk on the EC-121T-LO Warning Star at the Combat Air Museum.I assume this is the electrical transformer for the radar on the EC-121T-LO Warning Star at the Combat Air Museum. Radio operator glowed right in front of this transformer. Probably kept him warm.This could be a hint that the crew of the EC-121T relied heavily on their coffee. At the Combat Air Museum in Kansas.The cockpit of the EC-121T-LO Warning Star at the Combat Air Museum.
Two Sheeps to the Wind 
Looks like the great RV adventure continues. Safe travels.
Karen & Dominic Bava
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It looks like you had an interesting time! I know Pat would have enjoyed it as well!
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