Museum – Dynamic Subspace

A Visit to the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, April 2024

Entrance, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

A few weeks, I had an opportunity to spend an afternoon at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia before taking country roads south to visit my folks.

The Museum of Aviation is HUGE! There are four buildings (some with multiple floors) full of planes, drones, helicopters, support vehicles, equipment, and exhibits. There is a VR experience and other interactive exhibits. The four buildings are surrounded by additional aircraft that you can walk around (I walked 1.6 miles while I was there). Admission is free (but donations are accepted).

The museum is staffed by experienced volunteers/retired servicemen who are friendly and glad to talk and answer questions. They are also doing restoration work in the exhibit areas.

I was chuffed by the whole experience!

If you are an aircraft enthusiast, you owe it to yourself to visit here.

Below, I’m posting some of the hundreds of photos that I took there.

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle on Pedestal Outside

F-15 on pedestal in front, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle Wheels Down and Service Compartments Open In Main Building

F-15 with wheels down on display in main building, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle Cockpit

F-15 Cockpit, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

Pratt & Whitney F-15 Engine

F-15 Engine, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (Thunderbirds)

Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk

Lockheed C-130 Hercules and Its Weapons and Equipment

Rockwell B-1 Lancer

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

Lockheed U-2

Republic F-105 Thunderchief

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and Convair F-106 Delta Dart

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

McDonnell F-101 Voodoo

McDonnell RF-101

North American F-100 Super Sabre

Republic F-84 Thunderjet

North American F-86 Sabre

Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV

Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

North American P-51 Mustang

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Mark 6 Nuclear Bomb under Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

Curtiss JN Jenny with Snoopy (Maybe his Sopwith Camel was being serviced!)

Curtiss JN Jenny, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

Space Lab Spacesuit

Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD)

Eugene Jacques Bullard, First African-American Fighter Pilot Statue

Eugene Jacques Bullard, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

Walking Around Back

Planes parked around the back of the museum, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

Is That a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Ruddervator Behind the Museum???

Is that a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk ruddervator?, Museum of Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, GA.

Jose the Duck’s Uniform, Vernon Delaney’s B-17 crew of the 817th Bomb Squadron

April 30, 2024

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019

As I wrote about yesterday, I met up with my former City Tech colleague Alan Lovegreen in March 2019 on the west side of Manhattan to visit the Intrepid Museum and USS Growler submarine. My last post showed pictures of from the Intrepid. Today’s post is all about the Growler.

The claustrophobic interior of the Growler submarine was thrilling to walk through. Everything seemed to have its specific purpose and was made to go where it fit into the overall interior puzzle space. It’s hard to imagine the design work that went into building this (or the aircraft carrier next door for that matter) before computer aided design.

Also, I could more easily visualize the similarity between voyaging under water in a submarine and voyaging in outer space in a spacecraft. Both create a living environment for human beings in otherwise inhospitable environments. The former keeps pressure out and the latter keeps pressure in. Catastrophe is possible in a number of ways–some slow and others sudden.

The Growler is also a communication technology museum–loud speakers, telephones, exterior microphones, recording and processing devices, radios, sonar, mimeograph machine, typewriter, gauges, and indicators.

When I’m willing to jump through the hoops of a CUNY class field trip, I imagine a multifaceted technologies of representation and technical communication gold mine at the Intrepid Museum and USS Growler submarine.

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Torpedo Room

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Interior

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Maneuvering Room

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Washroom

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Toilet

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Crew Bunks

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Top Hatch

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Interior Door

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Periscope

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Periscope view of the cruise ship docked at the next pier

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Office

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, CPO Quarters

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Bunks

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Wardroom

USS Growler (SSG-577), Cold War-era Cruise Missile Submarine Docked Next to Intrepid Museum, March 2019, Alan standing on the deck

November 30, 2023

Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, March 2019

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Front of Ship

In March 2019, I met up with my buddy Alan Lovegreen to visit the Intrepid Museum, a WWII-era air craft carrier that had been repurposed as an air and space museum moored on the west side of Manhattan.

Alan and I had been hired the same year to work at City Tech in the English Department. While he was there, we worked together to inaugurate the City Tech Science Fiction Collection. Soon after that, he moved back to California for a new job. He was back in NYC to give a talk, so we picked a cool place to meet up.

Some exhibits overlap those at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and its Steven P. Udvar-Hazy Center that I wrote about last week, such as the latter also having a Concorde airliner. Also notable is that the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which had been at the Udvar-Hazy Center, is now at the Intrepid Museum. Space Shuttle Discovery is now at the Udvar-Hazy Center. But, some similar looking aircraft are actually experimental or specialized versions, such as the Intrepid’s Lockheed A-12 compared with the Udvar-Hazy Center’s SR-71 Blackbird. There’s also some other unique displays involving LEGO: a 1:40 scale model of the Intrepid and a 50,000 brick mosaic image of the Space Shuttle Enterprise flying over New York City atop a Boeing 747.

We couldn’t have picked a better day to go. It was a cool and clear day, so we spent most of our time on the outside exhibits on the flight deck and hanger deck, but we also went under the water line to explore the submarine USS Growler tied up at the same pier (I’ll post pictures of the Growler tomorrow).

Flight Deck

Conning Tower

Bell 309 KingCobra

Bell UH-1A Iroquois “Huey”

McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

Northrop T-38 Talon

Grumman F-11 Blue Angels

Lockheed A-12

Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat

Grumman F-9 Cougar

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Gumman F-9 Cougar

Israel Aircraft Industries Kfir/F-21A

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, F-16

Anti-Aircraft Batteries

Hanger Deck and Interior

North American FJ-3

Martin-Baker Mark V Ejection Seat

Grumman Avenger Ball Turret

Mercury Capsule

Ship Interior

Space Shuttle Enterprise and Exhibit Area

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise's Star Trek Connections Exhibit

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Wind Tunnel Model

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, Space Shuttle Enterprise LEGO Mosaic

The LEGO mosaic that capped off the Enterprise exhibit area was a cooperative construction project let by Ed Diment, who created the scale model of the USS Intrepid (below). The mosaic above depicts the Space Shuttle Enterprise’s flight over NYC before its arrival at JFK and eventual move to the Intrepid. It was constructed out of 50,000 LEGO bricks by hundreds of children and adults between July 26-28, 2013.

LEGO Build of the USS Intrepid

Built by Ed Diment, this recreation of the USS Intrepid with LEGO bricks is a 1:40 scale model. It is 22 feet long, 4 feet wide, and over 4 1/2 feet tall. It weighs 550 pounds and contains 250,000 pieces!

Concorde Airliner on Pier

Carrier Aft

Intrepid Museum, WWII Aircraft Carrier turned Air and Space Museum, Manhattan, New York, USS Intrepid Aft

November 29, 2023

Brick City in Niagara Falls, Nov. 2009

Brick City in Niagara Falls, LEGO sets, custom models, and minifigures on display.

Y and I drove to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for our honeymoon in 2009. One of the places that we stopped at among the many kitschy and wonderful tourist traps there was Brick City, a huge world constructed out of LEGO sets and populated by minifigures. There were trains, planes, and automobiles. There were science fictional time-and-space juxtapositions of the American West, Ancient Egypt, and 18th century piracy. There were space shuttles landing while another stood waiting on the launch pad. There is an AC/DC concert stage and the Golden Gate Bridge. Among the beautiful discord of scenes, sets, and characters was a custom model of Niagara Falls complete with a tightrope walker and the Maid of the Mist. For a LEGO maniac like myself who was eager to explore what’s there, it was a worthwhile place to visit. Unfortunately, it seems to have have closed down since then.

November 28, 2023

Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Outside Savannah, Georgia, July 2010

Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, GA, Entrance

Concluding a week of aerospace museum posts (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, NASM Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 1929 Ford Tri-Motor Model 4-AT Visit to SSI, and Deutsches Museum in Munich), here is one featuring photos of a visit my folks and I made to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum just outside of Savannah, Georgia in July 2010.

The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum honors the Eighth Air Force which has its beginnings in World War II. It earned its “MIghty” moniker due to its overwhelming personnel and equipment capability, logistical prowess, and power application on the air battlefield.

At the time of our visit, it featured a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in the process of restoration (I believe this has been completed now), Consolidated B-24 Liberator (nose), Boeing B-47 Stratojet, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Cockpit), McDonnell ADM-20 Quail Decoy Cruise Missile, and other WWII related exhibits for British, Japan, and Nazi Germany.

It’s on the latter one of the Axis powers mentioned–Nazi Germany–that I want to give a word of caution. I have included at the bottom of this post images of the Swastika and Nazi Germany uniforms. Like the museum including these in its exhibits, I include these images as a reminder that Nazism is evil and we cannot let that evil return to the world in whatever form it might take. I believe that there we cannot be freedom of speech maximalists in our modern world where there technology has created an extremely imbalanced marketplace of ideas and lopsided means of discourse. If we don’t draw a line in the sand about certain evils, it seems certain that we’re destined to fall prey to the paradox of tolerance. I believed the breakdown of discourse and the ease of manipulating people during the early phases of social media already presented a clear and present danger. Knowing what I know now about generative artificial intelligence (AI)’s capability to do the work of manipulation at a far greater scale and for less money than what was achieved previously, recognizing so-called free speech maximalist owners of a certain social media platform isn’t all about free speech at all and seems to support Nazi ideology, and fearing how our democracy seems weakened and fractured from the assaults culminating in the Jan. 6 insurrection makes me beyond concerned about a return of the Nazi specter–but instead of forming elsewhere, it could manifest here.