Air Force Museum to host 75th anniversary events

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is celebrating the Air Force’s 75th anniversary.

The events will take place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 17 and 18.

Being offered are open aircraft, a 75th Anniversary selfie station, educational activities, trivia, airplane tricycles, coloring pages and word search station and official Air Force videos about the anniversary and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base’s mission.

Along with the anniversary celebration, the museum is introducing a permanent exhibit in the fourth building dedicated to the newest branch of the U.S. armed forces, the Space Force.

The ink pen on display was used by President Donald Trump to appoint General John W. “Jay” Raymond as Space Force’s first chief of space operations on December 20, 2019.

“The museum’s USSF exhibit was designed with a forward-looking space aesthetic that carries the heart of the Space Force story which will grow as the force expands,” museum Exhibits Division Chief Will Haas said.

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The anniversary open aircraft schedule is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days:

Sept 17:

  • AC-130 (Building 3 - theme aircraft for the Marathon)
  • CV-22 Osprey (Building 3)

Sept 18:

  • A-10 (Building 3)
  • F-16 Thunderbird (Building 3)
  • F-15 (Building 3)
  • CV-22 Osprey (Building 3)
  • C-17 (Air Park - weather permitting)
  • KC-135 (Air Park - weather permitting)

Check the museum’s event website for celebration updates and changes:

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events/75th-anniversary/.

And on Sept. 17, the museum will open a temporary interactive exhibit in the fourth building titled “Above and Beyond,” which will allow visitors to experience the scientific concepts behind flight.

Visitors will have an opportunity to design and test-fly their own supersonic jet; pilot a drone into the eye of a hurricane to measure nature’s fury; experience flight as a bird or a futuristic wing-flapping aircraft; or take an elevator ride to the edge of space.

A complete schedule of events and exhibits is available at https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events/75th-anniversary/.

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