Sneak peek inside the Air Force Museum's new fourth building

THE FOURTH BUILDING

What: Latest addition to the National Museum of the United States Air Force

Where: 1100 Spaatz St, Dayton (directions)

When: Opening Wednesday, June 8. The museum will hold a ribbon-cutting event at 9:15 a.m. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force will open its new $40.8 million, 224,000-square-foot fourth building on Wednesday, June 8. A total of 71 aircraft or aerospace vehicles have been moved into the new building for display.

Right inside the front door

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The Space Shuttle Crew Compartment Trainer and STEM Learning Node are now located in the Space Gallery of the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Earth-shaking rocket

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The 204-foot Titan IVB rocket will be on display in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force fourth building. The Titan IVB could launch payloads as heavy as 23.9 tons and was the largest and most powerful expendable rocket in the Air Force inventory.

Mammoth and rapid

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The 183-foot North American XB-70 Valkyrie towers over other X-planes in the fourth building of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Aircraft from the Presidential, Research and Development, Space and Global Reach Galleries are now inside the new hangar. (Story and video: Meet the XB-70)

Testing limits

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The North American X-15A-2 (foreground) and XB-70A Valkyrie are now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The X-15 was the first aircraft to reach the edges of space with a pilot inside and further tested the conditions that astronauts would face.

All types

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All shapes and sizes of aerospace vehicles from the Presidential, Research and Development, Space and Global Reach Galleries are now on display inside the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force fourth building. Seen here clockwise from the top left are the XB-70A Valkyrie, Northrop Tacit Blue, Lockheed YF-12A, and the Bell Helicopter Textron XV-3 tiltrotor.

Combining two types

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The Bell Helicopter Textron XV-3 is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The XV-3 was the first aircraft that found success in combining a helicopter's ability to lift off and hover with fixed-wing aircraft's abilities in speed and distance.

A first escort

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The Fisher P-75A Eagle is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The P-75 filled a World War II-era need for interceptor aircraft and was the first generation of what would become long-range escorts.

Testing invisibility

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The Northrop Tacit Blue is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The Tacit Blue, built in the 1980s, proved what some thought was impossible: That stealth aircraft could have curved surfaces.

A flying saucer

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The Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar is as close to a flying saucer that any aircraft gets in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force fourth building. The circular flying wing was built with three turbine engines exhaust driving a central circular turborotor. The Avrocar did fly, but became almost uncontrollable when it left the cushioning ground effect air just a few feet high. (Story and video: Meet the Avrocar)

Protecting the B-36

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The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The Goblin was carried by B-36 bombers and was released as a fighter aircraft if it encountered enemies. Once the fight was over, the Goblin would return to the B-36.

Responding to Soviet threats

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The Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The YF-23A was built to combat Soviet advances in fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missiles in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Test before build

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The Convair NC-131H Total In-Flight Simulator is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. It was used as a test aircraft for experimenting, mainly on takeoffs and landings, how aircraft would handle before committing to a full-scale buildout.

Wide variety

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All shapes and sizes of aerospace vehicles from the Presidential, Research and Development, Space and Global Reach Galleries are now on display inside the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force fourth building. Seen here clockwise from the top left are the Space Shuttle, Boeing YQM-94A Compass Cope B, General Dynamics NF-16A AFTI, and the Convair NC-131H Total In-Flight Simulator.

Saving POWs

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The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter nicknamed the Hanoi Taxi is known for returning the first group of POWs from Vietnam. The huge cargo jet continued in service with this original paint scheme into 2006 when it was retired to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The Hanoi Taxi is now in the fourth building. Above the C-141 is the Boeing YQM-94A Compass Cope B. a remotely piloted vehicle tested in the 1970s as a long-endurance reconnaissance aircraft. (Story and video: Meet the Hanoi Taxi)

Testing vertical takeoffs

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The Chance-Vought/LTV XC-142A is now located in the new fourth building at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. It was one of the early experiments in vertical takeoffs and landings with the goal of increasing the speed of troop movements.

Carrying presidents

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This view down the side of SAM 26000 shows eight of ten Presidential aircraft that are now on display in the Air Force Museum's fourth building.

Presidential helicopter

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This UH-13J was one of two Air Force Helicopters to enter Presidential service in 1957 to fly President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is now on display in the new fourth Building at the Air Force Museum and is framed here between two of the three vertical stabilizers of the Lockheed VC-121E Columbine III which was Eisenhower's personal aircraft from 1954-1961.

Fourth building layout