A Visit to the US Air Force Museum

After going to the Eastern-Miami game, we got a hotel down there.  On the day after, we headed over to the Air Force Museum.  It's been a couple years since I've been there.  I was hoping to get there early enough to go over to the Presidential Hangar but sadly they have that closed while they are transferring those planes to the new exhibit hall.  That will be opening next summer, so I will finally get to see them again after years of not seeing them.

 This time, I decided to start with the Air Park outside.  This is another thing I miss as I look at the main museum first and usually don't feel like walking around this.  Anyway, it is kind of nice to get pictures of planes in natural light.
This is the C-60A Lodestar which I think is Lockheed's answer to the DC-3.

 A Northrop YC-125B Raider.  This is military version of the Northrop N-23 Pioneer.  It first flew in 1949 and used for rescue.

 The AC-130 Spectre which is a gunship.

 A Boeing C-17.  I believe this one was used to test the aircraft.  This aircraft was used to replace the C-141.

 This is a rail car that was going to be used as a way to base the MX/Peacekeeper Missile.  The idea was that if there were tensions between the US and Soviet Union, these would be set out on the rails in an effort to spread them around.  It would be pulled by two engines and there would be a command car, launch car and security car.  They would be painted to look like normal box cars so that they wouldn't stand out.  The program was cancelled with the end of the Cold War.

 Between the parking lot and the museum is a memorial part.  There are various monuments to the different units that were a part of the Air Force (Either Army Air Force or Air Force).  Some of them are pretty cool looking like this one which is dedicated to the men that service in China, Burma or India during World War II.

 I kind of liked this one too.

 This one was dedicated to a P-51 unit.

 This one was dedicated to the men who flew the B-26 Marauder.  In front of it there was a stone that looked like the crosshairs of a bomb-sight.

 This is an early model of one of the Wright Flyers but not the one that flew at Kitty Hawk.

 This is a Spad which was one of the first combat planes used by the United States.

 I don't remember what this plane was.

 A barrage balloon.

 This is a P-26 Peashooter and I think this was one of the first monoplanes.  It might also have been one of the first all-metal planes.

 This is a Hawker Hurricane.  While not as glamorous as the Spitfire, it was a very effective aircraft.

 I think this was a Brewster Buffalo which was one of the early war aircraft.  It was obsolete prior to the US entry into the war.

 The P-40 Warhawk.

 The B-25 Mitchell bomber was used in the Doolittle Raid.  Eighteen B-25's were launched off the deck of the USS Hornet in 1942.  They were used to hit various targets in Tokyo and Yokohama.  The raid inflicted some damage but nothing serious.  It was a strategic success as it led to the Battle of Midway.

 A Spitfire wearing American colors.

 The B-24 was a very effective bomber and versions of it were built here at the Willow Run Assembly Plant.  I'm not sure if this one was though.

 A P-47 Thunderbolt.

 The B-17 Flying Fortress.  This was probably the more famous bomber of the war.

 The P-51 Mustang was probably the most famous and the most successful fighter design of the war. 

 The FW-190 was the improved German fighter.

 The Me-262 was the first operational jet.  It was never produced in sufficient quantities to turn the tide of the war.  Because Germany had a tough time getting some of the materials required for high temperature steel, the engines had a very short lifespan.

 The PBY Catalina.

 A B-29 Superfortress.  This particular one was used to drop the bomb on Nagasaki.

 A P-61 Black Widow.

 An F-101 Voodoo.

 The UH-1 Huey which became the symbol of the Vietnam War.

 I think this was a Sikorsky Sea King.

 A Caribou.

 The MiG-21.

 An F-4 Phantom.  This particular one was painted to look like one of the aces of the ar.

 An A-7 Corsair II.

 The B-52 Superfortress.

 An F-22 Lightning.  I think this particular one was used to test the plane.

 I think this is a Thunderstreak.

 An F-84 Sabrejet.  This plane was made famous by the Korean War.  While not as fast or maneuverable as its main Russian built adversary, it's pilots were more capable.

 The nose of a B-36 Peacekeeper.  This particular plane was designed so that it could attack Germany from the mainland US in case Britain was knocked out of the war.  It never saw service during World War II but it was used in the immediate post war period.  It was soon replaced by jet bombers.

 A Grumman Duck.

 The B-58 Hustler was the first jet bomber designed to go Mach II and it was a pretty cool aircraft.

 The cockpit.

 An F-102.

 And the F-106.

 The Tornado.

 A B-1 Bomber.

 A MiG-29.

 This was the nose art from a B-52G bomber which was stationed at Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda, Michigan.

 This is a recreation of a missile command module.  Fortunately this scene never played out.

 The three versions of the Minuteman missile.

 The SR-71 Blackbird.

 A memorial the Air Force Medal of Honor recipients.

And an F-15 Eagle.

Happy Birthday U.S. Marine Corps

On this day in 1775, the US Marine Corps is formed.

Well not actually the US Marines since the United States did not exist at that time but the Continental Marines.  Legend says the first recruiting poster was placed at Tun Tavern which was owned by the mother of one of the earliest Marines.  The first and only commandant at this time was Captain Samuel Nichols and the first Marine barracks was in Philadelphia.  The Marines would be used to conduct amphibious landings and raids during the Revolutionary War.   Since then, the Marines have grown into one of the most feared fighting forces on the planet.  The picture is one of my diecast models, I used a longer exposure to give the illusion of motion.

Forty Years Ago Today

At roughly 14:30 yesterday forty years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald departed the iron ore docks in Superior, Wisconsin with a load of 26,116 tons of taconite pellets.  She would have been bound for Zug Island in Detroit but this would be her last trip on the Great Lakes.  The Arthur M. Anderson would depart Two Harbors, Minnesota roughly two hours later with a load of iron ore for Gary, Indiana.  The two would take their place in Great Lakes Maritime History.

This is an older picture of mine showing the Arthur M. Anderson unloading at Zug Island.  The Anderson was the last ship to remain in contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald.  She followed the Fitzgerald on that fateful day and was the first vessel to assist in searching for the Fitzgerald or her crew.

So today, we remember the 29 men who lost their lives on the Edmund Fitzgerald on this day forty years ago.

Eastern Michigan at Miami Football

Eastern Michigan was playing at Miami University (of Ohio) today and I decided to head down there to take pictures.  Given the records of the two teams, I thought that Eastern actually had a shot at victory.  However that was not the case.  Once again, I will post pictures of other than the game here.  If you want to see game pictures go to Eagle Totem.

 Miami Field was opened in 1896 and was the home to the Miami Redskins until 1982.  By 1928, it had a capacity of 7,240 and it when it was closed, it could seat 14,800.  It was the second oldest college football stadium after Franklin Field for the University of Pennsylvania.

 In 1982, Yager Stadium was opened with a capacity of 25,183 fans.  The stadium was started with natural grass but that was replaced with FieldTurf in 2003.  I will have to admit that it is a pretty nice stadium.

 Miami University is known as the "Cradle of Coaches".  There are many famous coaches that got their start there.  My favorite of those being Bo Schembechler.  I don't really think I need to go into details here about him, as I've posted several times about him.

 A close up of his face.

 I would have liked this picture a lot more, but there is the disjointed hand of a ref.

 I saw this dog in the stands and I thought he was pretty cute.

 I'm not sure what kind of plane this was, but it was close enough to get a picture.

 The Miami band was pretty cool though.

 I kind of liked the percussion too.

They were honoring veterans at today's game.  These people represent Miami's Veterans Organization.

 One of the flag girls.

 This was a pretty cool tribute to the Iwo Jima statue.

 This is the Miami Redhawk.  At one time Miami was known as the Redskins and when the controversy over that name first started, they actually asked the Miami tribe what they thought about it.  Apparently, they didn't really have a problem and they helped them with cheers and stuff that weren't so offensive.  It seemed like a pretty good relationship.

 A shot of the stadium.

 Weeb Ewbank was a multi-sport athlete at Miami University.  He began his coaching career in 1928 where he coached at various high schools in Ohio.  In 1943, he joined the US Navy and was a coach for a service football team at Naval Station Great Lakes.   After the war, he became an assistant with Paul Brown for the Cleveland Browns.  They ended up winning an All-American Football Conference Championship in 1949 and an NFL Championship the following year.  In 1954, he left the Browns to become the head coach for the Baltimore Colts.  He ended up leading them to an NFL Championship in 1958.  He was fired by the Colts in 1963 and was picked up by the Jets shortly after.  He led the Jets to an AFL championship in 1968 and won Super Bowl III in the same year.
He was also the coach during the famous Heidi Game.  During this particular game, his Jets were leading 32-29 but the Raiders would score two touchdowns in the last two minutes to win the game.  It was dubbed the Heidi Game because NBC Executives decided to show the movie Heidi instead of the last two minutes.  There were so many complaints that NFL games are now shown in their entirety.
He would end up retired from football in 1973 and return to Oxford, OH.

 Ara Parseghian was another famous coach that went to Miami.  In 1964, he would become the coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he would win two National Championships. 

Paul Brown began his coaching career at Severn School in 1931.  Shortly after that, he became the head coach for Massillon High School in Ohio.  During his 11 seasons there, his team only lost 10 games.  He was hired by Ohio State and led them to a National Championship in 1942.  He ended up joining the Navy and became the coach for the Naval Station Great Lakes.  After the war, he was hired by the Cleveland Browns, where he led them to four AAFC Championships and 3 NFL Championships.  He fired after a conflict with the Browns' owner Art Modell in 1963.  In 1968, he co-founded and was the first coach of the Cincinnati Browns.  He would remain there as coach until 1975 and remained their President until 1991.
He was the first coach to use game film to scout his opponents.  He also implemented a number of other innovations in football.  He was not well liked because he was a very controlling (but obviously successful) coach.  He died in 1991.

A Pac-Man Ghost

One of the people at work has a Pac-Man Ghost on her desk.  I think she brought it in as a Halloween decoration but it is still pretty cool.  It lights up and shifts colors every few seconds.

Pac-Man is one of the more well known video games.  I think everyone my age has played it at least once.  At one time, I knew a pattern that would get me through about 60 levels which provided alot of fun for 1 quarter.
Pac-Man was developed by Namco of Japan in 1980.  Later that year, it was exported to the United States.  It took the country by storm and created a TV show, song and a few other things.  The red ghost was named Blinky.  The blue ghost named Inky.  The pink ghost was named Pinky and the orange ghost was named Clyde.
The game itself was fairly simple, it involved a yellow ball with a mouth that looked like a slice of pizza going around and eating dots in a maze.  If you eat the bigger dots, the ghosts will turn blue and then you can eat them.  You get more points if you can eat all them while they are blue.  As the game progresses, it gets faster.  The game ends when you lose your three Pac-Men.
The game also spawned variants:  Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man 3D and a few others.   I liked Ms. Pac-Man but not any of the others.