A (Glorious) Day of Aviation

[John1]

Went down to visit my daughter who has moved to the VA area.    After a nice brunch washed down with a couple of the best Bloody Mary's I've ever had (big shoutout to the Redhead Bay Cafe and their spicy Spitfire Bloody), she treated me to a visit to the Virginia Military Aviation Museum.   I'd never heard of this place but it's truly amazing.    The owner has a very impressive collection of WW2 propeller aircraft (and equally impressive collection of WW1 replicas).   All except a few are flyable and had actually flown the previous week.  I believe he's got one of the few flyable Bf-109's with an original DB engine.    Also has a penchant for Russian WW2 subjects, along with a stunning Mosquito FB.VI that he acquired from New Zealand recently.   Just a few pics to illustrate:

 

 

 

 

 

He also had an actual 8th AF control tower disassembled in the UK and brought back the US, brick by brick (I'm guessing the AC unit isn't original but I'm also guessing it gets a lot hotter in VA during the summer than it did in England. 

Amazing museum, there is so much more I didn't both to show.   $15 is incredibly short money for being up close and personal with so many rare aircraft.   The staff there are also wonderful.   Highly recommended for anyone in the general area.  Hell, if I can get a couple more $39 tickets from RI to Norfolk on Breeze Airways, I may just go back so I can spend a full day there. 

 

Next up was a visit to NAS Oceana, the Navy's primary fighter hub on the East Coast.   They've got a fantastic exhibit on the ride in, however a few of the exhibits (especially the F-4B) are really starting to rot out.  This only shows a few of the aircraft that are in the park.

 

Next up was probably the highlight of the day.

 

 

A good number of aircraft were flying that day, pretty cool watching them launch and then doing carrier style breaks when returning.    Unfortunately, I only had my phone.   Kicking myself for not bring my new super-zoom Nikon.    These guys were in the process of launching.  Most of the squadrons were practicing air-to-air combat so many of the SH's had most / all of their wing pylons removed.   

 

The prettiest jet on the flightline (IMO)

 

 

Lastly, went to a lovely beach (located on Naval Base Dam Neck, home to the "Unit formerly known as SEAL Team-6").   While sitting on the beach, I saw multiple helos in the distance.   Again, sorry for the horrid picture, this was only one of the formations that came by. 

Hard to see much in the shot but they were much clearer in RL.   They were a mix of H-6 Littlebirds and MH-60's from the Army's Night Stalkers.   Offshore were a couple of massive dark speed boats slamming through the waves at a very high rate of speed, which I'm guessing were also operated by some "special" folks.   From what I was told, this stuff is a pretty common sight on this beach. 

 

To end the day on a perfect note, as we sat at a local outdoor brewery enjoying some fantastic beer, a Night Stalkers MH-47 flew over.   By that point it was getting dark so I didn't even attempt to take a picture.   Gotta trust me on this one. 

 

To conclude - for anyone remotely interested in military aviation, I highly recommend heading to the eastern VA area.   You may not have as much spotting luck as I did but I'm sure you will still find it worth while.   Just don't forget to bring a decent camera! 

[MikeMaben]

 

[Daywalker]

14 minutes ago, MARU5137 said:

Seconded that. 

Thirded! 

What an amazing day, having never heard of that museum I have added it to my "need to go here" list.

[Oldbaldguy]

Lived there once upon a time.  There is even more really cool stuff to see and do in the area.  List is almost endless.  There are some stunning, heart-stopping models on this site, but you ought to see the ship models at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, for example.

[dennismcc]

What great photos, nice to see some VVS subjects in the collection, thank you for posting them.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[GreyGhost]

Really cool photos, looks l ill or a fine day ..!

Thanks for sharing ...

 

-Gregg

[Troy Molitor]

Thanks for sharing these pictures with us.  Do you have any more?  

[John1]

1 hour ago, Troy Molitor said:

Thanks for sharing these pictures with us.  Do you have any more?  

I’ll see if I have any others.   Got a bunch of the Oceana flight line but due the presence of some “special” aircraft, I was asked not to post publicly. 

[Ben Brown]

Next time you're in the Norfolk area, head over to Hampton and check out the Virginia Air & Space Center. Lots of interesting aircraft on display. There is (was?) also the Air Power Park nearby, that had a bunch of jets sitting outside. They had an F-100D, F-105D, an RF-4C, and others. I don't know what kind of shape it's in, now. It's been about 30 years since I last visited.

 

Ben

[Shoggz]

What a great place! My sort of museum. Living, breathing examples rather than static pristine versions.

[John1]

On 10/14/2021 at 11:16 AM, Troy Molitor said:

Thanks for sharing these pictures with us.  Do you have any more?  

Here you go Troy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something really cool about being up close to a real airplane, one that has just flown and has the stains and dripping oil to prove it, vrs an immaculate museum exhibit.

 

I'm kicking self for not taking more pictures.  This is just a very small subset of their collection. 

Edited October 17, 2021 by John1