General Discussion

jberryhill

(62,444 posts) Sun Mar 22, 2020, 07:01 PM Mar 2020

If for some crazy reason, you are ever passing through Dover, Delaware...

Delaware gets a lot of traffic through a northern sliver of the state along I-95, but there's little reason for most people to drive the length of it - all 110 miles or so. You can, of course, ride your bike across it, since it's about 25 miles wide at some parts.

But, NASCAR fans do drop into Dover once in a while, and just south of Dover is the Dover Air Force Base, home of the 436th Airlift Wing.

And you can't miss that if you spend any time in the area, since they seem love doing touch-and-go's all day long in their amazing C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft - the largest transport aircraft the US has.

It's hard to visualize just how freaking huge they are, and how much they can hold. But, you don't have to imagine since, just south of the base, is the Air Mobility Museum. Among their collection of historical transport aircraft is a decommissioned C-5 that you can walk into and get a feel for just HOW FREAKING CAVERNOUS they are inside.

The nose of that monster on the right flips up, and you could play football in there:

If I was the Commander-in-Chief of the US military, and I had a hankering to get a whole bunch of something from one place to another, I think I'd give Dover a call.

12 replies

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Highlight:

If for some crazy reason, you are ever passing through Dover, Delaware... (Original Post) jberryhill Mar 2020 OP

The Air Force has planes? Really? Who knew? leftieNanner Mar 2020 #1

Amazing, innit? jberryhill Mar 2020 #6

I love aircraft museums customerserviceguy Mar 2020 #2

I didn't know they were still flying. All I ever see is C-17s mahatmakanejeeves Mar 2020 #3

The instrumentation has been updated jberryhill Mar 2020 #7

I have been to Dover. Laelth Mar 2020 #4

LOL, there is a town west of Dover called "Wyoming" jberryhill Mar 2020 #5

Didn't know that. Cool. Laelth Mar 2020 #11

We'll keep it our little secret jberryhill Mar 2020 #12

K&R, I think I see an F-101 Voodoo !! I .. LOVE .. cold war aviation. It just reminds me of when... uponit7771 Mar 2020 #8

Yes indeedy jberryhill Mar 2020 #9

I saw a C-5 over St. Pete, Florida once back in 1970 csziggy Mar 2020 #10

leftieNanner

(15,124 posts)

1. The Air Force has planes? Really? Who knew?

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 07:04 PM

Mar 2020

And they can put stuff inside of them and go up in the air and take that stuff to where it's needed.

Wow! Learn something new every day.

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)

6. Amazing, innit?

Reply to leftieNanner (Reply #1)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:02 PM

Mar 2020

customerserviceguy

(25,183 posts)

2. I love aircraft museums

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 07:15 PM

Mar 2020

There's a great one out in Pueblo, Colorado that I visited a couple of years ago.

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,489 posts)

3. I didn't know they were still flying. All I ever see is C-17s

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 07:20 PM

Mar 2020

going to and coming from Joint Base Andrews.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_C-17_Globemaster_III

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)

7. The instrumentation has been updated

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Reply #3)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:03 PM

Mar 2020

There's been a slow process of rotating them out of service, removing all the avionics, and giving them a new brain.

The museum has an original cockpit in the indoor section.

Ah, I found my tweet of the original cockpit:

Link to tweet

?s=20

Laelth

(32,017 posts)

4. I have been to Dover.

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 07:27 PM

Mar 2020

I took a picture in front of the First National Bank of Wyoming—based in Delaware, naturally. I missed the museum though.

-Laelth

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)

5. LOL, there is a town west of Dover called "Wyoming"

Reply to Laelth (Reply #4)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:01 PM

Mar 2020

The bank was named for the area west of Dover...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming,_Delaware

Wyoming is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,313 at the 2010 census

----

But, that's okay. A lot of people seem more familiar with Delaware County, Ohio and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Laelth

(32,017 posts)

11. Didn't know that. Cool.

Reply to jberryhill (Reply #5)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:28 PM

Mar 2020

My old picture is somewhat less ironic, now, but I treasure it all the same.

-Laelth

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)

12. We'll keep it our little secret

Reply to Laelth (Reply #11)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:29 PM

Mar 2020

There are probably more people reading this thread than live in Wyoming, DE.

uponit7771

(90,347 posts)

8. K&R, I think I see an F-101 Voodoo !! I .. LOVE .. cold war aviation. It just reminds me of when...

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:08 PM

Mar 2020

... America said we can do and was getting punched in the grill by the Russians with the space race and then punched back harder by landing on the moon.

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)

9. Yes indeedy

Reply to uponit7771 (Reply #8)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:09 PM

Mar 2020

Go do the Voodoo that you do...

The museum is staffed by retired vets who flew those things.

csziggy

(34,136 posts)

10. I saw a C-5 over St. Pete, Florida once back in 1970

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Sun Mar 22, 2020, 08:12 PM

Mar 2020

It had to have taken off from MacDill AFB in Tampa so by the time it went over the Florida Presbyterian campus (now Eckerd College) it must have been at a good altitude. Even so, it looked like a regular plane only a few hundred feet up.

They didn't take it that flight path often - I could tell by the reaction of even the professors who were local residents. Of course it was way new - Wikipedia says they were introduced June 1970. The one I saw was between September 1970 and July 1971 before I left St. Pete for good.

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