View of Air Force One et al. from the steps of the Concorde
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre of the National Air and Space Museum may boast the largest collection of aviation artefacts in America, but the Seattle Museum of Flight has the most historically significant. Home to the first Boeing 727, 747, and a NASA 737, its proximity to the Boeing factory has also granted its collection one of the newest jets in the world – the 787 Dreamliner.
Where do I even begin? Once you enter the museum, you’ll be greeted with the standard SR-71A Blackbird, lunar modules, a C-47 Skytrain, Saturn V Rocket engines, a fair selection of mid-century seaplanes and the bunch. My recommendation for the indoor exhibits is the SR-71A cockpit training module where you can sit in a realistic replica of the world’s fastest aircraft.
Inside Air Force One, where LBJ was sworn in.
What’s even more legendary, though, is on the other side of the museum just across the bridge – Air Force One. This historical behemoth of a private jet brought Nixon on his first trip to normalise relations with China, carried Kennedy’s corpse home, and was where LBJ was sworn in. Board the jet from the back, walk through the press corps seats, the flying oval office, and see one of the world’s first microwaves on board before leaving from the doors just behind the cockpit.
Oh right, and I almost forgot to mention that they have a Concorde, too. Seventh one I’ve seen.
