The world’s largest military aviation museum is opening the doors — literally — for Veterans Day month. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton has announced a series of November programs honoring veterans and military service, including the return of Open Aircraft Days on Saturday, November 14, when visitors can climb inside three historic aircraft they normally only see from the gallery floor, according to the museum’s announcement as reported by Vintage Aviation News.
The November programming is built around “Ohio Serves,” the America 250-Ohio Commission’s theme for the month, with specially marked gallery exhibits spotlighting Ohio service members and QR codes linking to more information and photographs, Vintage Aviation News reported. The Ohioans featured span a century of service: Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker of Columbus, America’s leading World War I ace; Lt. Richard E. Cole of Dayton, co-pilot on the 1942 Doolittle Raid; Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger of Piqua, a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient from Vietnam; astronaut John Glenn, raised in New Concord; Kettering native Nadine Canfield Nagle, a World War II Women’s Airforce Service Pilot; 1st Lt. Suella Bernard of Waynesville, who cared for wounded soldiers on a glider evacuation mission in Germany; and Lt. Col. Dean Hess of Marietta, who helped organize an effort to rescue Korean War orphans.
The hands-on centerpiece comes Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors can walk through the Fairchild C-123K Provider “Patches” and climb aboard — and sit inside — the flat-black Sikorsky CH-3E “Black Mariah” helicopter and the Lockheed EC-121D Constellation, Vintage Aviation News reported; Destination Dayton’s museum listing independently confirms the November 14 Open Aircraft Day date. The museum notes the participating aircraft may change for operational or preservation reasons, and four additional Open Aircraft Days are planned for 2027.
The museum’s Veterans Day programming began Saturday, November 7, with Plane Talks — veterans, active-duty personnel and aviation experts stationed throughout the galleries sharing firsthand experiences — a date also listed by Destination Dayton. It closes Sunday, November 15, at 3 p.m. with a free community musical tribute honoring America’s veterans, bringing together children’s choirs and special guest musicians and presented by the Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education, according to the museum’s announcement reported by Vintage Aviation News.
Admission to the museum is free. It is the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum, draws nearly a million visitors a year, and holds 19 acres of indoor exhibits with more than 360 aerospace vehicles at 1100 Spaatz Street on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, according to Destination Dayton.
What happens next: Veterans Day itself falls on Wednesday, November 11. Open Aircraft Day follows Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the free SOCHE musical tribute is Sunday, November 15, at 3 p.m. — a full week of free programs, in the city where the Wright brothers built and tested their airplanes, honoring the Ohioans who flew.
Photo: Logan Rickert, CC BY