The coordinates merely take you to the front entrance of the museum. THERE IS NOTHING TO FIND HERE!!!
The "HH" in the title signifies this cache as a History Hunt. This cache takes you through the entire National Museum of the United States Air Force. I hope you enjoy it! As a child, I used to come just about every Saturday with my Dad, who you will learn a bit about over the course of this virtual. Boy has it changed since then! When is the last time you’ve been here? Come see the changes, or come for your first time! The kids will love you for it. And the best part is…IT’S ABSOLUTELY FREE! There are other experiences like a theatre and simulator rides, but all of those are optional during your visit and not required to log a find on this cache. The National Museum of the USAF is open from 9am-5pm every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Finding this virtual is limited to those hours.
This tour is designed to not only take you through the entirety of the museum, but also highlight portions of the museum that bring back the most memories of my father and our weekly visits here. This virtual cache is dedicated to his memory. I knew this museum like the back of my hand growing up, and I always love returning to visit, now sharing that experience with my children. Even with that engrained knowledge, much has changed over time. In making this cache, I spent over an hour on site, and that is with knowing much of what I intended to include in this tour. You will want to make sure you have at least 2-3 hours to complete this cache. Please do consider making a full day of it though, and see all that this museum has to offer! Even though I highlight something in every major hanger, there is so much more to explore here. I ensured that all required stops are visible and accessible without climbing any stairs or stepping into any cockpits, fuselages, or airplanes; if you are able, please do interact in the exhibits that do let you have a closer look from above and within.
Throughout your tour, you will be collecting a series of numerical values. I have made these solution stops bold and underlined throughout the following tour text. At the end, there is some simple math and a letter to number code that you will use to decipher my father's initials. His initials will be what you send me via e-mail or message to claim your find on this virtual. All his friends called him by those letters as his nickname, and by sharing in this experience, it is like you are able to become friends with him too. All required stops are part of the publically accessible portions of the museum. There is no reason to cross any boundaries instituted by the museum staff or enter any restricted areas. From time to time, portions of the museum may be off limits due to events or refurbishment. If any portion of your tour is unavailable at the time of your visit, please reach out to me via e-mail or message with everything you were able to gather. Feel free to post pictures that do not include answers to the clues along the way, but no pictures are required to log this cache.
Your journey begins upon entering the museum, making your way to the right into the...
EARLY YEARS GALLERY
As you walk by the earliest flying machines, even original fabric from one of the planes of the Wright Brothers, you will start to see wind tunnels on display. The third one is by far the largest in the hanger. You will find it as you turn the corner in the back after seeing the Nieuport 28, a green plane with white and blue stirpes on the nose. This wind tunnel has been in the museum since my first visits. Dad would pick me up to see the interworkings of the wind tunnel in the back and help me peer through the test window, much like the early engineers as they tested out the capabilities of their design modifications for flight. The maximum air speed achieved is A. The number of blades on the fan is N.
Continuing through the Early Years Gallery, just prior to making your exit, you will find the Curtiss O-52 Owl sitting above the floor. Underneath this aircraft is a main landing gear wheel and tire, laying on it side. It is probably not recommended, but I would routinely be placed atop that very tire as would my nephews every visit by Dad. Getting to slide down it was the best part. The sign mentions that this is from an XB-_ _. That is the number you will use for B.
You will have a choice after walking through the Holocaust exhibit to stay straight to view the World War II Gallery or turn right to venture toward all other hangers. This will be the first of many choices for you on how to navigate the museum, but you will see it all by the end of your journey.
WORLD WAR II GALLERY
As you begin your journey into the World War II era, you will find the Link Trainer. It is very bright blue and very small in comparison the behemoths of aviation surrounding you. Dad would always try to get me to believe that it was a real person in that simulator, and they just sat there all day being as still as possible to fool all the visitors, often going as far as to have a conversation with the mannequin. Directly to the left of the informational sign on the Link Trainer, there is a Civil Air Patrol Congressional Gold Medal of Honor display. On the medal, the number on the plane will be P for you.
Very close to where you are standing now, ahead a bit and to the right, is by far my favorite plane in the museum because it has a face that will bite you if you get too close! This is the Curtiss P-40E Warhawk. I always referred to it as the shark plane. The engine on this plane was rated at 1, _ _ _ hp. The missing digits here will be Q for you.
One of the bigger changes that Dad and I never liked was the removal of the chapel in what is now the SE Asia and Korea Galleries. It was a full scale chapel that you could walk into with an organ, pews, and the stained glass that now resides in the back corner of the World War II Gallery. I was probably not the most reverent on my visits, wanting to touch anything and everything I could get my hands on, including that organ. "In memory of ___ who made the desert a highway for our God." The number in the blank will be C for you.
Right before you exit to continue on your tour, you will come to the B-29 Superfortress, better known as the Boxcar. This is one of those airplanes that has been a part of this museum since well before I started visiting. I did not understand the gravity of this airplane until much later in life. What you see before you now is the aircraft that ended WWII by dropping a Fat Man nuclear weapon over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. On the side of this aircraft, there are railroad tracks between two cities. The number of wooden railroad ties depicted here is D.
Make your way out of WWII and turn left, continuing straight down until you reach a much narrower hallway that will lead you to the rest of the hangers here. Before you get to far...
HALLWAY TO SE ASIA/KOREA GALLERIES
On the right side, there is a piece of a B-26 Marauder with a blue bunny pictured on it among the flight jackets on display here. The number of letters in the bunny's name is E.
As you continue down the hallway, you will pass the National Aviation Hall of Fame. This is a fun exhibit space with many interactive exhibits for the whole family to enjoy, including the space station docking simulator that my Dad is trying out in the background image! I have skipped this as a tour stop, but feel free to take look inside. Your next stop of our tour will be in the...
KOREA GALLERY
You will need to make a right and head around all the simulators that are set up in this space. In one of the back corners, there is a particular fuselage that is open for walking through. I remember going in and out of this so many times as a kid. I'd find places to hide behind all sorts of things to scare my Dad who was waiting at the end for me to come back out. This particular plane was piloted by Captain Dave Self with Carl Ayers as the Engineer. The Command Decision has a picture of latitude and longitude lines making a globe. The number on the globe will be your R.
Sharing this hanger is another gallery...
SE ASIA (VIETNAM) GALLERY
Once upon a time, there was a boardwalk that transported you all the way back to a military outpost encampment, just like you were on the set of M*A*S*H. It had tent barracks set up with bunks among other camp amenities. Just like the nearby fuselage in Korea, I tried to see how fast I could outrun Dad all around the boardwalk, seeing who could get to the video in the back first and then who could get to the end of the boardwalk. It was always a pretty tight competition! They have since struck camp some time ago, but the boardwalk remains. In the middle of the boardwalk is a plane (surprise, another one!). On the back of the plane, there is a warning to stand clear and also in red in at least two spots, "Do not operate speed breaks above ___ PSI." This F-105G Thunderchief's speed break max pressure in PSI is your S.
COLD WAR GALLERY
You will proceed to the next hanger through a hallway all about the Berlin Airlift as well as the Eugene W. Kettering model airplane collection. The next full hanger is dedicated to the Cold War Era. This is the start of the newest portion of the museum. While I do not have nearly as many memories in this hanger and the others to come, there are some planes and exhibits that were once in other locations before they were placed as you find them today.
From the Berlin Airlift hallway on the right hand side:
There is a large Convair B-36J Peacemaker for Nuclear Deterrence that you can walk underneath with the bomb doors opened. There are multiple locations on the underside of this plane with a yellow warning label. "Warning Place NAS_ _C-4-20 spacers under upper bolts & NAS_ _C-4-12 spacer under lower bolt." The blanked out number is the same in both instances and using only one of them serves as your T. Remember to get the right spacers in the right locations for next time you work on this plane!
Nearby, you will also find on this side of the hanger an exhibit that was once in the SE Asia/Korea hanger. I was always mesmerized by the rotating parts of this model J79 jet engine. Dad would just let me stand here in awe and amazement as I looked at all the intricate details, wondering how they all fit together and what purpose they served in flight. There are a number of planes listed. There are two Phantom II's and a Hustler, but you need to take the most note of the one from Lockheed. The number of letters in this F-104C's cool name is your F.
From the Berlin Airlift hallway on the left hand side:
My favorite plane in this hanger is one of the first you can see upon entering the Cold War Gallery. The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber has been a focal point of this gallery since it first opened. When my nephews were younger, they had a video montage set up that my Dad would dance to with them, One Way or Another being the song played on loop. Under this aircraft today, there is a set of bombs, appropriately enough. Two of the signs point to the bomb itself, but one describes an "add-on" to, for a lack of better terminology, make dumb bombs smart. This is the GBU-_1/_2. Both blanks are the same number, just use one for U.
Very soon after you pass by the B-2 Spirit is one of many opportunities to get into the cockpit of one of several aircraft on display here. The selection has grown immensely since I was growing up, giving ample opportunity to strap in and explore your imagination. With my Dad watching on, I'd sit and pull levers, push buttons in a frenzy to make it out of whatever situation I cooked up in my head at the time, always flying to safety just in time to hop out for another adventurer to jump in next. This cockpit only requires one step up, but you need not enter to find the number you need. It is representative of a B-1B. Both seats have identical plates attached to them indicating they are of the Douglas Aircraft Company, Aces II. A1147_ _-1 where the blank will be your V.
MISSILE GALLERY
Among all the tall rockets and missiles on display here is a mock up of the Minuteman II Training Bunker. You will want to take note of the number of steps it takes to launch a missile and then multiply it by 2 as that will be G for you. HINT: The actual missile launch itself is mentioned separately but is NOT a numbered step. Also make note of how far apart the keys are turned, that will be your H.
PRESIDENTIAL / GLOBAL REACH / SPACE / R&D GALLERY
If you have made it this far, you should be commended on having gone through the majority of this fine museum! They really do save the best for last here. The amount of history on display from space exploration to the vast collection of former Air Force Ones (all of which you can walk through) is outstanding. I always loved seeing the Presidential Gallery, which has been a part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for quite some time. Growing up, the presidential collection at the museum was at an Annex that was actually in a separate hanger on the military base. You could grab a bus from the museum or in my case, just drive on through the base gates since my Dad was an employee. I loved the times, though they were more limited, that we got to go to the bonus portion of the museum when it was still about a mile and a half away from the publically available hangers. Walking through all the presidential history was always hands down the coolest thing for me as a history nerd.
I want you to explore all this hanger has to offer but want it to be of your own finding. Making your own memories here is the point of this virtual cache and exactly what I did all those years ago walking through this place with my Dad at my side (or perched expertly atop his shoulders). That being said, I do have to entice you to at least step inside this last hanger as part of the tour. On the right, you will quickly see an exhibit that tells the story before the story we all know as geocachers of Blue Switch Day. Yes, you guessed it. They have an entire GPS exhibit! As you brush up on the history behind what enabled our favorite hobby and pastime, take note of the last digit of the year the full system as we know it today became operational (at least for the military, it wasn't availible to the general public in this year to note). This digit, then multiplied by 3 is your W, and the final piece of the puzzle.
Of note lying just beyond the GPS display is the Apollo 15 Command Module, what brought astronauts back to Earth after the 4th mission to the moon. So many other adventures and surprises await you in this gallery. What else will you choose to see and explore?
FINAL LOGGING REQUIREMENT
Earlier in this cache listing, I mentioned that you would be learning a bit about my father through this experience. He is the critical piece to your ability to logging this as a find. What were his initials?
Wait, do you need some kind of help with that? You say that all you've been doing all day while touring the exhibits has been gathering numbers? Well, let's put those to good use, shall we?
First Initial = A + B + C + D + E + F + G + H
Last Initial = N + P + Q + R + S + T + U + V + W
But wait, those are still just numbers! Use the below encoder key to discover what letters you should send to me. I am not listing all the letters out, just the first 3 and last 3. You should quickly see the pattern of how this code works, and all letters of the alphabet are options. NOTE: There is no trick intended here. Now that you have added all the numbers you gathered above, you have two numbers. Whatever letters align with those two numbers below are my Dad's initials. The encoder below should not in any way be used figure out the values for stops on the tour (in fact, all the numbers shown below are greater than any single answer from any tour stop).
A = 523
B = 524
C = 525
...
X = 546
Y = 547
Z = 548
CONGRATS TO AOGAGENT1 AND LOCK-NEST ON THE CO-FTF!!!
CONGRATS TO KBLAST FOR MILESTONE FIND #9000!!!
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.