Since I recently made another trip around the big yellow thing, the Shadow Lady surprised me by finding something fun to do... go to the flight museum, and as a bonus, be able to take in a preview showing of a documentary about the Apollo Space Program's "Big 12" - the 12 men who walked on the moon.

I'd been a couple of times, but not very recently, so it was a very welcome treat!

Out front, they had a DC-2, one of the first 'real' airliners.

Some of them still fly... including the one on display.

 
Since we were going to have a space theme, we went right into the Space section of the museum - they have a great display.

Interestingly enough, they showed pictures, models, and video of the V2 rockets, which became the starting point for America's run to the Moon.

 
This picture shows the Mercury Capsule assembly line.  Its incredible that they were so small!

 
This is a "Used" Vostok-1 capsule, which put a man in orbit and returned him safely to Earth.

In the early days of the race, the Russians were far ahead of the Americans.

Basically, that didn't change until the Apollo program began.

This capsule is the backup capsule for the Apollo 1 mission. 

After the fateful fire, the capsule was redesigned, which left this one obsolete.

Since Boeing was the prime contractor, there were a lot of the "backup" vehicles on display... fully serviceable, these vehicles were manufactured in case the primary vehicles needed to be replaced. 

 
Bonnie Dunbar, CEO of the Museum of Flight, and a retired Shuttle Astronaut, introduced a showing of a documentary of the 12 who walked on the moon.

The movie is not out for popular release, and it was one of the reasons we picked this day to go to the Museum.

The focus was on the Astronauts... who they were, how they felt, and how they feel looking back on what they did.  It was very compelling, and very interesting.

After the video, The Shadow Lady checked out how she'd look if she were an astronaut... :-) 

 
Pete Conrad's checklist for his Apollo flight was on display, along with pictures he drew during training.

"They basically took a decade from the 21st century, plopped it down on the 60's, and said 'Lets do this thing', and we went to the Moon"  (Crippen, in the dicumentary).  It truly was an amazing task, done with technology that was cutting edge in its day, but now is not even as hi-tech as a watch.

A replica of Space Ship One, the first non-government vehicle to enter space, was on display.

 
The central aircraft on display in the main gallery is the SR-71 Black Bird. 

Built in the 1960's, this plane still holds many of the speed and altitude records... and those are just the "admitted" numbers... it likely flew much faster and higher than they admit it did!

The Saber was the first American supersonic fighter.

The Saber's foe, the MiG 15, was on display next to it. 

We ended our tour with a trek through "The big red barn", which is the building where Boeing got its start. 

 
The Equipment and models on display in the historic building hail a time when Aviation was new, and incredible discoveries were made with each model of plane.

One photograph in the Barn is quite striking. 

A Boeing "Dash 80" flies over Seattle's Freemont bridge.

Basically, the only thing recognizable is the bridge itself - its still standing.  The rest of the city, though has grown an incredible amount since this picture was taken.... its amazing! 

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