They go up, tiddley up up

As I was trawling the Maryland Internet for destinations to take a 2-year-old (I was bored of always having to play the stationary crane in his train set - it's so unfair!) I discovered we have a fun-sounding place just east of us - College Park Aviation Museum.  Admittedly this was just swapping one form of transportation for another but at least we'd be out of the house.  Off we went not expecting much.

Well, on arrival we discovered that College Park just happens to be the oldest airport in the whole world!  The Wright brothers - those ones who invented flying - turned up here in 1909 when the US government gave them some money to see if aircraft could be any use to the military.  The Wrights, who had funded their early flight efforts by repairing bicycles (it's true) were relieved to actually have some money and plenty of army people crazy enough to fly their inventions.  The hospital was the most active building on the nascent air base.

But once they'd sorted out a few kinks the airport racked up a number of firsts including civilian flights as early as 1911, the first place a woman took to the air as a passenger and then a pilot, it's where they invented airmail, and where the first modern helicopter took off.  It was probably the first place a passenger tried to jump the queue before their seating group was called then stuff a way-too-big case into an overhead locker, but the historical notes didn't mention that.

Alongside all this history the museum is also massively interactive, in a way you can only fully enjoy if you have a toddler with you.  Pete and I dressed up in our hats and goggles, continuously crashing on the simulator and constantly pretending to fly to see relatives in planes you could climb into.  I've always seen myself as cabin crew material rather than a pilot - "chicken or fish, madam?" - but Pete seems ready to take to the cockpit.  The simulator suggests you should wait to buy tickets until he gets a little more experience.

"The captain has illuminated the no smoking sign...so hold on tight!"

They had an animatronic Orville Wright - you pressed a button to make him talk and move.  This freaked Pete out completely.

This is an incredible reconstruction of the Wright brothers' "Model B" from 1910.

And this was the extent of the safety equipment on board.  They didn't even have flat-screens in the back of the seats!

Cranking the propeller.

A little more practice needed on landing, I feel.

Chocks away!

I own a car, and now I'm off to buy an aeroplane.

I don't know the collective noun for propellers.

Wind tunnel (i.e. something else with switches and buttons that I can play with!)



I wasn't going to let Pete have all the fun by himself, was I?