Going next month, from what I see online, place looks HUGE, maybe too much for 1 day?
Anything I don’t wanna miss?
The Air Force One fleet and the X planes are all in a separate hangar on the base, accessible only by museum buses. Get your name on the list early. That would be the big thing to remember.
Yes, you can feel rushed even if you spend an entire day there. If you can spend two, that’s better.
If you want to spend more time than the museum’s hours, there are a number of aircraft outdoors. The Memorial Gardens, with individual markers and plantings for each group (mainly from WW2), are worth spending some contemplation time in.
There is a lot of really interesting stuff there. I second Elvis – don’t miss the presidential gallery – get on the list as soon as you get there.
If you are by yourself or with people who are really into airplanes or military history then I would say 2 days. There is a lot of reading and just a lot to look at and it can get a little overwhelming. If you are there with kids, I would say keep it to one day.
My personal favorite spots were Fat Man and the B-29 that dropped it, JFK’s Air Force One, and the Apollo 15 command module. Oh and some of the airplane art (nosecone art?) is really cool.
There is an onsite cafeteria that has pretty decent food. This prevents the hassle of having to leave the base. But I do know a good sushi place nearby if you are interested.
I didn’t think the IMAX theatre was worth the time or money, but they have updated the movies since I was there last, so they may be better now.
man, there’s a lot of good stuff there! I gotta go back someday…soon.
I wouldn’t miss the XB-70 and X-15, mostly because there are only 1 and 2, respectively, of each. Many cool planes can be found at different museums, but W-P is the only place to see the XB-70.
ETA: And the YF-12A.
I agree with what’s been posted. Definitely sign up early for the X-plane/ Presidential annex. You’ll need photo ID to do so because the annex is actually on the air force base. They have the Air Force One that flew Kennedy home from Dallas and you can see where they sliced into a rear bulkhead to bring his coffin on board. Kinda striking.
The cafeteria is good enough for a cheap lunch, nothing special but very edible.
As to the one day or two question, that depends on your interest level. It is tough to take it all in in a single day if you really want to absorb everything.
I’m going to suggest not going to the annex for one reason and that’s time. You have to wait on a bus and when you get there you have something like 30 minutes to spend and you MUST return on the bus. There is no option to linger. It kills a solid hour out of a single day visit. If you’re going to spend more than one day then yes.
You’ll miss stuff like the YF-12A which is a derivative of the A-12. It’s the only one in existence but the SR-71 (which was the follow-on to the A-12) sits in the main museum and they have the D-21 drone next to it which came from the M-21 derivative of the A-12. Unless you know what you’re looking at they’re very similar. The A-12 platform is shorter and the chines are narrower. The YF-12A (on the left in the picture) has the front chine reduced for the radar needed to launch missiles (it was an interceptor). The YF-12A had a 3rd rudder installed underneath to compensate for the reduced front chine and it folded during landings.
The XB-70 should be in the main hanger now along with Tacit blue. The best part of the annex is the fleet of old Presidential planes and 30 minutes doesn’t provide much time. You can see where they had to cut up the interior of the 707 for Kennedy’s casket and you can see the elevatorbuilt into the plane for Roosevelt.
the main hangers have a tremendous collection starting with the Wright Brothers aircraft and progressing on. The WW-II collection has the German ME-262 jet, the ME163 rocket plane, V-1 and V-2 rockets, German air to air TOW missiles, German submarine tow glider/copter, Japanese Cherry Blossom rocket assist suicide plane, Spitfires, Mosquitoes, P-61 Black Widow, B-29 fuselage( Bock’s Car) that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, etc… A lot of history in that section of the museum and you could spend a day in that section alone. It’s 1/6 of the collection available for viewing.
A note of warning. keep to the speed limit on and off the base. They will give you a ticket and it’s not always readily posted. Also, if you’re going to spend 2 or 3 days there are 4 locations you can visit. The main museum, the annex, the area where the Wright Brothers originally tested their planes and the bluff overlooking that area (it has a separate small museum dedicated to them).
The Air Force museum is well worth seeing. Huge hangar after hangar of aircraft.
If you’re going to be in Dayton for a while and like electronics or surplus “stuff”, Mendelson’s is supposed to be a cool place to see. Something like 6 floors of random stuff.
I was stationed there and would say that, unless you are an airplane enthusiast and plan on pouring over every plaque and absorbing it etc… I don’t think you need 2 days there. Especially if you have kids because they are going to tear through it all in a couple hours and you won’t get to really enjoy it.
Not an airplane enthusiast? 
I … I don’t understand …
I went there about 15 years ago. We saw it in a day but our feet/legs were hurting when we were through. Take 2 or 3 days. There’s a LOT to see. Wear comfortable shoes. Besides the hangers, there are aircraft on exhibit outdoors too.