I was at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum with my family last summer. I’d like to go back again, this time all by myself, and just wander. It’s always a pain when you have to skip something because you need to keep up with the others.
Dayton is just a few hours down the road from where I live here in Michigan. I need to take a weekend to go down there. This trip will be either solo, or with one or 2 aviation buffs who don’t mind taking time to go look.
Other places worth visiting:
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a bit south of Albany, NY. Here’s a collection of WW1 era planes, many in flying condition. And they fly them routinely, too. There are weekend shows all summer long, plus special events like antique car or motorcycle shows, RC aircraft shows, etc. The sad thing is that lots of these birds are stored in 2-3 old quonset huts that are drafty, have dirt floors, etc. The place needs a bucket of cash to build a couple of new hangars, so they can get these planes indoors and stored properly until they can be restored to fly again.
The Kalamazoo Air Zoo, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This museum houses a collection of WW2 and Cold War aircraft, plus some other misc. stuff. They also fly their planes daily. They have a Ford Trimotor that goes out routinely, and you can buy a ride on it. When I was there last, $40 got you a ride for half an hour or so. They also do tours of the restoration facility, and will talk about the current projects. One was a Hellcat that they were rebuilding again. The plane was on the way to Sun 'n Fun a few years ago just after a fresh engine rebuild, when the engine quit somewhere over Georgia. The pilot put it down in a farmer’s field, and they were putting it back together - again.