Tag Archives: museum

Chihuly At Night

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This previous post included many shots from a visit to the Chihuly Museum in Seattle.  In that post I mentioned how it closed around the time it was getting dark and that a return trip during the winter would be in order.  With my mum visiting at Christmas, that’s exactly what we did.  We timed our visit to be later in the day so we would be there once the sun set.

The transition from light to dark brought a lot of options in the gardens.  Not everything was illuminated so some elements were okay while there was some light remaining but then were gone while others were only gently illuminated and only really showed the effects well once dark was fully upon us.  The view back to the museum was also interesting as it changed and I did go back inside often to see how the move from external to internal lighting affected the glass works on display in there.  Hopefully these shots give you a sense of how things look as darkness descends.

Chihuly Museum

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For the longest time I wasn’t interested in visiting the Chihuly Museum in Seattle. I had seen some glass installations outdoors and the rather bright and garish look of them put me off the idea of seeing the collection. It just didn’t look like my thing. Then, when we had visitors that were interested in going, a trip was inevitable. I have to admit, I was very wrong. What I had seen a glimpse off was in no way representative of the collection as a whole and I was most impressed by what I saw.

First, there was a lot of variety in the art. Some of it was more to my taste than others which is only to be expected. However, all of it was interesting. The layout of the exhibits gave you plenty of space to enjoy them and, while the place was popular, I rarely felt overcrowded. Much of the work was much more subtle than I had anticipated and the forms and coloring were most impressive. Other parts were a bit more dramatic but still very cool.

While much of the work was indoors, there was a selection outside and these were nicely integrated into the gardens. The blend of the colors and the reflections of the surrounding structures in the surfaces were interesting for some while others were just interesting shapes. The potential of lighting them is something that was apparent but closing time was around sundown, so we only got a hint of the illumination. We shall return in winter to see how the lighting looks.

Command Module

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A day for compiling things from different locations.  The Apollo command modules in this post are a combination of shots from museums across the country.  Since the command module was the only part that made it back from the Apollo missions, it was the part that made it to display.  Even so, there are not too many Apollo missions so not too many command modules.  They do get supplemented though.  There were ground test articles and mockups that were used during the program and have also been preserved.

The thing that is most striking about the early NASA spaceships is the size.  (The current Russian Soyuz capsule is still pretty compact but you aren’t aiming to be in it for too long.) The Mercury capsule was tiny.  Gemini was so-called up but had two people so was still pretty bloody tight.  Apollo was home for three crew for a number of days so had to have a bit more room to play with.  The seating area was not big but there was space behind there to get to and moving around once weightless was a bit easier.

Even so, they are really tiny things in which to spend a lot of time with two other guys.  You were also in space so this little thing was the only hope you had of getting back alive.  You also had to deal with your fellow astronauts, some of whom got a bit ill on journeys.  Read the book on the Apollo 8 mission to learn the unpleasant details.  Those guys were really ready to take on the challenge head on.

Take Your Pick When Refueling

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The F-105 Thunderchief (or Thud) is a beast of a plane. Sadly I never got to seem them in action.  One is parked outside at Cavanaugh in Addison TX.  Its camo is a bit bleached by the Texas sun (it was just over 100 degrees the day I arrived and that was towards the end of the afternoon).  The thing that caught my eye, though, was the refueling receptacle or, more specifically, receptacles.  USAF aircraft have the flying boom refueling system.  This was not always the case and jets like the F-100 had flight refueling probes for the hose and drogue method.

I assume that the Air Force was in a transition mode when the F-105 was being designed so they had both.  On the upper side of the nose there is a ramp for boom refueling to take place.  Below that on the port side is a retractable refueling probe for hose and drogue use.  I didn’t realize that any jets had been built for both (aside from the UK and French E-3s which are a bit larger and more able to accommodate the extra kit.  I wonder which one was more regularly used since the techniques for each type differ.

Pacific Bonsai Museum

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Located in Federal Way, the Pacific Bonsai Museum is not the easiest place to find.  It shows up in my GPS but, when you arrive at the turning, the signage is either too small for me to spot or nonexistent.  I turned in to the entrance, more as an act of faith.  Once on the access road, there were signs but then you drive for a long time before you get to the place.  You do start to wonder whether it is a spoof.

Once there, though, it is worth it.  Entrance is free which was a surprise, particularly given how good the trees were.  Everything is outdoor with the trees displayed in groupings around the space.  Backdrops provide some visual separation and information boards explain their individual histories as well as telling a little about the styles of Bonsai and the history of the art form.

Individual plants are intermingled with compositions that involve many plants, sometimes over fifty different plants being incorporated into one display.  The sizing of some of these is carefully tailored to give an increased sense of depth.  The bases are also chosen to emphasize different elements of the plants.  As with any activity, when you find out a little bit more about it, you discover just how much complexity is involved.  Old trees are not as important as those that appear to be old apparently.

The place is very impressive and, if you are in Federal Way, definitely give it a look.

Lear Fans

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Early efforts at composite business aircraft did not go smoothly.  The Beech Starship ended up being a burden on the company and they bought most of the planes back and destroyed them.  Prior to the Starship, there was the Lear Fan.  A project started by Bill Lear and continued after his death, the idea was a composite aircraft with two engines driving a single pusher propeller.  The light airframe and plenty of power was to provide great performance.  Sadly, the early approach to composite design did not go smoothly, nor did the gearbox design to combine the two engines to one propeller.

The project folded after three prototypes had been built.  All three still remain and I have seen two of the three.  One lives in the Museum of Flight here in Seattle while another is in the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field in Dallas.  The third one is in Oklahoma City so I am a bit annoyed I never knew that when I traveled there regularly.  Still, two out of three isn’t bad.  The single prop looks pretty chunky (the idea being that single engine handling was identical to twin engine handling) and I imagine the diameter had to be limited to avoid prop strike issues during rotation.  Overall, it is quite a neat looking design.  A shame it was a bit ahead of the technology curve when it was designed and built.

One of the Early F-16s

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The early versions of jets are often repurposed throughout their life.  They serve a role for testing but they are not configured like production jets and to make them so is too expensive to be worthwhile.  Besides, they are instrumented to some extent so they can be useful for carrying out alternate tests.  As a result, they often get used for trials, research tasks or development of alternate concepts.  The early F-16s did a lot of this sort of work and ended up in some odd programs like the AFTI effort.  Sitting outside at the Frontiers of Flight museum is one of these test aircraft.  It spent its life with General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) at Fort Worth and, once it was done with, it found a new home at the museum.  Compared to the average F-16, this jet will have had a lot of interesting experiences!

Lyon Air Museum

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A weekend in Southern California for work was not my idea of fun but I did have a few hours free on the Sunday morning so I headed down to Santa Anna to the Lyon Air Museum.  It is located on the opposite side of John Wayne Airport from the main terminal building and is not terribly obvious unless you look hard.  Even the entrance road is a bit obscure and could be easily missed.  However, once there, it was definitely worth the time.

The museum is in a modern structure and has an impressive collection.  Supposedly the planes are all airworthy and they have some interesting ones there.  Some of the collection will get their own posts.  For now, here is an overlook of the museum and a few of the side exhibits that don’t get their own story.

Frontiers of Flight Museum

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A work trip to Dallas wrapped up a few hours prior to my flight home.  I was flying out of Love Field so figured a quick detour to the Frontiers of Flight Museum just across the field from the terminal was in order.  What I hadn’t appreciated was that tons of school parties had the same idea.  The place was heaving with kids and being kids, they were doing everything at high speed and high volume.  The inside of the 737 exhibit was not a great place to be!

Southwest has a big influence on the museum including a whole 737 and the front fuselage from another.  They don’t dominate things though and there are plenty of other airframes both inside and out.  I shall pick on a few favorites in due course but here is a sample of what was there.  It was a brief visit but a fun one.