World's largest military aviation museum launches interactive virtual tour

  • Published
  • By Bryan D. Carnes
  • National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
DAYTON, Ohio --  Imagine sitting in your living room when suddenly you find yourself in the Presidential Gallery of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, standing on the steps of the Sacred Cow, the aircraft on which President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 creating the U.S. Air Force. Glancing around you also see John F. Kennedy's Air Force One, the same aircraft used to bring his body back to Washington D.C. in 1963! Sound impossible? Now that the museum has launched its interactive 360-degree virtual tour, users can explore the museum at their leisure, help plan future visits and share their experiences with friends and family.

"This tour provides users with an all-hours access pass to explore the museum," said Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Charles D. Metcalf, museum director. "It continues to expand our reach and share the Air Force story with our international audience."

When completed, the virtual tour will include 92 high-definition panoramic "nodes." Each node consists of 307 photographs stitched together to create an experience like no other. In each node, aircraft and artifacts are hyperlinked to factsheets, supplemental information and educational tools.

"Museum exhibition design is a medium that has historically benefited from advances in technology," said John Luchin, a museum exhibit designer. "This virtual tour is the perfect way to maintain a connection with visitors long after they have left the museum galleries."

The tour, located at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/virtualtour/index.asp, will be rolled out in phases over the coming months. The first phase is complete and includes interactive capabilities for the Air Park and Memorial Park, along with views of the Presidential and Research & Development Galleries. By the end of November, the Early Years Gallery will be available for users to visit. It is estimated that each gallery will take around two months to complete.

Included on the tour's main page, users have access to the lecture series and audio tour podcasts, downloadable maps of the museum and individual panoramas of the nodes. The museum offers users various ways to obtain this information, with the podcasts available via iTunes and the panoramas built not only for computers, but also for Smartphones and iPads.

A Pew Research Center study conducted in February 2010 showed that 74 percent of individuals between the ages of 30-49 and 63 percent of those ages 50-64 use the Internet. Research conducted on behalf of the Ohio Tourism Division showed that 85 percent of Internet users access information using a mobile device when traveling to tourist attractions, and the museum ranks as one of the top tourist destinations in Ohio according to TripAdvisor.com.

Surveys conducted online by the museum indicate that most people visit the museum's website to either plan their next visit or for enjoyment. In addition, many people may not have the opportunity to visit the museum or visit as often as they would like.

As the museum continues to expand on this new technology, we invite individuals to take a short survey in order to help us provide the end-user the best virtual experience possible. The survey is located at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/93S93FD.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free.