Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York – Part 2 - Orlando / Florida Guide
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So where is it and what can you expect to see? It is located at Pier 6 on the western side of Manhattan on the Hudson River.
On board you will find a collection of more than twenty aircraft, it does change, from World War Two to the present day. One of the exhibits is still, officially, the world' s fastest aircraft; a Lockheed A-12 Blackbird.
After you get your ticket at the welcome centre which is home to the box office and the museum store you pass to the pier steps which lead you to a great view down the pier. Directly ahead you can see the curves of the Concorde which sits by itself at the end of the pier. On the right side of the pier is the oddly shaped USS Growler but, at this level, your entire view to the left is of the Intrepid.
The Concorde looks just as good and futuristic as when it first took to the skies. I have been lucky enough to travel on Concorde and this brought back some good memories; it almost looks like the aircraft is ready to use the pier as its runway for a last take off. You can no longer just go on-board Concorde as access is closed without taking a special tour. This is an extra cost and normally run once an hour between 10am and 4pm, although at really busy times if there are enough people they do run extra tours.
The self-guided tour starts on the Flight Deck where you will find the collection of carefully restored aircraft. However at this point it is worth taking the time to climb up to the ship' s highest point for a spectacular view over the Hudson River and Manhattan. It is here that you can check out the navigation bridge and try some of the controls and maps.
The nickname for the area is also ' vulture’s row' as it was where the crew would watch the flight deck operations as the aircraft took off and landed, not always successfully, hence the name. When you are this high above the Intrepid flight deck you can imagine how small it must have looked when you were trying to land a plane. You can then experience a ' take the helm' moment on the navigation bridge while learn how the crew would navigate the ship day and night in all weathers. You get to stand over the real chart tables, radar consoles and communications equipment where courses were plotted in the days before GPS navigation.
We continue this tour of the exhibits in part 3 of the article.
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