1850: Air Force Museum

2017-06-14T23:06:44Z

N4zhg: Added an air museum

{{comic
| number = 1850
| date = June 14, 2017
| title = Air Force Museum
| image = air_force_museum.png
| titletext = I had fun visiting the museum at Dover Air Force Base, unless they don't have a museum, in which case I've never been to Delaware in my life.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Perhaps more detail is needed?}}
[[Megan]] asks [[Cueball]] about his day. He tells about his visit to a military {{w|Aviation museum|aircraft museum}} at the {{w|Military air base|air force base}} and lists some of the things he saw. It starts with things you would expect at a typical museum, such as a mix of modern, older, and even older aircraft, before revealing the fact that Cueball was able to watch missiles being loaded, which is something that would be extremely out of place and dangerous at a museum. Realizing this, Cueball remarks that he hopes that he was at a museum, and Megan asks him if he hears helicopters. The implication is that there was no museum to begin with and Cueball went to observe the actual air force base and is now being pursued by the military.

The mention of "planes from different eras" alludes to the fact that military aircraft are often still in use after a much longer time than they were originally designed for. Examples of this are the US Air Force's B-52 bomber, first introduced in 1955 (62 years before the publication of this comic) and the C-160 Transall, which has been in service in, e.g., the German Luftwaffe, since 1967 (50 years before). Additionally, aircraft museums typically house military aircraft from previous eras, such as from WWII and the Cold War, to show the evolution in aircraft design and to showcase technological advances.

The title text builds on this premise. Cueball (or Randall Munroe?) says that he had fun visiting another Air Force "museum", but he adds that if they don't have a museum (in which case he was trespassing on a military base) then he denies going anywhere near it. Fortunately for Cueball, there is in fact an Air Force museum nearby: the {{w|Air Mobility Command Museum}} about half a mile south of the {{w|Dover Air Force Base}}. Now if he had been in Ohio, the {{w|USAF Museum}} is actually on {{w|Wright-Patterson Air Force Base}}.

==Transcript==
:[Megan walks from left over to Cueball.]
:Megan: How was your day?
:Cueball: I visited the military aircraft museum over at the Air Force base. It was really neat!

:[Both walking together to the right.]
:Cueball: They have planes from different eras, all kinds of cool equipment, and you can even watch missiles being loaded.

:[Both walking while they contemplate.]

:[Both still walking.]
:Cueball: ...at least, I ''hope'' that was a museum.
:Megan: Do you hear helicopters?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

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1850: Air Force Museum