Fly-In Aviation Museums

[Jay Honeck]

http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm

I created this website a year ago with input from everyone on this
newsgroup. With it I have tried to list every aviation museum that you can
actually fly into and visit WITHOUT having to rent or borrow a car.

In other words, these museums are located on airports -- where aviation
museums belong. I personally find it absurd that so many aviation museums
are inaccessible by plane -- I mean, what were they thinking?

I'll bet we've got quite a few new "members" here that haven't seen this
site, and may have additions/corrections to the list. Please take a gander
at your state's listing. If you have any additions or corrections, please
email them to me at

Obviously, take out the NOSPAM before sending!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[houstondan]

Jay Honeck wrote:
> http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm
>
> I created this website a year ago with input from everyone on this
> newsgroup. With it I have tried to list every aviation museum that
you can
> actually fly into and visit WITHOUT having to rent or borrow a car.
>
>
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
good work. bookmarked that one. thx


dan

[ThomasH]

CA:
---
You have twice the A****er Castle Air Museum, which appears to me
too far for a walk. However, the local FBO ususally grants a ride
and even gives entry tickets if you take fuel at A****er. If nothing
has changed since I was there last time!

Add 'Hiller Aviation Museum' http://www.hiller.org/, located at the
San Carlos Airport SQL:

http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/smc/department/dpw/home/0,,5562541_9876725_10093766,00.html

Thomas

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm
>
> I created this website a year ago with input from everyone on this
> newsgroup. With it I have tried to list every aviation museum that you can
> actually fly into and visit WITHOUT having to rent or borrow a car.

[Peter Duniho]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:vuOId.24692$EG1.12964@attbi_s53...
> In other words, these museums are located on airports -- where aviation
> museums belong. I personally find it absurd that so many aviation
> museums are inaccessible by plane -- I mean, what were they thinking?

Yeah, really. I mean it's absurd they put an aviation museum in the middle
of a downtown area right next to all of those other museums. And they had
the nerve to put "National" in the name of such a poorly located museum.

:p

Suffice to say, other than for a museum where the airplanes are actually
flying, I see no compelling argument to site an aviation museum at an
airport rather than somewhere else. Many factors come into play when
deciding WHERE to put a museum, and access by airplane has got to be one of
the least important, even for an aviation museum. What were they thinking?
They were probably thinking that they had a good reason to select the site
they selected, rather than putting their museums at airports just for the
sake of being at an airport.

Pete

[ShawnD2112]

Jay,
Nice idea well executed.

The Shuttleworth Collection, also sometimes known as Old Warden is still
grass and operating every season. In fact, they've recently extended the
east-west runway. It's a fantastic place and the airshows they put on have
to be experienced. I once had the honor of flying our Tcraft in formation
with Rob Millinship, the UK Pitts expert and only non-RAF test pilot flying
for Shuttleworth. He was in the Hawker Cygnet and we flew from Old Warden
back to Leicester where he and I were both based at the time. It was late
afternoon and, because the Cygnet is covered in authentic Irish linen, I
could see the airplane's structure (and Rob) silhoutted on the fabric by the
lowslung sun. That was a magical flight, I'll tell you!

Duxford is also still going and is more than "definitely flyable". The
museum IS the airport, a WW1 Royal Air Corps station later used for
Spitfires and then Mustangs during the second global unpleasantness. An
amazing place with everything you can imagine in the hangars, most of it in
flying condition. If you go on a Sunday afternoon in the summer, you'll get
to see something fly as part of the agreement with the private collectors
based there is that they have to display something each Sunday. The locally
call it "The Lion Feed". Fantastic place!!

Shawn


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:vuOId.24692$EG1.12964@attbi_s53...
> http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm
>
> I created this website a year ago with input from everyone on this
> newsgroup. With it I have tried to list every aviation museum that you
> can actually fly into and visit WITHOUT having to rent or borrow a car.
>
> In other words, these museums are located on airports -- where aviation
> museums belong. I personally find it absurd that so many aviation
> museums are inaccessible by plane -- I mean, what were they thinking?
>
> I'll bet we've got quite a few new "members" here that haven't seen this
> site, and may have additions/corrections to the list. Please take a
> gander at your state's listing. If you have any additions or corrections,
> please email them to me at
>
> Obviously, take out the NOSPAM before sending!
>
> :-)
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Jay Honeck]

> Suffice to say, other than for a museum where the airplanes are actually
> flying, I see no compelling argument to site an aviation museum at an
> airport rather than somewhere else. Many factors come into play when
> deciding WHERE to put a museum, and access by airplane has got to be one
> of the least important, even for an aviation museum. What were they
> thinking? They were probably thinking that they had a good reason to
> select the site they selected, rather than putting their museums at
> airports just for the sake of being at an airport.

An aviation museum that can't be accessed by air is rather like an auto
museum that can't be accessed by car.

Sure, it might work -- but IMHO antique airplanes (a) should be kept in
flying condition, and therefore (b) should be at airports.

Anywhere else, and they're like clipped-wing birds. Sorta pathetic.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Bob Fry]

"Jay Honeck" > writes:

> An aviation museum that can't be accessed by air is rather like an auto
> museum that can't be accessed by car.

No it's not. For every person or family that could fly to a museum
there are hundreds of people or families that can drive to a museum.
It's called Econ 101, a subject you have referred to before and
claim familiarity with.

> Sure, it might work -- but IMHO antique airplanes (a) should be kept in
> flying condition, and therefore (b) should be at airports.

Nice idea, but not required. If a museum shows an antique goblet does
it still have to be able to hold wine? Who's going to test the Wright
Flyer to see if it still works?

> Anywhere else, and they're like clipped-wing birds. Sorta pathetic.

An aviation museum that can't stay open because few people visit it at
some out-of-the-way podunk airport is even more pathetic.

[Peter Duniho]

"Bob Fry" > wrote in message
...
> [point by point rebuttal snipped]

What he said (thanks Bob! Saved me a bunch of typing :) )

Certain aircraft collections belong at airports, because those collections
are still flying. But most collections no longer fly, nor is it even
reasonable to expect them to. Furthermore, there are lots of reasons
airports make BAD places for a museum, even an aviation museum.

[Cub Driver]

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 13:10:32 -0800, "Peter Duniho"
> wrote:

>Yeah, really. I mean it's absurd they put an aviation museum in the middle
>of a downtown area right next to all of those other museums. And they had
>the nerve to put "National" in the name of such a poorly located museum.

This sounds like a reference to the National Air & Space Museum on the
Mall in Washington. If so, then perhaps we should reflect that NASM is
the most popular museum in the world, judging by the number of folks
who visit it in a year. So they did something right :)

Personally, I prefer the Udva-Hazy annext at Dulles airport--but note
that I got there by using the shuttle bus from NASM downtown!

www.warbirdforum.com/udvarhaz.htm


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net

[Cub Driver]

On 23 Jan 2005 21:22:54 -0800, Bob Fry
> wrote:

>
>No it's not. For every person or family that could fly to a museum
>there are hundreds of people or families that can drive to a museum.

Or fly!

When I visited Udvar-Hazy, I drove to Manchester NH, took Southwest to
BWI, took the shuttle bus to the last stop on the Metro, and took the
Metro to L'Enfant Plaza stop. Walked to NASM, visited with a P-40
pilot from WWII, and bought my shuttle tix to Dulles for next day.

I did investigate flying to Dulles, but it was more expensive, would
have taken just as many days, and would have planted me in a motel in
Edge City with nothing to do but watch cable TV at night.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net

[Jay Honeck]

> What he said (thanks Bob! Saved me a bunch of typing :) )
>
> Certain aircraft collections belong at airports, because those collections
> are still flying. But most collections no longer fly, nor is it even
> reasonable to expect them to. Furthermore, there are lots of reasons
> airports make BAD places for a museum, even an aviation museum.

Okay, you win. There are many valid economic reasons for not basing
aviation museums at airports. Who goes to airports, anyway?

Heck, now that you mention it, why would we want all those people at the
airport in the first place? All those ground-pounders would probably just
get in the way. Let's make sure they stay away.

Although I understand your points, I think you've missed a few of mine.
Aside from the fact that fly-in museums are clearly better for pilots to
visit, they are also better for our ever-dwindling airports.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Peter Duniho]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:uh6Jd.27202$eT5.10563@attbi_s51...
> Okay, you win.

Yay!

Uh, what do I get?

> There are many valid economic reasons for not basing aviation museums at
> airports. Who goes to airports, anyway?

Fewer and fewer people these days. More important though, airports are
being pushed farther and farther out, as urban airports are closed so that
the land can be used for something else (housing, industrial development,
waterfront parks...)

If an aviation museum can afford urban property, that's where they'll be so
that the people who might come spend money at the museum can actually get to
the museum easily.

> Heck, now that you mention it, why would we want all those people at the
> airport in the first place? All those ground-pounders would probably just
> get in the way. Let's make sure they stay away.

I don't think that keeping non-pilots away from airports is a motivation in
locating museums at sites other than airports. Nor do I believe that having
non-pilots driving to an airport would cause any serious trouble at the
airport (assuming the usual precautions to keep non-pilots off of operations
areas).

> Although I understand your points, I think you've missed a few of mine.

Probably. But your statement seemed to imply that anyone putting an
aviation museum somewhere other than an airport is crazy, when in fact the
arguments for doing so that you proposed don't hold water, and when in fact
there are lots of good reasons for putting an aviation museum somewhere
other than an airport.

> Aside from the fact that fly-in museums are clearly better for pilots to
> visit, they are also better for our ever-dwindling airports.

It seems perfectly reasonable for an airport operator/manager who wants to
enhance traffic at their airport to go ahead and site a museum there, just
as they might want to put any number of other things at the airport that
don't necessarily NEED to be at an airport (like a restaurant). But that
still provides no argument for a person who wants to make an aviation museum
to put the museum at an airport. That person is in the business of deciding
what's best for the museum, not the airport.

Pete

[Peter Duniho]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
> This sounds like a reference to the National Air & Space Museum on the
> Mall in Washington. If so, then perhaps we should reflect that NASM is
> the most popular museum in the world, judging by the number of folks
> who visit it in a year. So they did something right :)

My (sarcastic) point exactly. If the most popular aviation museum in the
world doesn't need to be at an airport, it seems patently obvious to me that
other aviation museums need not necessarily be at an airport.

I think aviation museums at airports are great, and it's wonderful to be
able to fly to a museum. But to insinuate that there's something wrong with
someone who chooses to put an aviation museum somewhere else, that's just
wrong.

Pete

[Dana M. Hague]

I'm surprised you don't list my personal favorite... Old Rhinebeck
Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, NY. Best to call ahead and check, and being
prepared for a short rough field is a must!

-Dana

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 14:26:35 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm
>
>I created this website a year ago with input from everyone on this
>newsgroup. With it I have tried to list every aviation museum that you can
>actually fly into and visit WITHOUT having to rent or borrow a car.
>
>In other words, these museums are located on airports -- where aviation
>museums belong. I personally find it absurd that so many aviation museums
>are inaccessible by plane -- I mean, what were they thinking?
>
>I'll bet we've got quite a few new "members" here that haven't seen this
>site, and may have additions/corrections to the list. Please take a gander
>at your state's listing. If you have any additions or corrections, please
>email them to me at
>
>Obviously, take out the NOSPAM before sending!
>
>:-)

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[Cub Driver]

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 15:48:46 -0800, "Peter Duniho"
> wrote:

>My (sarcastic) point exactly.

I did figure this out, but only after I had posted. Sorry!



-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net

[Marty Shapiro]

ThomasH > wrote in :

> http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm

Add another one in CA: The Western Aerospace Museum at Oakland (OAK).
Among the features is a Short Solent 4-engine Flying Boat that was once
owned by Howard Hughes and was also used in one of the Indiana Jones
movies. The museum is just across the street from the GA transient
parking. Their web site is: http://www.westernaerospacemuseum.org/

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)

[Orval Fairbairn]

In article >,
Marty Shapiro > wrote:

> ThomasH > wrote in :
>
> > http://alexisparkinn.com/fly-in_aviation_museums.htm
>
> Add another one in CA: The Western Aerospace Museum at Oakland (OAK).
> Among the features is a Short Solent 4-engine Flying Boat that was once
> owned by Howard Hughes and was also used in one of the Indiana Jones
> movies. The museum is just across the street from the GA transient
> parking. Their web site is: http://www.westernaerospacemuseum.org/


The Kalamazoo Air Zoo is a first-class museum, right on the Kalamazoo
(MI) airport.

[Jay Honeck]

> The Kalamazoo Air Zoo is a first-class museum, right on the Kalamazoo
> (MI) airport.

Yep -- that one is already listed.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"