A Good Aircraft Museum in California

[James Dandy]

Do any of you guys know of a good aircraft museum I could take my
family to here in California?

I live up north and the closest thing I've ever been to is the local
AB Museum which is sadly moving since the base was closed years ago.

My young son Billy wants to see almost any military aircraft but likes
the old ones too from wars past.

I wouldn't mind one of those either.

Any helpful suggestions?

Many thanks,

James Dandy

[John A. Weeks III]

In article >, James
Dandy > wrote:

> Do any of you guys know of a good aircraft museum I could take my
> family to here in California?

There are a lot of musuems in north-central California. The USAF
has museums at Beale (Merryville), Travis (just upstream from SFO),
and McClellen (Sacramento). The former Castle AFB also has a large
musuem. There are private museums at the Oakland airport, the Hiller
Musuem across the bay off of highway 101, and a musuem in Santa Rosa.

There was once a musuem of air navigation at Mather in Sacramento.
That base has closed, so I have no idea what happened to the musuem
aircraft and exhibits. The musuem itself was very nicely done.
Anyone know what happened to the former Mather AFB musuem?

> I live up north and the closest thing I've ever been to is the local
> AB Museum which is sadly moving since the base was closed years ago.

Which base is that?

-john-

--
================================================== ==================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ==================

[Mark and Kim Smith]

James Dandy wrote:

>Do any of you guys know of a good aircraft museum I could take my
>family to here in California?
>
>I live up north and the closest thing I've ever been to is the local
>AB Museum which is sadly moving since the base was closed years ago.
>
>My young son Billy wants to see almost any military aircraft but likes
>the old ones too from wars past.
>
>I wouldn't mind one of those either.
>
>Any helpful suggestions?
>
>Many thanks,
>
>James Dandy
>

So Cal has some in Palm Springs ( I haven't been to yet. )
http://www.air-museum.org/
March ARB in Hemet ( I went last year ), http://www.pe.net/~marfldmu/
Planes Of Fame in Chino, ( went last week ), http://www.planesoffame.org/
Museum of Flying in Santa Monica ( never been, not sure of the status of
this place ), http://www.museumofflying.com/
And I'm sure I'm missing a bunch. San Diego, I hear, has a really nice
museum. Central California has a few. I'm sure a Yahoo or Google
search will bring a few up.

[Steve Hix]

In article >,
(James Dandy) wrote:

> Do any of you guys know of a good aircraft museum I could take my
> family to here in California?
>
> I live up north and the closest thing I've ever been to is the local
> AB Museum which is sadly moving since the base was closed years ago.
>
> My young son Billy wants to see almost any military aircraft but likes
> the old ones too from wars past.
>
> I wouldn't mind one of those either.
>
> Any helpful suggestions?

Castle AFB near Merced, off Hwy. 99.

There is a small museum across the street from San Martin airport in San
Martin, CA, on Hwy. 101 about 30 miles south of San Jose. (It's the sort
you might want to stop at if you happen to be passing through the area,
not one to take a special trip for.)

[Jim Atkins]

The museum at the former McClellan base in Sacramento is pretty good. The
best one up there in my opinion is Castle Air Museum in A****er, north of
Fresno. They have a Vulcan, a 52, a 47, and the only B-36 on the West Coast.
Definitely worth the trip. Nice people, fair gift shop.

--
Jim Atkins
Twentynine Palms CA USA

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
- Groucho Marx

[Blinky the Shark]

Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

> Museum of Flying in Santa Monica ( never been, not sure of the status of
> this place ), http://www.museumofflying.com/

If my memory serves me (from maybe five years ago), it's a nice, if not
huge, museum that I remember as being a bit more civil than military.
That's not to say no military. And they did have a few military planes
out on the apron, that weren't inside -- a couple loans from Chino, I
believe, and some that had just flown in from some show. I mention these
because they're indicative that the place has some flux, or at least did
back then, rather than being static. I think it's on or near the old
Douglas plant.

--
Blinky Registered Linux User #297263

[Ad absurdum per aspera]

> Do any of you guys know of a good aircraft museum I could take my
> family to here in California? I live up north...

Here are some suggestions in the broad general vicinity of San
Francisco.


The Western Aerospace Museum at North Field in Oakland (the
general-aviation and cargo part of OAK) has an interesting collection.
It's a short cab ride from the passenger terminal if you're flying.
Take the Hegenberger exit from I-880 and turn west on Doolittle if
you're driving. An outdoor static display of a Shorts Solent flying
boat makes the last turnoff rather hard to miss to say the least.
http://www.westernaerospacemuseum.org/


This is about five or six miles from the USS Hornet:
http://www.uss-hornet.org/


On t'other side of the Bay is the Hiller Museum:
http://www.hiller.org/


and a bit south of San Jose you find Wings of History:
http://www.wingsofhistory.org


At the former Castle AFB (in the Central Valley between Sacramento and
Fresno, about three hours from the Bay Area, depending on what part of
the Bay Area and of course on traffic) there is a museum:
http://www.elite.net/castle-air/


Not aviation related, but worth a visit as long as you're in the
vicinity, is the USS Pampanito, a WW2 fleet submarine in San
Francisco:
http://www.maritime.org/index.htm


Figure on one or two a day depending on how much time you choose to
spend at the exhibits (and other things in the area) and on drive time
in between, which can be a large variable.

Cheers,
--Joe

[Paul A. Suhler]

I recommend Blackbird Airpark:
http://www.edwards.af.mil/museum/docs_html/blackbird_airpark.html

It has the first Blackbird (the A-12 prototype), an SR-71 (slightly
bent), and a D-21. Plus a J-58 engine and wind tunnel models.
The A-12 was the first aircraft to reach Mach 3 and return in one
piece.

There's another little museum next to it with a variety of aircraft.

[Ian]

Is this in the Lancaster / Palmdale area? I've vague recollections of
reading about it when I was in Ca a few years ago, but never got to see it.

Although not aircraft, the NAWC at China Lake has a few nice missiles
(tomahawk sidewinder etc) in it. Not sure if they've reduced the security,
but you used to be able to get on 'base' if you spoke nicely to the marines!


"Paul A. Suhler" > wrote in message
...
> I recommend Blackbird Airpark:
> http://www.edwards.af.mil/museum/docs_html/blackbird_airpark.html
>
> It has the first Blackbird (the A-12 prototype), an SR-71 (slightly
> bent), and a D-21. Plus a J-58 engine and wind tunnel models.
> The A-12 was the first aircraft to reach Mach 3 and return in one
> piece.
>
> There's another little museum next to it with a variety of aircraft.

[Mark Schaeffer]

[...]


>>The A-12 was the first aircraft to reach Mach 3 and return in one
>>piece.
>>

[...]

What are the dates for A-12 and X-15 first flying at Mach 3.0+?

Mark

[Chad Irby]

In article >,
Mark Schaeffer > wrote:

> [...]
>
> >>The A-12 was the first aircraft to reach Mach 3 and return in one
> >>piece.
>
> [...]
>
> What are the dates for A-12 and X-15 first flying at Mach 3.0+?

THe F-15 didn't do it in one piece. It left a B-52 behind.

--
cirby at cfl.rr.com

Remember: Objects in rearview mirror may be hallucinations.
Slam on brakes accordingly.

[Chad Irby]

In article >,
Chad Irby > wrote:

> In article >,
> Mark Schaeffer > wrote:
>
> > [...]
> >
> > >>The A-12 was the first aircraft to reach Mach 3 and return in one
> > >>piece.
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > What are the dates for A-12 and X-15 first flying at Mach 3.0+?
>
> THe F-15 didn't do it in one piece. It left a B-52 behind.

Of course, I meant *X-15*.

--
cirby at cfl.rr.com

Remember: Objects in rearview mirror may be hallucinations.
Slam on brakes accordingly.

[Paul A. Suhler]

Mark Schaeffer > wrote:
>[...]
>
>
>>>The A-12 was the first aircraft to reach Mach 3 and return in one
>>>piece.
>>>
>
>[...]
>
>What are the dates for A-12 and X-15 first flying at Mach 3.0+?
>
>Mark

A-12 was about 20 July 1963. I've interviewed Jim Eastham and
he claims to be the first. Lou Schalk was two days later. Norm
Nelson backed up Jim's claim and said that he'd tried to persuade
Schalk and Bill Park that an increase of 0.1 Mach number per flight
was much too conservative, but they wouldn't listen. Eastham did.

[Andreas Parsch]

Paul A. Suhler wrote:

>>
>>What are the dates for A-12 and X-15 first flying at Mach 3.0+?
>
> A-12 was about 20 July 1963. I've interviewed Jim Eastham and
> he claims to be the first. Lou Schalk was two days later. Norm
> Nelson backed up Jim's claim and said that he'd tried to persuade
> Schalk and Bill Park that an increase of 0.1 Mach number per flight
> was much too conservative, but they wouldn't listen. Eastham did.
>


The first Mach 3+ X-15 flight was flight #15 on 12 May 1960. Pilot was
Joe Walker. (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x15conf/log.html)

[BlakeleyTB]

>A-12 was about 20 July 1963. I've interviewed Jim Eastham and
>he claims to be the first. Lou Schalk was two days later. Norm
>Nelson backed up Jim's claim and said that he'd tried to persuade
>Schalk and Bill Park that an increase of 0.1 Mach number per flight
>was much too conservative, but they wouldn't listen. Eastham did.
>
>
>
>
>
>

Jim doesn't get near the credit he deserves for his part during the testing of
the Blackbird aircraft as he should. I wish he would sit down and write a
book about all his aviation experience.....especially his missile developing
flights.

By the way, wasn't his first Mach 3 sustaining flight when the wire insulation
melted??? I blieve some kind of temp gauge had been calibrated incorrectly.
(???)