Aviation museums

[Antoallison]

I did do Pt Cook...it is on the list above.

I aim to visit the museum at RAAF Point Cook in November when I am down visiting Geelong.

 

[straitman]

I did do Pt Cook...it is on the list above.

Oops.

Missed it.

 

[ausfox]

Do you mean Udvar Hazy or another brand new one?

Some of my favourites I have visited are -

USA
Smithsonian Air and Space and Udvar Hazy in Washington DC - most famous planes/rockets ever flown
Intrepid Aircraft Carrier in New York - carrier type planes, concorde and space shuttle
Both NASA's - rockets
Ellsworth AFB South Dakota, B52's, B1 Bombers and Nuke missile silos nearby as well.
Pearl Harbour - Hawaii
Yorktown Aircraft Carrier - like Intrepid, not as well kept but can wander anywhere

UK
Duxford - UK planes, have flown into here on a light plane, the new American plane wing is now open again
Hendon - like Duxford older mainly UK planes
Yorkshire Aviation Museum is still set up like a WW2 bomber base, intact Halifax Bomber you can go inside
East Kirkby - Functioning Lancaster Bomber, taxi rides only - not flying
RAF Scampton - Dambusters Museum, Red Arrows...though I think they were moving?
RAF Cosford - excess planes from other museums
RNAS Yeovilton - UK naval aviation
Many ex WW2 stations have some remains or museums and light aircraft runways

Europe
in France many D-Day museums have aviation bits
Royal Military Museum - Brussels all Forces but a large old plane section
National Military Museum - old Soesterberg Air Base - Netherlands, all forces but pretty new
Kbely Aviation Museum - Prague lots older cold war ex Soviet planes and helicopters

Australia
Imperial War Museum Canberra
Most current RAAF bases have Museums in each state some on site some separate.
Have been to Pearce, Amberley, Pt Cook, Wagga, Adelaide, Townsville, Newcastle/Williamstown
Former WW2 bases such as Nhill, and Evans Head have started small museums as well.
Nowra Naval Museum has some planes
Temora Aviation Museum
Qantas at Longreach
HARS at Woolongong
Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra - large collection, lots outside
Small one at Caboolture as well if you are bored...
Oakey Army Aviation Museum
Woomera - Rockets

It is the Udvar Hazy museum I refer to. Good comprehensive list Jastel.

 

[casanovawa]

When i hired a motorhome and drove across the USA a few years ago i was heading up out of the panhandle of Florida and thought I might stop in and check out Pensacola and see if there was anything interesting.. Found the National US Naval Aviation Museum there with a couple of buildings full of planes... Just for good measure I walked out side and the US Navy's Blue Angels were putting on a flying display practicing for an upcoming airshow i believe it was so 5 or so F/A 18s doing lots of low passes and manoeuvres in various formations..

Welcome - National Naval Aviation Museum

Drove on a bit further up into Alabama and found they had the WW2 battleship USS Alabama open for visitors at Mobile, AL which also had a submarine, tanks and armoured vehicles and an aircraft pavilion....

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park

Driving up through southern Germany one time i pulled into Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance just to overnight and have a looksie and didn't know they had the Zeppelin Museum and also a little out of town the Dornier companies museum. Not blow your socks of amazing in terms of planes everywhere, but still interesting if anywhere near by...

Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen - Technik und Kunst
The aerospace museum at Lake Constance | Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen

Proving you can run into some interesting stuff without even trying...

 

[kookaburra75]

I find the Planes of Fame museum to be a great place to visit.
Plus they have a fantastic airshow in May which I'll be going to for the third time!
The sounds and smells of 20 or 30 Merlins and Packard engines roaring around an airfield, sometime no more than 400 feet away is just fantastic. And if you are in the right place at the right time, you can spend time talking to pilots like Steve Hinton and others about what they do.
We are actually flying to LAX just for the airshow (plus some shopping) and with the airshow tickets for both of us coming in at about A$900, I'm looking forward to a great 2 days.

I'd just like to say again, we need a "So Jealous" button. The best I can do is dig out my photos from my last trip to the Shuttleworth Collection :-(

 

[provedor1]

Home of spruce goose McMinnville- deducted to Evergreen owners son.
The Spruce Goose

 

[jb747]

In the UK, Duxford and Hendon are both excellent.

There are two museums at Chino, plus the flight line itself is a bit of an unintended museum. Only downside is that it’s in LA.

Smithsonian in Washington is great, but I think I heard that it’s being renovated at the moment.

In Oz, Pt Cook RAAF, Nowra RAN, and HARS at Wollongong. And don’t forget Temora!

I’m hoping to do a museum trip to the USA in the next year or two. The USAF and USN museums are the main aim, as well as NASA at KSC. I’ll try to tie the trip to a Space X launch.

 

[Bad Seed]

Oh Oh Oh, I have a quirky on for this! The Foynes Flying Boat Museum in Foynes Ireland. Its a great little museum tucked away in a corner of Ireland , really well set out where you can actually walk through a flying boat plane and learn about how this small town was a real hub of aviation in the 30s and 40s. Well woth seeking out if you are in the area. My sceptical teens were actually impressed.

 

[EestiTiger]

When i hired a motorhome and drove across the USA a few years ago i was heading up out of the panhandle of Florida and thought I might stop in and check out Pensacola and see if there was anything interesting.. Found the National US Naval Aviation Museum there with a couple of buildings full of planes... Just for good measure I walked out side and the US Navy's Blue Angels were putting on a flying display practicing for an upcoming airshow i believe it was so 5 or so F/A 18s doing lots of low passes and manoeuvres in various formations..

Welcome - National Naval Aviation Museum

Drove on a bit further up into Alabama and found they had the WW2 battleship USS Alabama open for visitors at Mobile, AL which also had a submarine, tanks and armoured vehicles and an aircraft pavilion....

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park

Driving up through southern Germany one time i pulled into Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance just to overnight and have a looksie and didn't know they had the Zeppelin Museum and also a little out of town the Dornier companies museum. Not blow your socks of amazing in terms of planes everywhere, but still interesting if anywhere near by...

Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen - Technik und Kunst
The aerospace museum at Lake Constance | Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen

Proving you can run into some interesting stuff without even trying...

Sounds like you were doing same trip as me Pensacola was very cool - a lot of USN aviation bits. even better if you time it with a Blue Angels practice We also popped into Mobile to see the USS Alabama. I think there are likely pictures in my trip report if anyone is interested - GlobalTrash 2017 - London, Estonia, Slovenia and United States

 

[EestiTiger]

The Central Air Force museum just outside of Moscow was awesome!
I created a thread here - Central Air Force Museum Monino Russia

Last Euro Summer I strumbled across a museum in central Estonia. I was excited to see a SAAB Viggen but there were heaps of other cool things to see. I was the only one there at the time Some pics here - EuroTrash 2018 - France, Estonia, Croatia, Romania and Bavaria

 

[keithr]

Other museums worthy of mention:-
Ones that I have visited
Boeing Museum of Flight Seattle- comprehensive collection including a Lockheed M21 the forerunner of the SR71.

Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum Paine Field Everett WA - great collection of WWII aircraft including Russian and German exhibits. Almost all are in flying condition (except the manned V1 and the ME 163) included the only flying Shturmovik. Its the other end of Paine field from the Boeing factory, you can see both in one visit

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Hamilton Ontario - Smaller but interesting collection including a flying Lancaster.

USS Enterprise aircraft carrier moored in the Hudson River NY - has a space shuttle and a Concorde.

Icelandic Aviation Museum Akureyri Iceland - a small but beautifully presented collection in a place that you wouldn't expect.

One that I haven't visited

Pima Air and Space Museum Tucson AZ - One of the biggest museums, mainly American post WWII but not exclusively. They do tours to the adjacent boneyard too.

I'll have to put in a plug for the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra because I volunteer there. We are a museum almost wholly financed by visitors contributions, but we do have an extensive collection (static display only unfortunately) including exhibits that you won't see anywhere else in Australia like the Beechcraft Starship. First weekend in July we open up the aircraft, you can sit in the coughpit of an F-111 etc.

 

[mel-world]

Home of spruce goose McMinnville- deducted to Evergreen owners son.
The Spruce Goose

Not too far south of Portland, OR. The museum is struggling for funds but well worth the visit if only for the Howard Hughes 'fantasy' that they moved in pieces from Long Beach a number of years ago.

 

[Major]

Perhaps some kind person could index or wiki or start a list or whatever one does with these things

 

[Merry Cooper]

A little known aviation museum is in Singapore - The Air Force Museum is at the old Paya Lebar airport (where I landed in Singapore in 1969!!)

The guides are retired aviators and are very keen to pounch of visitors with whom to share their stories. I've visited twice and totally enjoyed my time there. see Air Force Museum (Singapore): UPDATED 2019 All You Need to Know Before You Go (with PHOTOS)

 

[RooFlyer]

A little known aviation museum is in Singapore - The Air Force Museum is at the old Paya Lebar airport (where I landed in Singapore in 1969!!)

.... And welcome to ( your first post) AFF Merry Cooper!

 

[aggie57]

The US Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is amazing, beautifully presented and well worth the drive.

Next to the Planes of Fame in Chino there is the less well known "Yanks Air Museum" (Yanks Air Museum - All American Famous Planes) which has a wide range of aircraft and is notable for the "boneyard" that you are free to wander around.

 

[chillbaby]

Great topic! I've been to quite a few of the above however one that I didnt see mentioned was the USAF museum at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton Ohio. On a recent business trip decided to go there and it was amazing. A number of buildings contain all the aircraft that have flown for USAF including iconic aircraft like the Bell X1, Memphis Belle (B-17) and Bockscar (B-29) as well as a B-52 and many prototypes that never actually flew, I spent almost 2 full days there. TBH not much else in Dayton but well worth a visit and going out of your way for a couple of days.

 

[bPeteb]

We'll be visiting Udvar Hazy museum in July. 50th anniversary of moon landing the week that we're there. We're both very excited. Followed by a whole day of Frank Lloyd Wright as we drive to Pittsburgh.

 

[mt63]

Darwin museum is notable for its B52. All 8 engines and a bank of analogue instruments for each.

 

[RooFlyer]

Darwin museum is notable for its B52. All 8 engines and a bank of analogue instruments for each.

Welcome to your first post on AFF, mt63 . Don't leave it so long for the second