Air and Space Museum

By: Kevin

There are many things to do around San Diego, and we have been knocking them
off our list as we can. So when we were presented with the option of free
tickets to the Air & Space Museum, we were happy to scratch it off our list
as well. On arrival we were wondering how long it would take to get to the
entrance, as the admission line was wrapped around the sidewalk, but we were
pleasantly surprised as how fast it was moving.

As one first walks in there is a central display with an airplane as well as
a space capsule. These are neat exhibits for the kids to look at as parents
are getting tickets printed or online tickets redeemed. Then visitors go
through a turnstile to actually enter the museum. When we were there, there
was also a side exhibit about race cars that required a separate ticket and
fee.

The museum started with a Hallway of Fame, with framed portraits of
note-worthy pilots or engineers and their contribution to the science of air
travel. There were small models of some of the air frames these pilots or
engineers have designed and built, and a few propeller designs that are a
little atypical. Next, one walks into the early days of flight and war-time
efforts by both the United States as well as other nations. There is a nice
display on blimp use as well as their safety and control issues. Of course,
there is no shortage of planes at the museum. Some are models, some are real
aircraft sitting on the floor or suspended from the ceiling. There was a
runway mock-up complete with control tower and search light. There are a good
number of military planes most likely because the military is frequently at
the forefront of technology, but also because I consider San Diego a fairly
military city. For fans of the US Navy Blue Angels, there is what looks to
be a real Blue Angels plane towards the end of the museum.

There were stunt planes, some not much taller than me, and not much longer
than about 6-8 feet. The stunt planes had huge engines, which made them look
like something out of a cartoon. There were some, possibly developmental,
ultralight aircraft that barely even had a cockpit. One in particular the
pilot had to lay down prone on top of it instead of sitting in a seat. The
pilot’s face was protected by a small windshield that appeared smaller than
the windshield on my motorcycle. I hope the pilot didn’t roll too far in
either direction and fall off!

The museum is not all planes either. While I don’t know if they are always
there or not, there were some beautiful antique cars in the center atrium
between the fountains. The museum also has a display and damaged police
cruiser from the attacks on 9-11-01. The display was well-designed and
tasteful, and while it is related to aircraft, it felt a bit out of place
sandwiched between historic planes and stunt aircraft.

At the end of the museum were a few flight simulators, both stationary as
well as the large cockpit simulators complete with hydraulics so it feels
like the person is really banking and rolling in the simulator. These of
course had an additional fee per person. We opted to proceed without trying
them as we had other things we wanted to do that day, but they looked like
fun. The museum concludes with a small gift shop. The whole thing took us
about 1.5 hours to get through, but with younger children we did not stop to
read each and every display. If you are one of the people that likes to read
everything, it would take you considerably longer. All in all, I would recommend the museum to others.