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[vtrelut]

During the last few months I travelled several times to California, and visited 2 aircraft carriers and 4 air museums. Here are a few memories from these wonderful places.

First of all, from North to South, the USS Hornet at Alameda, San Francisco, who recovered Apollo 11's crew in 1969:



Volunteer staff is very nice and available to guide visitors inside the carrier:





















The F-14's TARPS reconnaissance pod:




Apollo test capsule:




Thank you USS Hornet!

Next: Planes of Fame museum, Chino.

[vtrelut]

Now, the Planes of Fame museum, at Chino, East of Los Angeles. An incredible collection of warbirds, racers, jets and experimental aircraft from all countries, including a Northrop flying wing, and the world's only flying A6M Zero with an original Sakae engine...











































When I went there I met two 8th AF veterans, one gentleman was a ball turret gunner on a B-17, the other one was a top turret gunner also on a B-17; both flew over 20 missions over Europe and were showing to visitors a B-17G undergoing restoration, a very nice and moving encounter.

[Wildchild]

Chino is also suppost to have  PB4Y-2 there, but im not sure if they sold it or not.

[vtrelut]

They have so many things at the Planes of Fame... next to it, still in Chino, is the Yanks Museum. For American aircraft only, what a treat! Fantastic airplanes, very well maintained and displayed, with a restoration workshop accessible to visitors:







A magnificent F-106B Delta Dart:




What a nose!




A - very - rare North American FJ-1 Fury:




P-47M:




A recon Lightning:






P-39 and P-63:






A Taiwanese Tiger-II:




More here:
http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/vtrelut/Yanks%20Museum%20-%20Chino/

Like at the Planes of Fame, many of Yanks aircraft are airworthy.
http://www.yanksair.com/Collection.html

Bottom line when in California near Los Angeles: go to Chino, a must-see with two world-class aircraft collections in one single location!

Next: further South... Palm Springs Air Museum , and then...

[vtrelut]

At Palm Springs, right by the airport, a very nice collection of warbirds and military jets, maybe the most comprehensive collection of Grumman aircraft that I'll ever see:



















































More here:

http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/vtrelut/Palm%20Springs%20Air%20Museum/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ36

And here, the museum's site, another museum where warbirds live and fly!
http://palmspringsairmuseum.org/




Next, 2 gorgeous museums in downtown San Diego... 

[vtrelut]

Right in the middle of the City of San Diego, one can - must - visit the USS Midway, possibly the largest aircraft carrier museum in the world, and the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

USS Midway was launched in 1945 and decommissionned in 1992: a career spanning 47 years, from WWII in the Pacific to Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.











A magnificent Skywarrior:




And what about this beauty:














Across the bay is Naval Air Station North Island, home of 3 US carriers... and here is USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), passing by:


But let us come back to venerable USS Midway:
























More here:
http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/vtrelut/USS%20Midway/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ36

And here:
http://www.midway.org/

Bye bye USS Midway!

[Gaston]

Superbes tofs, Vincent ! Merci du partage !

[vtrelut]

You are welcome!

And to finish for this time, the San Diego Air & Space Museum:



We are welcomed by the unique Sea Dart, a supersonic floatplane jet fighter, test-flown on San Diego bay in the 1950s, with no wheels...


and this Lockheed A-12 (please ignore the truck...):


The Curtiss A-1 Triad:


Thanks to the achievements of Glenn Curtis, San Diego became the birthplace of naval aviation 100 years ago:
http://www.sandiegoairandspace.org/collections/collection_item.php?id=62











A full-size replica of the Horten IX V3 prototype:




A nice place for a party!










And of course, since San Diego is the home of Ryan Aeronautical, the Spirit of St-Louis, a flying replica:


There are so many air museums in California, I'll be back...

More here:
http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee281/vtrelut/San%20Diego%20Air%20and%20Space%20Museum/

And here:
http://www.sandiegoairandspace.org/about_the_museum/

[BravoFxTrt]

Thank You Vtrelut, I can look at thees over and over.

[LuseKofte]

I am going to bump this topic so it is easy to find many month thx 

[stranger]

I just want to posses yer body and do this allover again

[FlatSpinMan]

Vince, I hate you. I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate!
How can one person be allowed to see so much greatness and not be hated?! These are amazing museums and I now know where I am going on my next 10 summer holidays.
What amazing museums. I cannot get overt the variety of exhibitions. You have seen a REAL FW190?! An Eindekker! Aaaarrrghh!
Don't tell me that you actually touched anything or I will get on a plane and fly over and punch you on the nose (unless you buy me a beer and placate me).