Former names |
|
---|---|
Established | 1982 |
Location | North Highlands, California, United States |
Coordinates | 38°40′30″N121°23′28″W / 38.675099°N 121.391029°W Coordinates: 38°40′30″N121°23′28″W / 38.675099°N 121.391029°W |
Type | Aviation museum |
Founder | Maj. Gen. Sidney Novaresi [1] |
Website | aerospaceca |
The Aerospace Museum of California is a private non-profit aviation museum located in North Highlands, California, outside of Sacramento, California, on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base. The museum has a 4.5-acre outdoor Air Park, indoor exhibit space, a classroom, theater, conference room, and gift shop. Featured displays include: authentic military and civilian aircraft, rockets, historic World War II artifacts, objects from the Apollo missions, and an extensive collection of piston and jet engines. The museum preserves the history of the former base while supporting current STEM educational standards through its programming and exhibits.
Founded as the Air Force Logistics Museum of the West in 1982, the name of the museum was quickly changed to the McClellan Aviation Museum less than a year later. [2] [3] It was chartered by the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The McClellan Aviation Museum housed a collection of aircraft and other objects associated with the history of aviation. The museum began refurbishing an abandoned building at the base in 1983 and in 1986 it opened to the public. [4] [5] In 1998, the museum was threatened with closure as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process to close McClellan Field. [6] By the end of the base closure process in 2001, the majority of the McClellan Aviation Museum collection were transferred as indefinite loan items from the U.S. Air Force to the newly formed Aerospace Museum of California.
In 2001, it was incorporated as a non-profit organization. Difficulties for the museum continued, as even though the aircraft had been secured, it still had to vacate the land on which it was sitting. To that end, the museum looked to purchase land in Freedom Park nearby. [7] [8] As work continued, the museum hired a new director, announced plans for a new facility, and changed its name to the Aerospace Museum of California in 2005. [9] [10] [11] On 5 January 2007, opened its new 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m2) Hardie Setzer Pavilion and 4.5 acre Air Park, enabling the museum to expand its displays to feature commercial and private aircraft, as well as aircraft used by all branches of the armed forces. [12] [ failed verification ]
The Aerospace Museum of California's mission is "to inspire students to explore, dream and discover STEM through hands-on learning." [13] The museum's goal is to "give 30,000 Sacramento kids a STEM Experience— regardless of socio-economic background". The museum "hopes to inspire our future leaders to pursue a career in future STEM industries", and its vision is "to provide an interactive STEM experience to every child, school and family in the greater Sacramento region." [13]
The museum is focused on current educational standards in science, technology, engineering, and math (S.T.E.M.) topics.
The museum's Flight Zone houses six independent stations running the X-Plane 11 flight simulator.
Visitors can “pilot” an aircraft using a professional flight simulator under the instruction of experienced flight instructors. This allows visitors to have the opportunity to practice taking off, flying, and landing virtually. The Flight Zone program is designed for students 5th to 12th grade who are interested in learning about and exploring aviation and related fields, and is also available to the general public. [14]
The museum has over 40 aircraft in its collection from a fully restored Fairchild PT-19 to one of the last Grumman F-14D Tomcats retired from U.S. Navy service in 2006. In addition to aircraft, the collection includes many other historic artifacts relating to Sacramento's aerospace heritage. It also houses an extensive collection of historic aircraft engines. These include examples ranging from World War I-era Gnome and Rhone rotary piston engines, large radial piston engines, and jet engines. The latter include a I-16 (1940, Whittle design), J57 #35 (1952), and J58 turbojet, used on the SR-71 Blackbird. The museum features an art gallery containing more than 50 original works, many from the Air Force Art Collection and the United States Coast Guard Art Collection. [15]
The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it proved to be the last specialist interceptor in U.S. Air Force service to date. It was gradually retired during the 1980s, with the QF-106 drone conversions of the aircraft being used until 1998 under the Pacer Six program.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California, and Valle, Arizona. The museum has many flying and static aircraft, along with several rare examples under restoration.
Tillamook Air Museum is an aviation museum south of Tillamook, Oregon in the United States. The museum is located at a former US Navy Air Station and housed in a former blimp hangar, known as "Hangar B", which is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world.
McClellan Air Force Base (1935–2001) is a former United States Air Force base located in the North Highlands area of Sacramento County, 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Sacramento, California.
San Diego Air & Space Museum is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, which is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places. SDASM was established by articles of incorporation on October 12, 1961, and opened to the public on February 15, 1963.
The Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum is a museum focusing on aircraft and nuclear missiles of the United States Air Force during the Cold War. It is located near Ashland, Nebraska, along Interstate 80 southwest of Omaha. The objective of the museum is to preserve and display historic aircraft, missiles, and space vehicles, and provide educational resources.
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is an aviation museum located at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario, Canada. The museum has 47 military jets and propeller-driven aircraft on display.
Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It is one of the largest aerospace museums displaying vintage aircraft in the western United States.
The Palm Springs Air Museum (PSAM), is a non-profit educational institution in Palm Springs, Riverside County, California. The Museum's mission is to exhibit, educate and eternalize the role of the World War II combat aircraft and the role the pilots and American citizens had in winning the war. In addition to flying aircraft, related artifacts, artwork, and library sources are used to perpetuate American history. It contains one of the world's largest collections of flying World War II warplanes, many of which were built in Southern California. Many of these aircraft have been used by motion picture companies in movies set during the second world war.
Sacramento McClellan Airport is a privately owned public-use airport located six miles (10 km) northeast of the central business district of Sacramento.
Hill Aerospace Museum is a military aviation museum located at Hill Air Force Base in Roy, Utah. It is dedicated to the history of the base and aviation in Utah.
The Yanks Air Museum is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization and museum dedicated to exhibiting, preserving and restoring American aircraft and artifacts in order to show the evolution of American aviation, located at Chino Airport in Chino, California.
The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, including the world's fastest air-breathing aircraft, the SR-71B Blackbird. Many of its antique planes are airworthy. Among its other attractions are a 180-degree theater that projects a 2-D film simulation of a B-17 bombing mission during World War II; and various amusement rides, including flight simulators of a rocket trip to Mars, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet, a stunt biplane, a hot air balloon, a veteran U.S. Navy F-14A Tomcat that served aboard USS America, and more. Air Zoo is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
The Museum of Aviation is the second-largest aerospace museum of the United States Air Force. The museum is located just outside Warner Robins, Georgia, and near Robins Air Force Base. As of July 2019, the museum included four exhibit buildings and more than 85 historic aircraft, among other exhibits, on its 51 acres (21 ha). The museum is also the home of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. Admission is free to the nearly half-million visitors each year, which makes it the fourth-most-visited museum of the United States Department of Defense.
The Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham, Pennsylvania is a museum dedicated to preserving the aviation history of the Greater Delaware Valley including NAS Willow Grove and Harold F. Pitcairn. It is owned and operated by the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association (DVHAA), a non-profit organization. Opened in 2004, the museum features restored historic aircraft, flight helmets, flight gear, air to air missiles, Martin-Baker ejection seats, and military service medals.
United States Air Force Plant 42 is a classified aircraft manufacturing plant owned by the United States Air Force in the Antelope Valley, about 60 miles from downtown Los Angeles. It is also used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The Air Force Flight Test Museum is an aviation museum located at Edwards Air Force Base near Rosamond, California focused on the history of the Air Force Flight Test Center.