A jewel in the desert!
I visited back in September 2018, during a business trip to the Californian town. Sunday was a free day so with littele else to do a trip to the local Aviation museum was a must.
The museum is situated on the western side of the main airport. Baked in the Californian sun, you are glad of the air conditioning inside. The collection was well laid out and easy to view. Pick of the bunch, for me, was being able to clamber aboard “Miss Angela”, the collections veteren B17G. I spent a good hour chatting to the volunters, some of whom had recently returned from a trip to the UK.
Being aboard one of these old beauties really does bring it home to you how dangerous it must have been for the crews during the conflict. Being over 6ft tall I had to watch my step and my head.
Outside in the dry heat you found a few other aircraft including an S58 and the collections PBY-5 which is still undergoing restoration.
For me, one of the best parts of the museum was their extensive library, an aviation book collection that I would give my right hand for (though I don’t have the space!). As usual I picked up a few book bargains in the shop, hope the TSA had a good time looking at them when they checked my baggage on the way home!
A very enjoyable few hours in the heat of Southern California.
