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I love airplanes.
Well, obviously…I am a flight attendant, after all!
My job is performed on airplanes, I travel for pleasure on them, I enjoy seeing them in museum settings and especially love seeing them in action, no matter if they are modern or antique. They are all works of art and feats of engineering. The Wright Brothers imagined that they could take us up high into the atmosphere, show us the world from another viewpoint and bring us back down again safely. They did and continue to do so.
What is even cooler is that my husband loves airplanes too! Could you imagine if he was afraid to fly? No…definitely would never have worked out!
On a trip to Palm Springs, there was only one day that I would have to spend with my husband, since he was actually there for work. Although there were lots of things in the area to enjoy, I wanted to make sure that we participated in something that we could enjoy together. Visit a church? No, I have probably dragged him to enough churches to last him a lifetime! Go to the top of a mountain? Check out some airplanes? Yes to both!
The Palm Springs Air Museum fit the bill. Perfect for me. And. Perfect for him!
The idea for Palm Springs Air Museum was conceived in 1993 from the minds of three men, Charlie Mayer, Pete Madison and Dr. Mort Gubin during a break from an airport commission meeting. Since they knew various people with World War II airplane collections, they wondered why they just couldn’t have a museum to house a collection in Palm Springs.
After years of working with contacts and volunteers, construction was started in February 1996 and the Museum opened to the public on November 11, 1996. Two hangers were initially built to house the collection, a third, opened in 1999 and a fourth opened in May of 2017.
A simple idea during a meeting break has led to a Palm Springs venue which attracts over 100,000 visitors annually. The museum houses over 59 vintage flying and static aircraft, the Berger Foundation Youth Exploration Center, the Berger Foundation Classroom Annex, the General Ken Miles Science Center, an upstairs Library and Education Center with over 9,200 volumes (many primary source materials), a Community Room, Theater and tons of wall exhibits. Over the years, the museum has also hosted temporary exhibits and visiting aircraft such as the only flying B-29, the AVTT Vietnam Wall Memorial, the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum Bob Hope Exhibit, Ansel Adams’ Photos of Manzanar and the Salute to WW2 Flying Tigers in China.
Spotting the museum’s amazing outdoor collection of aircraft while landing at the Palm Springs Airport on my arrival into the city, I made up my mind, then and there, that this was the one of the places that I would bring my husband. With our visit to the top of Mount Jacinto complete during the morning, we headed to Gene Autry Boulevard and parked in the parking lot amidst many aircraft on display in front of the museum. Saving these for later, we paid our admission, we were then greeted warmly by one of the volunteers and given a map of the premises. With so much to see, we decided to start with the first hanger and discover something new and exciting at each turn.
While it would be tedious and, to be honest, a bit boring, to try and describe everything we encountered, I will tell you about a few of the things I enjoyed most.
The short documentary describing the German prisoners which were kept in Texas during World War II.
The countless airplane models housed throughout the museum in glass cases along the walls and in the middle of the hangers.
The many military uniforms on display.
Staring up at the A-5 Release Bomb Rack while standing under the plane.
The automotive collections.
The outdoor collection.
The “named” aircraft.
Seeing the F-117 Nighthawk.
Sitting in the cockpit of US Air Force Roadrunner.
Seeing the “movie-famous” leer jet seen in The In-Laws, Airport 1975 (1974), Any Which Way You Can (1980) and Dragnet (1987) among others.
Playing with the in-flight simulators in the Library and Education Center. This by far was my favorite and in case we ever have an emergency on one of my flights where the flight attendants have to land because something has happened to our pilots…well, let’s just say that I can’t do it! My time on the simulator proved that we would be doomed if left up to me!
Learning about my husband’s extensive aircraft knowledge. The most educational part of our afternoon, however, was learning how much my husband knew about these planes. Spouting off facts and figures about so many of the aircraft on display, I finally had to ask him how he knew all of this. When he was a boy, his favorite things to do was build model airplanes and watch World War II movies and television shows (remember Hogan’s Heroes?)! Well, just when you think you know everything about your spouse!
We both spent a wonderful afternoon, sometimes losing each other in the vast hangers, each preoccupied with the things that interested us most. The idea that Charlie Mayer, Pete Madison and Dr. Mort Gubin dreamed of was one that probably evolved more than they ever imagined and I was proud to see many veterans walking through the premises.
A popular museum for not only visitor’s to the area, but it also hosts many functions throughout the year for various conventions and other private events.
That evening, while my husband was talking to a colleague about our outing that day, he discovered that his work function’s cocktail party, the next night, was going to be held…
At the Palm Spring Air Museum!
More fun for him!
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Palm Spring Air Museum
- https://palmspringsairmuseum.org/
- Address: 745 North Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs, California 92262
- Hours: 1000 to 1700, daily
- Admission: Adults, $20, Seniors, Veterans, Retired Military, Teenagers (ages 13-17), $18, Active Duty & immediate family (significant other + children), free with ID, Children 12 and under with paying adult, Free.