Nation Museum of Naval Aviation

[Frank Browne]

My two sons and I took a four day weekend and drove to Pensacola to surprise my mother (who had driven down from Memphis with my brother) for her 78th birthday. She had no idea the we were coming, and was totally flabergasted when we knocked on her hotel room door. We spent friday afternoon driving around showing my boys where I spent my happy childhood. Anyway, we spent a goodly portion of saturday at the National Museum of Naval Aviation and lordy has it changed? I have not seen the museum since it's big expansion and I was quite impressed to say the least. Almost every aspect of Naval Aviation is represented at the museum. I won't list the aircraft here...the list is far too long, but suffice it to say that it is a staggering collection of aircraft on display there. It's well worth a visit if any of you guys ever get near the place. One negative however. Conspicuous in it's absence was anything regarding ASW operations post WWII. There was a P-3 Orion and a P2V Neptune on display out on the ramp that you could see via a bus tour, but nary a mention of post war ASW ops inside the museum. Other than that however, it is well worth a visit by anyone who loves aviation.

http://naval.aviation.museum/home.html

 

[flybill7]

Frank,

Do they still have the big P5M flying boat out back? They had a hurricane blow through there a couple of years ago and I've always wondered how it faired.

... Bill

 

[Frank Browne]

Frank,

Do they still have the big P5M flying boat out back? They had a hurricane blow through there a couple of years ago and I've always wondered how it faired.

... Bill

It may be over on the ramp, but I don't know for sure. Our time was somewhat limited so we couldn't do the bus tour of the flight line. The only aircraft immediately outside of the museum building are an F-14A Tomcat and an F/A-18 Hornet. Every thing else is either in the building itself, or over on the flightline.

Man o man, Hurricane Ivan damage is still piled up in lots of places. Boat yards full of damaged and destroyed boats. The I10 bridge over the bay is being rebuilt just south of the battered one. Large portions of the eastbound span is temporary steel bridging.

 

[Steve]

I hope to get down to PNAS for the Blue Angels "homecoming show" this fall and take some time to check out all the remodeling at the museum (it's been around 5-6 years). I'll try to get a photo survey of the exterior displays.

I'm glad I got to fly down to SnF this year, last year the traffic was backed up for miles on the I-10 Pensacola Bay bridge.

Westbound lanes of I-10 east of N. O. (triple bridge on the Sectional) are in the same shape from Katrina, speed limit 45. Wind damage from the north. Insurance companies claim it was water.

...

Man o man, Hurricane Ivan damage is still piled up in lots of places. Boat yards full of damaged and destroyed boats. The I10 bridge over the bay is being rebuilt just south of the battered one. Large portions of the eastbound span is temporary steel bridging.

 

[ejensen]

When I was there they had quite a bit on the ASW blimps and Catalinas. I'm sure they change exhibits.

 

[Tom-D]

When you go out to the ramp, pet the willie and tell her good girl, took care of Tommy D for many hours.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

Why do you figure the ASW would be so absent?

My two sons and I took a four day weekend and drove to Pensacola to surprise my mother (who had driven down from Memphis with my brother) for her 78th birthday. She had no idea the we were coming, and was totally flabergasted when we knocked on her hotel room door. We spent friday afternoon driving around showing my boys where I spent my happy childhood. Anyway, we spent a goodly portion of saturday at the National Museum of Naval Aviation and lordy has it changed? I have not seen the museum since it's big expansion and I was quite impressed to say the least. Almost every aspect of Naval Aviation is represented at the museum. I won't list the aircraft here...the list is far too long, but suffice it to say that it is a staggering collection of aircraft on display there. It's well worth a visit if any of you guys ever get near the place. One negative however. Conspicuous in it's absence was anything regarding ASW operations post WWII. There was a P-3 Orion and a P2V Neptune on display out on the ramp that you could see via a bus tour, but nary a mention of post war ASW ops inside the museum. Other than that however, it is well worth a visit by anyone who loves aviation.

http://naval.aviation.museum/home.html

 

[Frank Browne]

Why do you figure the ASW would be so absent?

I dunno. My brother, who spent 16 years in the P-3 community, says it's because the museum backers and contributors are mostly tail hookers so to speak.