With our relatives in town for only one full weekend it is basically their choice on how they want to spend it. And because one is out with the cold the remaining one chooses to follow his major passion, airplanes, and chooses to visit the close by Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum. After a short drive we arrive at the museum only to notice that today there is also an outdoor show, oh joy, increasing significantly the number of visitors.
As it was more of a spur of the moment decision we do not know the size of the museum, it is in fact one hangar only which is quite busy due to the show outside and also a tour just starting as we enter.
However even though it is just one hangar it is a large hangar and full of airplanes both old and new. We start with the old ones first before moving on to the newer ones which are farther away from the entrance.
There is a small side exhibit of helmets used by aviators across times which is quite exciting to our relative especially as we can see how one is used in one of the planes on exhibit.
We then continue to explore the many airplanes and helicopters on display with the extraordinary addition of an armed Jeep that visitors are inspecting in depth quite often for some reason.
One of the things we find funny is the significant collection of model airplanes. We have seen this before but this one is larger than usual and displayed in much more accesible display cases. Some can be rotated so you can see the ones at the back and there are clear labels which makes it easier to identify them.
Given that there is a show today we have to go outside on the tarmac to see what it is about. It is quite focused on military vehicles and after talking with an exhibitor we learn that all of them are private vehicles that they usually just drive around in town, must be scary if you encounter one.
Our attention is then drawn by what seems to be a tour in a helicopter that just takes off. And then soon seems to want to throw all the passengers out as it banks significantly around the airport. Luckily everyone is wearing their seatbelts and they make it down safely at the end :).
You can climb in a few vehicles and explore and the owners are really friendly and there are a few booths where you can buy airplane pieces or models and we do just that, why not, who knows when we are going to see our next military vehicle show?
We then return to the museum and visit the second hangar which is the restoration hangar. It has a few planes in different stages of restoration and you can only see them from a distance for safety reasons.
You can fly in some of the older planes but you need to reserve in advance so not today, maybe some other time. We look with envy at the kestrel outside that can fly whenever it wants before returning back home after a nice outing at a surprisingly interesting museum.
