The San Diego Aerospace Museum

A dazzling collection of the history of aviation, its treasures and artifacts are showcased at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, in San Diego, California. The only International Aerospace Hall of Fame, this exhibit honors the individuals who have made contributions to the advancements made in the science of air and space travel and exploration. Prominent among the Hall of Fame honorees is Earhart, Wright, Yeager, Gagarin, Montgolfier, and Armstrong.

The Wright Flyer Exhibit:

On the sands of Kittyhawk, North Carolina, the first successful attempt to master the air currents with controlled, powered flight take the viewer back to an earlier time in history and the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers.

The Theodore Gildred Flight Rotunda showcases a replica of the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Charles Lindberg flew during his historic non-stop solo transatlantic crossing in 1927. The Ryan Aeronautical Company built the original plane in San Diego.

The Pavilion of Flight, with its fabric and metal dome, houses a 1928 Ford Tri-Motor passenger plan decked out in Pan American Airways colors and a Vietnam-ear Huey Cobra helicopter gunship. On display are restored World War II, Korea, and Vietnam war birds like a Navy F6F Hellcat, an A-4 Skyhawk jet, and a Spitfire XVI.

Women in Flight:

September 14, 1999 through September 30, 2000 This yearlong celebration of women in aviation and space exploration is presented in storyboards and artifacts form woven throughout the museum's permanent collection. Some of the featured aviators are Amelia Earhart, the first women to successfully cross the Atlantic by plane; San Diego's Bobbi Trout, who set a flight endurance record; and Jackie Cochran, the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound. In conjunction with the exhibit, an U.S. Air Force documentary video will be shown on the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

On their website pull up digitized photos of the museum's collection of over 1M photos. An ongoing project, currently they have approximately 13,000 photos scanned and 4,500 are in the database.

Attend an aviation swap meet on June 24, 2000, sponsored by the museum at Gillespie Field Annex in El Cajon from 9 am to 2 pm, where you can vie for the glory of taking home kits, models, aviation collectibles, toys, publications and memorabilia.

Got kids? Send them to Aerosummer 2000 at Balboa Park museum or Gillespie Field classrooms. Grade level 1 through 12 will find interesting activities and an in-depth look at spaceflight through hands-on demonstrations, crafts, and adventures for the mind.

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