The museum experience

Read all the brochures and watch all the videos you want; you still won’t be prepared for the sensation of awe that will grip you and lead you through our combat aviation museum.

We’re authentic. Our collections of salvaged artifacts still have grit and coffee stains. No one has rewritten history here. Connect with the stories and feel the courage of everyday folks who set it all aside and took to the air to save the world for their children and their children’s children.

Take an EduVenture through history and learn how aircraft evolved as a heroic partner to ground and sea operations from WWI to present day.

Walk through Bomber Alley and find yourself in a working mechanics hangar. Our docents will lead you right into the bomb bay in the very belly of the planes as our mechanics bring muscular engines to a grumbling start. Think it’s easy to find WWII airplane parts? Peek into our Combat Damage Repair Shop and you’ll see true artisan mechanics crafting new components from aluminum and steel.

Don’t miss the “climb aboard” tours of our B-17 bomber “Sentimental Journey,” B-25 bomber “Maid in the Shade,” and C-47 secret mission cargo “Old Number 30.” We want you to see and feel what it was like for the brave men and women in the actual guts of these hero airplanes.

Our museum gift store has hundreds of items to browse through. From kids’ toys and airplane models to authentic bomber jackets – even for your pooch – we’ve got it all!

Hard truths and brilliant ingenuity on display

Our exhibits reveal the hard truths and brilliant ingenuity of a generation of heroes who scrambled to defend freedom. During war, the very worst and the very best of humanity stand shoulder to shoulder. Words in a book simply can’t convey this reality. As you browse through artifacts, photographs, and stories and examine airplanes rivet by rivet, you’ll feel a whole new respect for the men and women behind some of the most technological advancements of their time.