If you’re an aviation buff and happen to be around the Florida Gulf Coast, you’ve got to go to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola!
Jim and I took a break from the Wisconsin winter to visit our friends Jennifer and Zachary, who made their own semi-permanent escape to Florida last fall.
The four of us spent an afternoon at the museum. I was quite impressed. The museum is top-notch and there is plenty to see. We ran out of time to see everything.
We made sure to include the IMAX movie “
The Magic of Flight.” This particular theater was one of the best I’ve been to. This movie is old… from the 90’s, yikes… but where the heck have I been? I had never seen it. Even though it wasn’t in 3D, all the movie’s twisting and turning on the giant screen had us woozy. The movie was about the
Blue Angels and a little bit of aviation history and science.
We also made sure to get on one of the outdoor trolley tours. The tour guide drove us around and told us about the aircraft on the ramp… and also made it clear that there is no talking allowed on his ship! Oh well. There was a neat collection of planes outside.
What was the best part of the museum? That it’s FREE? Close… I think the best part was that most airplanes inside didn’t have ropes around them. That’s different from other museums I’ve been to. Just like outside at EAA AirVenture, you are free to walk right up to everything to get a closer look.
I would highly recommend a visit to this museum. I hope to get back there someday to have more time to explore. Also, the Blue Angels normally practice right there from March to November. This year, the government sequester is causing issues, but hopefully things will go back to normal and people can see the Blue Angels somewhere besides the IMAX screen.
My flight student Jordan planned a dual cross-country flight from Green Bay to Madison and back today.
