Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum for the very first time. It was so enjoyable that my husband and I went back a second time a few days later!

Let me begin by telling you about the museum itself. The National Naval Aviation Museum is the largest Naval Aviation museum in the world! According to the museum's website, it is the most visited museum in the state of Florida. The museum has 300,000 square feet of exhibits inside. Outside, you'll find even more aircraft. I also feel safe in saying that one of the best attractions to the museum is the Navy Blue Angels, who practice some Tuesdays and Wednesdays right behind the museum for everyone to watch! The museum also has an IMAX theater, flight simulators, and a café! You should plan on spending the entire day here at this museum!

To get to the Museum, you'll have to go through the Naval base's East Gate. From South Navy Boulevard in Pensacola, you'll drive over a bridge and get in the far right lane - this is the Visitor's gate lane. You will stop at the gate and present your driver's license or military ID to the attendant. He/She will give you a visitor's pass (small piece of paper) to display in your windshield while on base.

Follow the street in front of you until you get to Taylor Road, there will be a stoplight here. You will take a right onto Taylor Road and drive about 1.5 miles. You will then turn right onto Radford road at the end. You will see the museum on your right.

If you visit the museum on a day the Blue Angels are practicing, plan to arrive early so you'll find a parking spot and good seat in the stands by the runway.

When we arrived at the museum last Wednesday (July 16, 2008), it was almost 8am and the crowd was getting thick. Everyone was jumping out of their cars the minute they parked and rushed down to the flight line seating.

We sat on the bleachers as the seats filled to maximum capacity, leaving many people to stand up behind the bleachers. Some people brought their own chairs to sit in (this is what I'd do next time we go). I'd also suggest wearing a hat and sunglasses and taking a bottle of water - it gets hot out there during the summer and you'll be doing a lot of looking up at the bright sky.

The Blue Angels show started on time at 8:30am and it was amazing! The guides who were down front directing the crowd kept us informed on what moves the pilots were about to do and where to look to find them. The pilots practiced the most thrilling and exciting twists and turns! My favorite was when one broke the speed of sound in front of us! It was loud but it was awesome at the same time!

The show lasted about 30 to 45 minutes I think. Afterwards we walked back up to the museum to check out the displays and exhibits. On the particular day we were there, the Blue Angel pilots were scheduled to sign autographs inside. The majority of the crowd went to that section of the museum, so my family and I got in line for $8 IMAX tickets. (We skipped the crowd!) Details about the museums IMAX shows and schedules can be found here on their website HERE.

The IMAX screen that's at the museum is 62' tall and 82' wide. Also, the sound system is 12,000 watts! At 10am we experienced "The Magic of Flight" show. You can read about it HERE. It was very fun and actually quite informational.

There were so many people there that day that we weren't really able to enjoy the exhibits or get around to seeing them all. So, my husband and I drove back to the museum Monday (July 21). There was no Blue Angels practice scheduled so we figured the crowd probably wouldn't be as bad. We were right - there didn't seem to be more than about 50 people in the museum. We didn't have to wait in line for anything!

We purchased $8 IMAX tickets to see another show: Fighter Pilot, Operation Red Flag. You can read about it HERE. Like the previous IMAX we watched, this one was also a great show.

Afterwards we walked around the museum and took lots of pictures. At lunchtime, we ate at Cubi's (our waitress pronounced it Q-Bees). The café is set up to resemble the famous Cubi Point Officers' Club that was in the Philippines. This café is inside the museum, has seating which overlooks the exhibits, seating inside with outdoor views, and a bar. We were seated by the window, which was great because it was cold inside the museum and the heat and sunlight was very welcoming to my arms. The menu isn't long but has just enough to satisfy every taste. Options ranged from hot dogs to quesadillas to sandwiches. I had the Mach platter - a BBQ sandwich with chips, pickle, and fruit cup. My husband had the Chicken Pita platter with chips, pickle, and fruit cup. About every option was $7. There were 4 or 5 children's platters as well which were about $4 each. Our waitress was from the Philippines and was very friendly. Service was great and the food was pretty good. It reminded me of a picnic lunch.

We continued browsing and headed upstairs to view the Upper Deck displays. They had an art gallery, honor wall, NASA exhibits, and an aircraft carrier resembling the real thing just to name a few. My favorites were the Main Street walk through town showing what Pensacola looked like during WWII and the South Pacific jungle.

The displays are so realistic and some offer a "hands-on"-type opportunity, such as in the Main Street display - you could walk into a home and sit on the home's couch. There were also aircraft trainers set about which allowed you to climb into the pilot's seat and check out the cockpits. I am not your typical history buff or whatnot and usually get easily bored at museums, but this one was different. I really enjoyed it and definitely plan on going back again sometime!

We spent the entire day at the museum Monday and still didn't get around to every museum activity. For instance, we didn't get into the flight simulators or take the tour bus around the aircraft outside.

The museum has a very detailed and informational website where you can read about the museum, all the activities, exhibits, IMAX, and schedule of events. Their website address is: http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org.

Remember, plan on spending an entire day or maybe two days exploring this amazing, fun museum! It will be one unforgettable experience!