# California Air Museums - Santa Monica Airport California



## Kyushuj7w (Aug 8, 2021)

To start that 2013 road trip of 5 air museums here is what was then the new museum at Santa Monica. They were on the other side of the airfield on my last visit in the 90's. Does anyone remember it from then? I found a few of the old film process pictures. Film....kids have no idea what that is. 

Since the first trip they had lost their Swordfish and their ME-109, and Hurricane as well as a few other exhibits and moved to the other side of the airfield. I have more of the old style printed pics somewhere from that 90's trip . Been cleaning out things. May digitize these so the kids don't have to deal with it all later but they have no interest in this. The museum in its new location was not allowed to have fly ins to help drum up support I was told at the time as some of the others museums do. Perhaps it has changed . This really hurts them in raising funds. They did have the board room of the Douglas company recreated and that was very interesting as it was a round table with a globe in the center. Had lunch at the Spitfire Grill with all the local employees and pilots hanging out there. I like these places , good food and the atmosphere is great as you can hear aircraft coming in and out, original buildings with old pics on the walls....

All pics are with my old I phone, so excuse the poor focus on some. 










They had the Yak years ago but in the other museum on the other side of the field. They said it does not have its engine in it and it was hanging from the roof supports. 
This cut away was really good. I think in the 90's they may have been the only ones with a WW2 Yak fighter in the entire USA. 






















I dug these up during a cleanup of old papers and junk and found these with the old Garber storage pics I posted recently. I remembered they had the Yak, Me109 and a SwordFish with wings folded back in the old museum and had forgotten about the Hurricane. I wonder where they all went? At least they kept the Yak. I had a pic of that board room as well I'll try to find... Very impressive with that globe in the center . If any one has one post it. or any pics of the old origonal museum as well.

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## Gnomey (Aug 10, 2021)

Good shots!


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