Florida air Museums - Pensacola NAS Naval AIR Museum

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Kyushuj7w

Airman 1st Class
A road trip in 2018 down to the guld coast. Some other smaller museums aloong the way well worth seeing if you get the chance. Here you can see some of the sole examples left of naval aircraft . Go to theor web sites for more information

A great museum, every bit as good as the USAF Museum in Dayton just smaller as they don't need space to display B-29's , 36's, 47's, 52's and ICBM's
This museum is free but don't trust your google maps as it takes you to the wrong entrance. Get the exact entrance address from their web site. Just show photo ID at the guard gate. They do charge for some of the "experiences" like flight simulators and an Imax theater but there are often speakers or some other event happening so you can spend a day here easily by taking your time. he Blue Angles practice here as well as other naval air students, so you can watch this in the stands. We missed one of these practices so I can't say how good they are or close they come to the stands they come. They have a small restaurant that is not over priced and a gift shop. They also have a shuttle ride to the back 40 that is full of aircraft on the restoration list. Many of these individual aircraft have some stories of their own. Well worth the stop and from there you can head over to the USS Alabama - Submarine Drum and the Aircraft and Armour on display about an hour away in Mobile. Have dinner in their down town historic area as they have some nice old parks. Sort of like a small less boisterous and cleaner version of New Orleans. More on that in the National WWII Museum post.


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The back 40 lot and odds and ends. Each of these aircraft has a story and a link to a special event. The docent give a good talk on them. You stay in the trolley btw. A lot more here than I have pics. My battery died in the museum. TY took these. They give you a ticket for the shuttle. Get one early ( no cost) a volunteer will tell you a bit about each aircraft as you drive by . Ours was a former carrier pilot. Interesting guys all these docents who work the museum.


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Not sure how I missed this one earlier

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Nixon would not come out for a photo op but we did get to see all the great souvenirs you get if you get a ride on this bird. I guess that stopped the one time passengers from stealing the ash trays.

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Is that a real Zero or a reproduction? Is that an N3N with floats? Some beautiful aircraft there. Love the Wildcats and the Neptune P2V is sentimental fave. They used to fly around the old neighborhood when I was growing up.
 
Is that a real Zero or a reproduction? Is that an N3N with floats? Some beautiful aircraft there. Love the Wildcats and the Neptune P2V is sentimental fave. They used to fly around the old neighborhood when I was growing up.
All the WW2 and post aircraft are real ... Some WW1 may be repro . This is where several aircraft that used to be outside at the NAS Willow Grove museum just noth of Philly ended up.
 
Cool.
I gotta' drag the wife with me down there.
That's the beauty of the area. Take her down and park her on the very nice sandy beach on the panhandle if that's her thing. Take her to breakfast point her to the beach or outlet mall then head to the museum, close it down and come back to take her to nice dinner and an evening beach walk. There is a small museum at an airforce base near the coast but I did to get to it. DON'T TAKE HER TO THE MUSEUM



.....nothing like lingering by an exhibit reading the poster only to hear a long sigh behind you. My wife used to say let go to Florida but only wants to sit on the beach reading a book under an umbrella all day. That's all, no sight seeing etc. Jesus Christ and General Jackson woman.... We can do that for free by driving 1 hour east of the house and gamble away our savings in Atlantic city.

Mobile Alabama and the battleship, submarine and air museum is an hour and a half ( about 60 miles) away from Pensacola depending on where you stay. Better yet go with another couple and she will be kept even busier New Orleans is too far a haul to go from Pensacola or IMO Mobile. Pull up stakes after 3 days and say hey I'm taking you to the French Qtr. :) RInse and repeat the process.
 
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