A Flight Into Naval Aviation History

Photos & Story by Greg Reigel

On May 18, 2013, a group of pilots, aviation junkies and Sun Country employees boarded a flight from Terminal 2 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport to the “cradle of aviation” – Pensacola, Florida. The Mission:  The National Naval Aviation Museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

This was the latest trip in a series of “aviation day-trips” coordinated by former military/airline/corporate pilot Malcom “Spook” Johns and hosted by Sun Country Airlines. Previous trips arranged by Spook included visits to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport, the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, as well as a previous visit to the Naval Aviation Museum. (My article on the Udvar-Hazy Center trip appeared in the June/July 2012 issue of Midwest Flyer Magazine.)

The cost for this particular aviation day-trip was $343.00 which included round trip airfare and bus transportation from the airport to the museum and back. Admission to the museum is free, although a donation to the museum is strongly encouraged, and definitely deserved.

Sun Country flight 8850 departed at 6:30 a.m. Although the MSP weather was overcast with steady rain, after a brief climb, our B737-700 aircraft broke out on top to sunny skies with the sun still low on the horizon to the east. We arrived in PNS shortly after 9 a.m., greeted by partly sunny skies and a temperature of almost 80 degrees. Certainly warmer than the cool and wet in MSP! We boarded coaches for the short drive to NAS Pensacola and, after several wrong turns (apparently the bus driver was not a local), we arrived at the Naval Aviation Museum.

When we entered the museum, we promptly learned that visitors were not allowed to carry backpacks inside;  presumably a security precaution implemented after the Boston Marathon bombers’ use of backpacks to transport and conceal their bombs. So, after retrieving the essentials and then stowing our backpacks back on the bus, it was time to see some airplanes!

The Pensacola museum, along with other Navy museums, is operated by the Naval History and Heritage Command and contains almost 355,000 square feet of exhibit space within its building with an additional 37 acres for outside displays. It is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, hosting over 150 aircraft and a variety of displays proudly representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Aviation.

Inside the main building, the first floor “Main Deck” hosts early aircraft, aircraft from World Wars I and II, an exact replica of the flight deck and superstructure of the USS Cabot CVL-28, and an atrium showcasing four Blue Angels A-4 Skyhawks in a diving diamond formation. All of the aircraft are beautifully restored and give you the sense it would only take a pre-flight walk-around and a run through the start-up checklist to bring them to life.

Just off the south wing of the Main Deck, the Cubi Bar Café entices visitors with the opportunity to experience what airmen serving in the south seas did at the Officer’s Club at Cubi Point in the Phillipines. The Cubi is reassembled from the actual bar as it was in the Phillipines and is decorated with more than 1,000 squadron and unit plaques and other military memorabilia. When you enter the Cubi, you truly do step back in time. And the food is really good too!

The upper level “Second Deck” of the museum includes World War II Carrier and Pacific exhibits and affords a bird’s-eye view of the aircraft displayed on the Main Deck. Additionally, the only thing missing from the Second Deck’s up-close and personal view the Blue Angels A-4s in the atrium is the roar of the engines and the smell of kerosene. It’s pretty amazing.

Other features on the Second Deck include a virtual carrier flight deck and lighter-than-air and space displays. Motion-based flight simulators, as well as 3D flight simulators and cockpit trainers, provide hands-on opportunities to experience Naval aviation. And if that wasn’t enough, the museum even has an art gallery with impressive aviation artwork.

The newest edition to the museum is a 55,000 square foot building designated “Hangar Bay One.” Within its walls are aircraft from the post-World War II era including a Lunar Excursion Module, a Marine One Presidential Helicopter (complete with what appears to be a former President Richard Nixon at work within), as well as aircraft flown in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. Women in Naval aviation are also represented, as are Coast Guard aircraft. And it looks like they still have some room for additional aircraft/exhibits.

The aircraft displayed on the museum’s flight line can also be toured with a guide via trolley. Inside the museum, free guided tours with retired military and volunteer guides walk visitors through Naval aviation history.

In addition to the static displays, the museum has its own Imax Theater where you can view and experience the museum’s “Magic of Flight” which features the Blue Angels. Although I didn’t watch the movie, based upon the rest of the museum, I have no doubt that the footage is breathtaking.

The museum definitely lives up to its reputation as being one of the largest aircraft displays in the world. As a result, it wasn’t possible to see all that I wanted to see during the visit. To truly see everything, I think the museum is probably a two-day experience. And, unfortunately, the museum did not escape the impact of the federal sequester. At the time of my visit, the archives were closed. Less than a month later, the Navy announced that the entire museum would be closed on Mondays beginning the week of July 8, although it otherwise plans to continue its normal business operations on weekends and holidays during the furlough period.

After a full day of experiencing the history of Naval aviation, our group boarded the coaches for the ride back to PNS. Later, Sun Country flight 8851 departed PNS at approximately 5:30 p.m. for the trip back to MSP. Not surprisingly, the cabin was fairly quiet for the return flight and we arrived back at MSP’s Terminal 2 shortly after 9:00 p.m.

On this particular aviation day-trip, it was both enlightening and humbling to be in the presence of such history and service. With its historical displays, current displays and naval aviator training, including the National Flight Academy, the National Naval Aviation Museum is truly a showcase for the past, present and future of Naval aviation.

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