The Palm Springs Air Museum
The Palm Springs Air Museum is on the East side of the main runway at the Palm Springs Airport. Travelling North on Gene Autry Trail about one kilometer from Ramon Road you will see the Museum on the West side of the road. Lots of parking and several aircraft outside the entrance make the experience very inviting.
The Museum is easy to find. Just turn of Ramon Road and go North on Gene Autrey Trail about one kilometer. Planes and this sign will greet you.
If you are not interested in airplanes you can stop now. You will not enjoy this post! It was on our fifth day here in Palm Spring when I went of for the day by myself to look at the airplanes in the Palm Springs Air Museum.
The Air Museum is on the east side of the Palm Springs airport right across the main runway from the passenger terminal. It is located in several hangars where aircraft from the Second World War to the Gulf War are arranged. Some are in pristine condition and some are in a state of disrepair and awaiting restoration. Since my last visit the collection has expanded considerably.
I spent the best part of the day just wandering amongst the planes. They are mostly sitting out where you can walk up to them, around them, and touch them. It is a very tactile experience.
As I wandered I took hundreds of pictures and this is a small selection of them.
On the flight line here is a McDonnell-Douglass F-4 Phantom and a Grumman F-14 Tomcat. It was a beautiful day but there was a strong wind from the North that was blowing billows of fine dust/sand across the field. I understand why the aircraft all had fitted plugs in all openings.
Grumman F9F Panther, the US Navy’s first successful jet powered carrier based fighter.
Not all of the aircraft are in great repair. Some, like this Consolidated PBY Catalina, are undergoing restoration which can considerable time since most of the work is done by volunteers. Restoration includes conservation and for this the planes are stripped down and taken apart so that they can be thoroughly cleaned and painted with protective material before reassembly. This PBY has the leading and trailing edges of the wings removed as well as the engine cowlings and propellers.
ch of the collection is parket in several hangars along the airport. There were many more aircraft parked out doors on the tarmack. Some were inaccessible in a maintenance area and the rest were available to examine. Most were in better than new condition.
In the hangers were two B-17’s as well as dozens of other aircraft, many of which appeared to be flight worthy. There were so many that they were packed tightly together and it was difficult getting a clear photograph of them. But again, I was able to walk around them, look into them, and touch them. With the bombers I was able to go under them and stand up in the bomb bays and look at the internal construction.
There was too much to see in one visit. All the displays had lots of written material and there were TV screens everywhere playing instructional videos.
the Grumman F7F Tigercat was sitting inn a back corner of the hangar with other aircraft all around it. It was hard to get a clear photograph.
Whenn I was inn high school I built a model of the F7F. Unfortunately I went off to University before I could fly it and I had to sell it.
Vought Chance F4U Corsair
Grumman F8F Bearcat
North American Aviation P-51 Mustang
The Curtis P-40 Warhawk did not have the fame of the Mustang and Spitfire but it was a workhorse used throughout World War II.
In wartime service these aircraft never looked like this. They were just machines and like all machinery the finish was secondary to their use.
This B-17 is painted to resemble the famous Memphis Belle but this is not the actual aircraft. That B-17 is part of the collection of the National Museum of the United States Airforce. This is the same model, the B-17F as the original.
On the left is the B-17G of which almost 8700 were built. This was the last major variant to see service in the Second War. It can be identified by the distinctive nose turrent under the front of the fuselage. This aircraft is cared for like a jewel. Above is an image of myself reflected in the aluminium skin just in front of the tail. No service craft ever looked like this!
The Grumman F4F Wildcat is.the fighter with which the United States Navy entered the Second World War. Although not on par with the aircraft developed during the war it was produced in large numbers throughout the war.
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
Bell P-63 King Cobra
A very late model Spitfire. Not sure which.
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.
One of the most impressive displays in the museum is housed in its own canvas prefab hanga of a type used by the US Air Force. This is the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk..First flown in 1981 it became operational in 1983 as America’s first “stealth” attack aircraft. Of the 64 built, only 59 were production versions and the others were prototypes or test beds. It was rertired from active service in 2008.
This is the engine on a beautiful Beoing-Stearman PT-17 army trainer. Over 10,000 were built before and during World War II. In the prop’s spinner you can see an image of me reflected.
Moving in closer to the spinner we get a much clearer image of me. This aircraft is immaculate and wears civilian colors now. I am not certain but I think this plane is flightworthy and it woud be joy to fly!
And that was my trip to the Air Museum. There was so much more I photographed and so much I could have photographed but time and space are limited. From these few pictures you can see this is a great place for airplane lovers. They even offer flights in some of these old planes. But they are expensive running $400 to $700 US dollars per hour. I would love to do it but think of how many cameras that money will buy. Besides, you have to book ahead and I didn’t do it. I think that is for the best.
The collection has grown considerably since my last visit in 2015 so I think it is probably a good idea to keep coming back. There is so much to see and one visit will certainly not do it.
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