National Naval Aviation Museum

National Naval Aviation Museum

Location within Florida
Former name	National Museum of Naval Aviation and Naval Aviation Museum
Established	1962
Location	Pensacola, Florida
Coordinates	30°20′58″N 87°18′13″W / 30.349580°N 87.303582°W / 30.349580; -87.303582
Type	U.S. Navy
Director	Captain Sterling Gilliam, Jr.
Website	www.navalaviationmuseum.org

The Blue Angels Atrium in the National Naval Aviation Museum

The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

Overview

The museum is devoted to the history of naval aviation, including that of the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Coast Guard. Its mission is "to select, collect, preserve and display" appropriate memorabilia representative of the development, growth and historic heritage of United States Naval Aviation.^[1] More than 150 aircraft and spacecraft are on display, including four former Blue Angels A-4 Skyhawks, the Curtiss NC-4 (the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic), U. S. Coast Guard helicopters, biplanes, a K-47 Airship control gondola and tail fin, an aircraft that President George H. W. Bush trained in, and the S-3 Viking used to transport President George W. Bush to the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003 (see Navy One). These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft are displayed both inside the Museum's 300,000 square feet (30,000 m²) of exhibit space and outside on the Museum's 37-acre (150,000 m²) grounds. The museum also functions in coordination with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM or NAVAIR) as the Navy's program manager for nearly all other retired Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aircraft on display aboard U.S. military installations in the United States or overseas, or in numerous other museums or public displays. In a similar manner to U.S. Air Force aircraft on loan from the NMUSAF's collection which remain under official USAF ownership, these other American-preserved naval aircraft continue to remain the property of the Department of the Navy and are typically identified at these locations as being "On Loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum."

In addition to the displays, the museum features a Giant Screen Theater, flight sims, Blue Angels 4D Experience, museum store, and cafe. The Cubi Point Café is itself an exhibit as it displays squadron memorabilia from the closed NAS Cubi Point Officers' Club.^[2]

Adjacent to the museum is the National Flight Academy, a four-story simulated aircraft carrier housing over 30 networked flight simulators. Throughout the summer, more than 200 students (7th through 12th grade) from across the nation attend the National Flight Academy's 6-day program, designed to inspire attendees to pursue a future in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).^[3]

The museum is supported by a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization, the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.^[4] Since 1966, this foundation has raised tens of millions of dollars to construct the museum, build exhibits, recover and restore aircraft, and develop educational programs like the National Flight Academy.

Practice demonstrations by the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, may be viewed from the museum most Tuesday and Wednesday mornings between March and November. These practices are weather permitting, and a tentative practice schedule may be viewed on the Blue Angels' website.

Captain Robert L. Rasmussen, a retired Navy captain, former Navy fighter pilot and former Blue Angels demonstration pilot, was the former director and reported to the Naval History & Heritage Command. He hand-sculpted many of the statues and painted many of the watercolor and oil paintings in the museum as well. He retired in 2014 and was replaced by Captain Sterling Gilliam, Jr.^[5]

History

The museum was established 14 December 1962 with the initial facility located in a cramped 8,500 square foot building aboard the air station that had been erected during World War II and which was dedicated in June 1963. The Phase I portion of the current facility was dedicated Sunday 13 April 1975, although it had been informally open since November 1974. Construction of the new location began in November 1972.^[1] The Phase II portion was completed in 1980, followed by the Phase III portion in 1990.^[6]

The museum and some of its aircraft on display outside were damaged by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.^[7]

Collection

F-14A Tomcat in front of the National Naval Aviation Museum (front-left view)

F-14A Tomcat on display in front of the National Naval Aviation Museum (right side view)

See also

• Naval Aviation Hall of Honor

References

• "Newly completed museum traces naval aviation history over 64-year span" (PDF), Grumman Plane News, 34 (16), pp. 1, 4, 6, 12 September 1975, retrieved 18 December 2017

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Naval Aviation Museum.

• National Naval Aviation Museum official website
• National Flight Academy