| Pima Air & Space Museum |
Avg. visitor rating:  (72 visitors) |
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PIMA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM -
The Pima Air & Space Museum (PASM)
features over 200 aircraft on display and has five
large
hangars totaling 100,000 square feet of exhibit
space. An original WWII barracks contains an
extensive
model collection, arranged chronologically, which
shows virtually all U. S. military aircraft from
pre-World
War I to the present.
The museum enjoys an international reputation as one of the best anywhere. For aviation enthusiasts of all ages, PASM brings history to life.
Pima Air Museum had the humblest of beginnings. The museum was conceived in 1966 and a year later the Tucson Air Museum Foundation was incorporated as an educational on-profit organization responsible for the operation of the museum. Ten years later, on May 8, 1976, the museum opened to the public as an official Bicentennial event. The tremendous effort involved in Opening the museum was put forth solely by volunteers. Picture if you will, 75 aircraft in a bare desert setting with the only structure on the ground being a small tin shack used to sell tickets.
Few tickets were sold during the first few months of operation but, today, about 165,000 visitors a year tour the museum.
The museum receives no government funds and is supported solely by gate admissions, gift shop sales, memberships and donations. However, the museum admits all school groups grade 12 and below, at no charge. Educational packets and docent tours for the school groups are provided to make the students' visit a rewarding one. Last year, over 6000 school age children visited the museum. PASM is continually enhancing its educational programs.
As you enter Hangar #1 after leaving the ticket counter, you move toward an exact replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the aircraft with which the Wright Brothers made history. Early aircraft such as the Waco RNF, Fleet Model 2 and the Focke-Wulf Fw-44J Stieglitz are also located in Hangar #1. Exhibits such as "Women in Aviation," "Blacks in Aviation" and a "hands-on" area are popular with those of all ages and are just a few of the exhibits located in this hangar. Out the north door of this building can be seen General Eisenhower's "Columbine" and the DC-6 used by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. The DC-6 is open for guided tours.
About 100 feet north of the DC-6 is the Space Gallery and Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame building. In 1991, the Foundation membership voted to change the museum's name to the Pima Air & Space Museum. The Space Gallery features a full-scale mock-up of the X-15, the rocket powered aircraft that broke the envelope of space.
In 1985, then Governor Bruce Babbitt, Pima County and the City of Tucson each issued a proclamation naming the museum as the location of the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame. To date, a total of 26 individuals have been inducted. Among the 26 are former Senator Barry Goldwater and astronaut Frank Borman.
Leaving the Space Gallery and walking southwest past the SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest jet aircraft, you arrive at Hangar #3. This hangar houses the B-24 Liberator bomber, one of about 12 known to exist, the B-25, A-26, TG-6 and other World War II-era aircraft. A new display, "World War II Combat Gliders" was dedicated on the 50th anniversary of D-Day June 6, 1994. Immediately south of this building is Hangar #4 which houses the B-29 and C-46 aircraft, among others. A formal dedication was held in October during a reunion of the 330th Bomb Group to which this B-29 was assigned during World War II.
The 390th Memorial Museum is located in the center of the grounds and houses the B-17. Its exhibits detail the unit's World War II operations in the European Theater while assigned to the 8th Air Force. It is a museum within a museum
With about 65 acres of display area, comfortable shoes are a must. A walk through the museum takes about three hours but one could easily spend all day. A tram operates daily weather permitting. Cost is $2 and the tram ticket is valid for the entire day.
The Pima Air & Space Museum is located at 6000 E. Valencia Road and is open every day (except Christmas and Thanksgiving Day) from 9 AM to $ PM with the last admittance at 4 PM. Admission charges are: Adults $6.00, Seniors/Military $5.00, Juniors 10-17 $3.00 and children 9 and under are free
Reviews / Comments by our visitors
| John cliffe Stoke-on-Trent, Great Britain, |  Excellent museum and very well-staffed with people who know about airplanes, if you visit take the "boneyard" bus-tour from the museum, well worth the few dollars its costs. Plenty to see, easy to walk around the exhibits and photogragh, this museum has it all !!!!!!!!!. After that drive over the Titan museum worth the drive. 10/06/2007 @ 04:46 [ref: 6372] |
| kirk conway alton, Kansas | I came by the museum last week on the 26th, and i was really Impressed by all the aircraft, and the people that were working there, i had a good time talking to john at the front entrance, and bob that flew in nam with jet's, It was really neat to talk to them, 06/30/2007 @ 18:44 [ref: 6025] |
| Len Kester , New York | A friend told me about this museum and I expected it to be good but not great. I was very pleasantly surprised.It is outstanding ! Definitely world class. I'd put it at #3 in the nation after AF Museum and Naval Aviation Museum. 04/09/2007 @ 12:56 [ref: 5797] |
| amir saleem rawalpindi, | i visited pima space and air museum during my recent visit to tucson arizona i found it most interesting especially it was a wounderful experiance to watch john f kennedy personal aircraft many types of big aircraft parked over there. 04/07/2007 @ 07:17 [ref: 5791] |
| Ken Dallas, Texas | I have visited Pima Air Museum starting back in the 1960s; the displays are great; however on the "Aviation Enthusiast Corner" web page they are showing a Lockheed T-1A (T2V-1)"Seastar" as Beech T-1A. The BuNo is correct for a Locheed T-1A. 03/15/2007 @ 09:09 [ref: 5738] |
| Scott Novi, Michigan | What a great museum! Pima is the third largest aviation museum in the country. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. If you get a chance to go, take the tram tour of the outdoor displays. Pima also offers bus tours of AMARC, which is a must for a military aviation fanatic such as myself. The B-36 is still in restoration but is viewable. The tour guide states that they hoped to get the fuselage attached this week. 02/12/2007 @ 09:45 [ref: 5611] |
| Fred Platteborze Otsego, Michigan |  Havn't made it to museum yet .Looking forward to it this year.Was hoping to find UH2A helo and ec121K super connie.Flew in both early 60s.Iceland and Lakehurst NJ. 02/06/2007 @ 12:47 [ref: 5597] |
| Bernie Brown Auburn, New York | We visited in August 06 and the other reviews pretty much say it all!! If you love aircraft you have to see this place. To stand under the wing of the B52 that dropped the X15 was amazing,but there's that kind of thrill wherever you look! The people of the museum can be proud of their aircraft,and also of their emphasis on aviation history. 01/21/2007 @ 13:06 [ref: 5556] |
| Evan Bassford Bend, Oregon | They have every thing! If you want to know something about a plane you go ther and you came out every question aswered and then some. The tours are very well presentated and they would make even a nitwit understand a thing or two about an airplane.Very friendly! Be sure to have a few rolls of flilm with you for all of the pictures I know you will take. Check out the SR-71 Blackbird! 11/19/2006 @ 10:34 [ref: 5432] |
| Charles russell Whitianga, Wisconsin | The other half and I flew over from New Zealand to Oshkosh this year. We eventually made it to the museum for a day. It needed to be longer! I was blown away the the shear numbers of differing aircraft you have there. It was like being a kid in a lolly shop. The heat does not worry me, so wandering about and touching all those wonderful machines was like being in heaven. I was fascinated to see and photograph a Fairy Gannet in your collection, and could not imagine how it came to be there. Entering the hangar dedicated to the last world war, I chatted with an old boy in a motorised wheelchair. He had worked significantly on the beautiful B29 now safely housed out of the elements and told me some of the tricks he got up to in order to get funding for its refurbishment. I could have listened to him for a week! You have not only one of the most extensive and remarkable collections of aircraft in the World, but some of the most interesting and knowledgeable\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'old coots\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' available to discuss them. I fully intend to come back and spend more time at this treasure trove. Your work is incalculable and I take my hat off to you. Even our guide on the bus into the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Boneyard\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' was an ex-pilot with more anecdotes about flying than one could shake a stick at. I would love to contact these guys and ask them more about their experiences in the past. This knowledge is rapidly disappearing as they all fade away. If you do have any of these guys willing to spend some time chatting to me, I would love to hear from them. You have an absolute treasure on your hands. Don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t take it for granted. Warmly Yours Charles Russell (Bum pilot and instructor) 09/08/2006 @ 18:38 [ref: 5240] |
External pages about this museum
| http://www.pimaair.org/ |
Last updated: 02/14/00.
Send corrections/additions by e-mail to museum-info@brooklyn.cuny.edu