The National Naval Aviation Museum

What a surprise! I knew about aircraft carriers, but thought that was something the Air Force was in charge of. I didn’t realize that the Navy had their own airplanes, or aviators either for that matter, so I you can imagine how I was blown away by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola -  the world’s largest Naval Aviation museum and one of the most-visited museums in the state of Florida.

 Naval Aviation’s rich history is on display and we saw more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation. Well, I say we saw that many because that is how many the brochure says they have and we saw them all – give or take a few. It is an amazing show of aviation throughout history.

These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft are displayed both inside the Museum’s nearly 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on its 37-acre grounds. Norm was especially delighted when he saw a model of the kind of ship he served on, The USS Estes and even more excited when he saw a mortar exactly like the one’s he, and other Pipe Fitter/Sheet Metal workers, turned into flashlights for a lighting display when some dignitaries came aboard in Singapore. Way cool!

We’ve spent two full days , so far, touring the museum and will probably go back one more time to catch the little parts we missed. If you’re ever in the Pensacola area this museum is a “must see.”

Living the dream!

Norm & Nancy