San Diego Air and Space Museum

San Diego has had something for more than 70 years that I have often wished Los Angeles had. A dedicated and comprehensive Air and Space Museum. San Diego has been the site of significant aviation milestones and events. In addition to being considered the home of naval aviation, it also was home to Ryan aircraft which was probably best known for helping to design and build the Spirit of St. Louis for Charles Lindberg's solo trans-Atlantic flight. 

Los Angeles also has a long history of participation in aviation and space flight. Lockheed's Skunk Works developed the first jet fighter, the first stealth aircraft, and the fastest manned aircraft. The North American company developed the Apollo command and service modules that took the first men to the moon as well as the space shuttle. McDonnell Douglas both designed and built passenger airliners in Los Angeles County for decades. 

Despite this impressive history, Los Angeles has never had a comprehensive air and space museum. There was once a small museum, but the exhibits were merged into a much larger science center. It seems the desire for a dedicated museum does not currently exist. The California Science Center is building a museum extension to house its collection of aircraft and spacecraft including the Space Shuttle Endeavour. It will probably be many years until this extension will open to the public.

For this reason and others, I love visiting the San Diego Museum. The entrance features two aircraft. The Convair F2Y Sea Dart and the A12 Mach 3+ spy plane. There are many additional aircraft and spacecraft exhibits inside. I have added several photos of these below.