The CAF Museum in Midland, TX

[jjhoneck]

We are thinking about flying to Midland tomorrow, to tour the Commemorative Air Force museum.

Amazingly, their website says NOTHING about flying in. Can anyone shed any light on any special procedures we may need to follow? Can we taxi up to the museum? Can we park at the museum?

Thanks!

[Jrskygod]

You will not be able to taxi up to the museum as they keep the taxiway gate locked unless they are using it which is rare. Park at the FBO and walk over to the museum. Its not more than 5 blocks or so. If it was me I would call ahead to see what airplanes are on rotation there. There might not be anything you are interested in. The B24 is out as I saw it in Pensecola the other day. I believe the B29 is up at Addison at this time also.

[jjhoneck]

Originally Posted by Jrskygod

You will not be able to taxi up to the museum as they keep the taxiway gate locked unless they are using it which is rare. Park at the FBO and walk over to the museum. Its not more than 5 blocks or so. If it was me I would call ahead to see what airplanes are on rotation there. There might not be anything you are interested in. The B24 is out as I saw it in Pensecola the other day. I believe the B29 is up at Addison at this time also.

Yeah, I know the big bombers are out. That's okay -- we've seen them a bunch of times.

Is there any kind of food available at the museum? We'd like to get lunch while we are there.

Thanks for the info!

[jbDC9]

Nope, no food at the museum, but last summer I recall seeing a small lunch counter at the FBO. As previously mentioned, you can't park at the museum itself, so park at the FBO and walk it or bum a ride over.

[jjhoneck]

We flew in to Midland today, a good, solid 2.4 hour flight up from the coast.

It was a gorgeous day to fly, with zillion-mile visibility and smooth air above 6500'. There is absolutely, positively NOTHING between Port Aransas and Midland, except for scrub, mesquite, and some dry rivers, which gives you pause when you realize there aren't many choices if the big fan stops. Flight following was the order of the day.

We ate lunch at the little Mexican restaurant in the FBO. It was very good (I had the brisket burrito, and it was great), and were able to catch a shuttle from the FBO over to the museum, saving us a six block walk.

The CAF museum is outstanding, with many great exhibits about WWII, including the largest collection of authentic nose art in the world. In a moment of pure inspiration, the company that was paid to chop up many of the WWII bombers after the war was smart enough to save the nose art sections for posterity. They have now been restored and are on display at the museum.

It was a great flight, a productive visit with the FBO and museum people, and a fun and poignant visit to an excellent museum. Here are some pix from the day:














Then, after a good five-hour run, we changed the oil! Doesn't Mary looked thrilled?