The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
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,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, is one of the world's largest non-government funded
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and ast ...
museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus occupying 127 acres (513,000 m²). It has also been the home to the
Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame
Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame (AAHOF) is located in the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona which recognises Arizona's "Excellence in Aviation". The Aviation Hall of Fame exhibit is located in the honored ''Dorothy Finley Space Gallery'' on t ...
since 1991.
Overview
A large number of the museum's aircraft are displayed outside with the remainder located in one of the museum's four display hangars.
In addition to the display hangars, the museum has a restoration hangar.
Opened to the public in May 1976 with 48
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...
then on display, the Museum's main hangar houses an
SR-71A Blackbird, an
A-10 Warthog, a
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
''Through the Years'' exhibit, and a mock-up of a control tower.
The museum is adjacent to
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The 309th
Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), affiliated with the base, also known as the "Graveyard of Planes" or "The Boneyard", is the largest
aircraft storage and preservation facility in the world.
History
The museum opened to the public on May 8, 1976. In early 1982 the first hangar on the site was completed. A second was built in 1987, a third in 1992, and a fourth in 1994.
In 2012, the museum collaborated with artists, in ''The Boneyard Project'', to place some abandoned aircraft on display as canvases for art.
During 2015,
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
donated to the museum the second
787 aircraft to be built. It is exhibited in the colors of the 787 customer,
ANA.
In November 2016,
Orbis International donated their first
McDonnell-Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.
The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
Flying Eye Hospital to the museum, after receiving a second DC-10 from FedEx. The DC-10, which was the oldest flying example of its type and at the time of its donation, while being the oldest surviving example and the second overall built, was restored for display at
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base.
The museum acquired in January 2021 for the construction of the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum. The new museum will house a large number of mostly land vehicles, including 50 donated by the
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
.
Selected aircraft on display
Out of a collection of 300 aircraft, these are the most prominent:
*
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...
*
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Thea ...
*
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
*
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
*
Convair B-36J Peacemaker
*
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...
*
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by the United States Air Force ...
*
Martin PBM Mariner
*
North American F-107
*
Aero Spacelines Super Guppy
*
Boeing 747-100
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
*
Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
*
Douglas DC-10
B-17G serial number 44-85828 is on display at the 390th Memorial Museum, co-located on the grounds of the Pima Air & Space Museum.
In addition to other ephemera, the museum contains the
Shuttle Mission Simulator
Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) was an umbrella term for three separate simulators for training Space Shuttle crews at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The simulators were the MBS (''Motion Base Simulator''), the FBS (''Fixed Base Simulator''), a ...
's GNS (Guidance and Navigation Simulator) trainer, and a full-size mockup of the
Solid Rocket Booster
A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a large solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and space shuttle, have used SRBs to gi ...
.
See also
*
List of aerospace museums
This is a list of aviation museums and museums that contain significant aerospace-related exhibits throughout the world. The aviation museums are listed alphabetically by country and their article name.
Afghanistan
* OMAR Mine Museum, Kabul - inc ...
*
Pinal Airpark
References
External links
*
The Boneyard Project Eric Firestone Gallery, Tucson. Includes narrated video/slide show.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pima Air and Space Museum
Aerospace museums in Arizona
Culture of Tucson, Arizona
Buildings and structures in Tucson, Arizona
Museums in Tucson, Arizona
Landmarks in Tucson, Arizona
Military and war museums in Arizona
Aviation halls of fame
Museums established in 1976
1976 establishments in Arizona