When I was a little boy, I would get to occasionally go to the Portland International Airport with my grandpa and watch planes take off and land. We would spend the time talking about the types of planes, aviation history, and how aeronautics work as the aircraft would come and go. We would see 737s, 747s, 757s, DC-10s, National Guard jets, C-130 Hercules, and once even the Concord come and go from the airport. It really was a lot of fun and planted the seeds for a lifelong interest in aviation that continues to this day.
The Palm Springs Air Museum is found just a couple of hours from Orange County. Unsurprisingly, it is at the Palm Springs Airport. It exists to be “a living history museum dedicated to educating the public about the role Air Power played in preserving American liberties and way of life.” The museum has over 75 vintage airframes including aircraft from the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, military planes from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the War on Terror, along with multiple civilian aircraft on display as well. Many of these plans are still airworth and flown regularly. The museum is also now home to Walt Disney’s old plane, also known as “The Mouse.”
This plane is a Grumman Gulfstream I that was built for Walt Disney who acquired it in 1963. The original interior had creative input from Walt and Lillian Disney. It could seat 15 people and had a a galley kitchen, two restrooms, two couches, a desk, along with numerous nods to the mouse that started it all. Knowing the plane was now on display at the Palm Springs Air Museum, we made the trek out to see it! Time the trip right to avoid traffic and this only takes a couple of hours.
We arrived at the museum in the early afternoon expecting to zip through the museum and really focus on Walt’s plane. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The museum is packed with planes and is an incredible experience for aviation and history lovers alike.
Outside of the entrance to the museum, there are several historic jets on display around the parking lot. There are also a couple of memorials with statues on either side of the entrance. Once inside the building, there is a small and unassuming gift shop where tickets can be purchased, or stickers picked up if tickets were purchased online (highly suggested!).
Stickers acquired, it was time to enter the museum. The museum is made up of complex of hangers with planes both inside and outside. The entry is through a hallway that ends with an option to go right or to go left. As luck would have it, we went left and soon found ourself in a hanger that was packed full vintage planes from the mid 1900s. This included some planes from World War II, some exhibits mostly about World War II, and also Walt’s Plane and accompanying exhibit.
Walking into the hangar was almost overwhelming as the planes are packed quite close to each other. There are also are no ropes keeping guests away from planes. Instead, everything is available for guests to wander around, explore, and see up close. This includes Walt’s plane! Being able to walk around and under the planes really made them feel more than just museum pieces and added so much to the experience. In fact, I would say it makes the difference between a good museum and a great one. Docents were around that were more than willing to answer questions that might come up about the planes and the history surrounding them.
While there were many incredible planes in this particular hangar, seeing Walt’s plane and getting to walk around and under it really was pretty cool. I had seen it at the D23 Expo earlier in the year but this was different. At the D23 Expo, guests weren’t allowed to get too close to the plane (this was a good idea with the number of people trying to see it there!). Getting right up next to it brought the history of this plane to life even more in a completely different way that completely surprised me. A silhouette of Walt could be seen in one Window. There were also pictures of the pilots in the cockpit as well. Eventually, the interior of the plane will be renovated as well and guests will hopefully be able to peek inside!
Walt’s plane wasn’t the only awesome plane, however. There were planes from all sorts of eras in the different hangers and out on the tarmac that could be explored. There was also the front of a transport that could be climbed up and into. For such a big plane, it was surprising how tight everything was in the cockpit. There were places for the pilot and co-pilot, and then two positions behind them facing the rear at a desk. This could have been for a radio operator and engineer perhaps? This was in a hangar that had a lot of Vietnam War-era aircraft. This hangar also had an exhibit dedicated to a Learjet that was used in many movies and for many celebrities. One movie that I was very pleased to see it was a part of was The In-Laws with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. This jet was used in one of the funniest scenes, in my opinion, the “serpentine” scene. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a classic goofy comedy that is worth checking out! This hangar also had a Bell H-13 Sioux, which very much reminded me of watching MASH!
Continuing through the different hangars, one had a Lockheed F–117 Nighthawk. Growing up, this was technology that was considered Top Secret and I almost felt like I would get in trouble just being so close to it! Outside of its hangar, there were multiple planes parked on the tarmac including a Grumman F-14A Tomcat, a Sikorsky H34 Helicopter, a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter, and a Consolidated PBY Catalina. This last one reminded me of my World War II reading and studying, particularly the Battle of Midway.
On the other side of the museum, a massive Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that was used in the movie Memphis Belle as the title plane was the centerpiece. There were multiple planes found in this hangar as well, including what I think was a B-25 Mitchell Bomber and a Supermarine Spitfire Mark XIV. Continuing through this hangar into the next space there was another Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that was being renovated. For $5, guests could climb aboard the plane and see the interior.
Outside on the tarmac, there were several planes in front of the center of the museum. The centerpiece of this area was a beautiful Douglas C-47/DC-3 Skytrain. This was a transport that was heavily used during World War II and this particular plane looked beautiful in front of the air museum. It really brought my imagination to life as I could imagine this plane in use back in the day. In particular, I thought of paratroopers jumping out of the plane on D-Day and then later the planes landing every 30 seconds during the Berlin Airlift. Getting to walk around and under this aircraft really was an incredible experience.
There were other planes out in the center area of the air museum’s tarmac, including a North American P-51D Mustang. I found myself just wandering around between the planes on the tarmac as I watched modern airliners and private jets take off and land at the runway that was just a fence and a taxiway distant. As I just enjoyed being on the tarmac and near these historic and incredible airplanes, I couldn’t help but think back to the days with grandpa as we would watch the planes come and go from Portland International Airport.
The Palm Springs Air Museum really is a great place to visit and experience. With the wide variety of planes (many of which fly, some which you can pay to fly in!), there is something for everyone. There are aircraft from military history, movie history, presidential history, and even an X-Wing to play and take pictures on. It is definitely worth taking the day to drive down to Palm Springs to check out! If you are an aviation geek, it’s probably worth driving down more than once! I know I want to go back on a day when they have planes in the air!
Palm Springs Air Museum is located at:
PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM
745 N. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 778-6262 /
Tickets and information can be found at: PalmSpringsAirMuseum.org. There is also more about Walt’s Plane and the Disney connection found here on dapsmagic.com.
