The National Naval Aviation Museum is a great place to visit if you’re passing through Pensacola, but if not they still have a strong online collection that is worth a look.
Exhibitions and Collections has descriptions of current exhibits with photographs along with Online Exhibits with some fantastic stories and insights. There is a huge database of digitized photographs and documents that you can search or browse.
The Aircraft on display section is a personal favorite with a complete listing of the aircraft at the museum. For most of these on the list you can open up a description of the aircraft along with history, interesting facts, photographs and technical information. It’s like an airplane library. (Unfortunately you can’t check any out!)
Aviation museums are a great way to interest young people in aviation. As the current pilot ranks age, more and more opportunities arise for anyone interested in aviation.
Aviation museums can serve a critical role in encouraging interest in aviation history, and pointing the way to the future.
John M. White