Independent guide and review of Florida as a holiday destination

Florida Air Museums

There are a number of aircraft and aviation museums in Florida and the first indication of this might be the sight of a giant Boeing B-52D Stratofortress displayed at Orlando International airport.

UPDATE - The Flying Tigers Museum in Kissimmee has closed and is moving to Douglas in Georgia following severe damage from Hurricane Charley

If you are at all interested in military warbirds or home built aircraft, want to fly in a vintage aircraft or helicopter or even learn how to restore old aeroplanes, then Florida is the place to be.

North American Harvard

North American T-6G Texan (Harvard) N51987 at Kissimmee

Florida has several museums which have been responsible for the recovery and rebuilding of a number of historic aircraft, particularly from the Second World War period.

Tom Reilly from the Flying Tigers Museum in Kissimmee and Kermit Weeks at Fantasy of Flight are two good examples of people who have dedicated many years of work to restoring old aircraft.

With the help of their teams, they have restored dozens of old warbirds including bombers like the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator and B-25 Mitchell plus fighters like the P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning.

If you are in the Panhandle region of Florida, then there are two excellent air museums in the area; namely the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola and the Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin Air Force Base.

The aircraft museums of Florida do seem to have suffered from some of the recent hurricanes (the Flying Tigers Museum in Kissimmee and the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station have both been damaged recently) so it is worthwhile checking with the museum before making a special visit.

Air Commandos Memorial Air Park, Hurlburt Field
DeLand Naval Air Station Museum, DeLand
Fantasy of Flight, Polk City
Florida Air Museum, Lakeland (formerly called Sun 'n Fun Museum)
Flying Tigers Warbird Restoration Museum, Kissimmee (now closed)
National Museum of Naval Aviation, N.A.S. Pensacola
U.S. Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB
Valiant Air Command, Titusville
Wings over Miami Air Museum, Miami