The San Diego Air & Space Museum lay a the very end of Pan American Plaza. It was a short walk from the Bandstand and El Prado Street. Open seven days a week, it cost US $24.00 per adult with an extra charge for special presentations, such as the "Aliens Among Us" exhibit.

The front entry greeted the visitor with a friendly sign:

Welcome to the San Diego Air & Space Museum

Open Daily 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Doors close at 4:00 p.n.

NO
Food or Beverages
Smoking
Pets
(Service companion dogs only)
Bags
(Includes handbags and diaper bags limited to 12 by 12 by 12)
Shoes with Wheels

Thank you for your cooperation

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The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM)   •  Balboa Park   •  2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego California   •  (Photo posted Sunday 20 March 2011)   •  (Photo taken 15:22:00 Thursday 14 October 1010)   •  © 2011 Bryan Costales #BCY_0429
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A flyable replica of the original Spirit Of St. Louis was on display just inside the entrance. Their original replica was destroyed by arson in 1978. The museum built a replacement named Spirit 3 which first flew on April 28, 1979; it made seven flights before being placed on display.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew over the entry door. This one was an medium altitude, long endurance (MALE) MQ-1 Predator, a hunter-killer UAV.

Examples of space suits were on display just inside the entrance. Here was a display case with an example of the space suit worn on the original moon landings.

A temporary curved wall had been built to separate the special exhibit of Aliens On Earth from the regular exhibits. The special exhibit cost more and was on the other side of the temporary wall. On the non-paying side were portraits of famous flight personalities and cases displaying flight memorabilia.

A World War I biplane was on exhibit with its fabric skin removed. Wood was used for its light weight. The construction was externally braced, having struts and/or bracing wires. These elements gave added strength without excess weight, but they did add unwanted aerodynamic drag.

Société Anoyme pour l'Aviation et ses Dérives (SPAD). At the height of the first world war in 1916, swiss engineer Marc Birkigt introduced a water-cooled 150-horsepower V-8 engine for use in aircraft. It was fitted into the SPADD VII and by 1917 that plane came to rule the skies above France.

One case displayed the documents of a World War I pilot. The was the record for the pilot named G. E. Hewson.

One whole section of the museum was dedicated to commercial aviation. Here was an exhibit of the planes, attire, and customs of that early era.

The Ryan ST-3KR, US Army Air Corps PT-22 evolved from the popular Ryan STA "Sport Trainer" and incorporated refinements to the design that resulted in a rugged and easily maintained military trainer.

The center of the museum was a huge covered rotunda. Inside it were several large aircraft and spacecraft hung from the ceiling. In the center was a fountain, the design of which was echoed in the standing floor lamps.

A man stood by the entry/exit to the rotunda and took a photograph. That man, when used to gauge scale, demonstrated how huge the rotunda was.

This wide angle shot illustrated the quality of the exhibits. Here was a exquisitely restored biplane on a tile floor surrounded by a glass fence and labeled with quality signs. Note the blue bucket.

In one section of the museum it was possible to walk up short flights of stairs to view the cut-away internals of aircraft. Here was the cut away interior of a bomber's cockpit.

Another exhibit illustrated the size difference between the first aircraft carrier such as the HMS Argus (I49) and a modern, vastly larger aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers are generally the largest ships operated by navies.

The museum ended with an exhibit of the space age and its passive and active space craft.

An example of one of the Apollo spacecraft that was sent to the moon. Odd to consider that the US space effort peaked in ambition in 1972 with its Apollo program.