Hangars House Flying Heritage

Joshua and Nicholas Whiteley are on cloud nine at the Museum of Flying.

The boys, ages 8 and 6, have seen the movie , says their dad, Joe, referring to “Pearl Harbor,” and both are mesmerized by real World War II artifacts.

Because of “Pearl Harbor” and a summer filled with historical wartime TV specials, air museums with historic aircraft are at their height in popularity. Before landing in Los Angeles on vacation, the Whiteleys, of Honolulu, researched the Santa Monica museum on the Web ( https://www.museumofflying.com ) and knew about its World War II aircraft.

“It’s nice because it has real flyable planes,” says Joe. “They look like they’re ready to roll out and fly.”

And they do, for special events, for demonstrations and for good grades (one weekend a month, kids who get A’s in academic subjects get a free ride).

The rest of the time, the planes are suspended or parked throughout the three-story museum, formerly a Douglas Aircraft engineering building. The place is also packed with historic photographs and military effects along with an overall history of flight.

The museum is just one of the numerous Southland facilities dedicated to restoring historic aircraft and/or preserving the nation’s military flight history--and, occasionally, inspiring kids who want to fly.

Among the museum’s most prized possessions is a Japanese Zero, one of only three in flying condition in the world. The plane was shipped to Hawaii for use in “Pearl Harbor,” reaping coveted rental fees for the nonprofit museum. The movie’s producers also recruited three planes from the Palm Springs Air Museum, which has more than two dozen aircraft in flying condition. It typically takes years for mostly volunteer staffs at such museums to restore aircraft like the P-40 or the Spitfire, both used in the film and key weapons for the Allies during World War II.

The Air Museum Planes of Fame in Chino, one of the oldest air museums in the country, has been restoring aircraft since the 1950s, when founder Edward Maloney saw that the historic planes were being cut up for scrap. Because the various air museums have the same goal--to preserve the aircraft and flight history--they often swap goods, says Dan Ryan, director of the Museum of Flying.

It’s also important to share the planes’ histories with the public, says Jean McKay, an Air Force veteran and a volunteer at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. McKay rattles off the specifications of the planes in her museum with the ease of a drill sergeant. She likes being in the company of other museum volunteers, most of whom were military pilots, engineers or in aerospace, but her favorite part of the job is informing young museum visitors.

“This is something we need to preserve for our young people,” McKay says, “so we don’t forget.”

Most of the air museums promote education and offer programs for all ages. On Saturday, the Santa Monica Museum of Flying will present a one-woman show based on the life of Bessie Coleman, America’s first black aviatrix, at 3 p.m. in the museum theater. Call (310) 392-8822 or check the Web site for details.

At the Planes of Fame, talks and flight demonstrations are held the first Saturday of each month, weather permitting. The next program, Sept. 1, will spotlight German World War II aircraft. Call (909) 597-3722 or check https:// www.planesoffame.org for more information.

In Palm Springs, educational programs and flight demonstrations are offered Saturdays from October through June at the museum. Call (760) 778-6262, Ext. 222 or go to https:// www.palmspringsairmuseum.org .

Pat Brown, information officer for the Confederate Air Museum at Camarillo Airport, believes one of the best ways young people can learn about aircraft is to help restore old planes. So at the Camarillo museum, teens work alongside retirees and veterans to piece the planes together. The volunteers are currently restoring a B-25 Bomber, a model used in the Jimmy Doolittle raid on Japan.

“Most military museums don’t keep them in flying condition; they just keep them on static display,” Brown says. “Here, you can see them fly, hear the noise, recognize the planes from their silhouette--that’s why this whole thing was started.”

For more information, call (805) 482-0064 or check https://www.orgsites.com/ca/caf-socal/.

One military museum that specializes in “static displays” is the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum, located on Edwards Air Force Base. The museum covers the “golden age of flight test” from 1947-77. It houses the only example of X-25 test aircraft and one of the few X-15 rocket engines made.

Edwards was originally a bombing and gunnery range for March Field Air Force Base in Riverside, which has its own museum. During World War II, Edwards became a training base and flight test center. Visitors must call ahead for permission to enter the base: (661) 277-8050, https://www.edwards.af.mil.

An annex to the test center, Blackbird Airpark, is open weekends at 25th Street and Avenue P, in Palmdale. The aircraft there are all connected to Lockheed--including the first Blackbird spy plane ever built.

At Hawthorne Airport, the Western Museum of Flight offers both experimental and historical aircraft. Its YF-23 is one of two experimental stealth fighters made, and a JB-1 prototype was built to counter the German buzz bombs during World War II. Opened in 1984 by a group of retired aerospace workers and military veterans, the museum houses a collection of a dozen aircraft as well as artifacts, from war medals to ejection seats. For more information, call (310) 332-6228, or check the Web site, https://www.wmof.com .

Most of the museums, except for the Flight Test Center Museum, ask for a donation of $3 to $8 for adults. For more information, call or check the Web sites listed.