World War II and more recent aviation museum
(1699)
04/01/2025
Join us this Saturday at 1 pm for Fireball at Night: The Bombing of Japan and the Atomic Bomb Controversy. Presented by Edward Gordon
On April 18, 1942, Lieutenant-Colonel James H. Doolittle led a clandestine bombing raid of sixteen B-24 Mitchell bombers that flew from U.S. aircraft carrier Hornet to Tokyo, a distance of more than 650 miles. The damage inflicted was small, but it foreshadowed the mighty air raids to come.
03/29/2025
F4U Corsair Open Cockpit from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM.
Museum guests are treated to the extra special experience of being allowed to sit at the controls and pose for pictures. From 10:00-12:00 each Saturday, a selected aircraft will be opened up and made accessible to the public.
Museum Volunteers will also be on hand to answer questions and provide the historical back drop for the aircraft you are sitting in.
Guests are strongly cautioned to dress appropriately for climbing into the planes and also reminded not to leave their cameras at home. This is a rare experience that you’ll want to remember forever.
03/27/2025
Well well well, what do we have here? 🤔
03/26/2025
🚨 Announcement 🚨 F-117A Nighthawk Blueprint T-Shirts are here!
Designed exclusively for Palm Springs Air Museum by 909 Apparel, this custom Nighthawk Front & Back Print T-Shirt tells the story of the Museum’s F-117A #85-0833, named ‘Black Devil’.
One of only 4 Stealth Fighters on display in Museums, #833 logged 75 Combat Hours, the 2nd Highest in the entire fleet.
Welcome Home! Join us this Saturday 3/29 at 1 pm for the 50th anniversary of the coming home of the last remaining American troops from the Vietnam War. Join us as we celebrate these fine soldiers’ homecoming. Enjoy celebratory cake for all.
Presented by: Randy Zahn, Cobra Pilot and Vietnam Veteran
03/22/2025
Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV Open Cockpit today from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM.
Museum guests are treated to the extra special experience of being allowed to sit at the controls and pose for pictures. From 10:00-12:00 each Saturday, a selected aircraft will be opened up and made accessible to the public.
Museum Volunteers will also be on hand to answer questions and provide the historical back drop for the aircraft you are sitting in.
Guests are strongly cautioned to dress appropriately for climbing into the planes and also reminded not to leave their cameras at home. This is a rare experience that you’ll want to remember forever.
03/21/2025
🎁 Don't sleep on this amazing offer! 🎁
In March, purchase a commemorative Legacy Brick and receive TWO FREE ADULT ADMISSION TICKETS to the Palm Springs Air Museum—a $48 value! This amazing gift starts at $175
Experience the incredible Darkstar up close at the Palm Springs Air Museum for its
FIRST VIEWING OF THE YEAR! 📸✨ Don’t miss this unique photo and video opportunity, APRIL 7th - 18th, included with regular admission. Plus, kids 12 and under enter FREE with a paid adult!
03/20/2025
Our T-28A now flies with “Seagull 1” on her gear door in honor of the fallen Palm Springs PD Community Service Officer who was also their drone pilot. Thank you to all public safety officers for keeping us safe. We never forget…
03/19/2025
See you here this Saturday! Join historian & author Donald Miller and series producer Kirk Saduski at the Palm Springs Air Museum for a special evening program at 6 pm. Miller's book, "Masters of the Air," inspired the Apple TV+ series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, exploring the Eighth Air Force's role in WWII. Visit the link to buy tickets! https://palmspringsairmuseum.shop.koronaevent.com/en/offers/38143
03/18/2025
Join us this Saturday, March 22nd for: Women Air force Service Pilots – WASPS. Presented by Michael Carra
Few people realize 1038 women pilots served in the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII. These intrepid groundbreaking women came to be known as the WASPS or Women Air Force Service Pilots. This presentation is a look at the history of the WASPS and some of the 38 women pilots who lost their lives in the service of our Nation.
03/15/2025
F-104 Starfighter Open Cockpit today from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM.
Museum guests are treated to the extra special experience of being allowed to sit at the controls and pose for pictures. From 10:00-12:00 each Saturday, a selected aircraft will be opened up and made accessible to the public.
Museum Volunteers will also be on hand to answer questions and provide the historical backdrop for the aircraft you are sitting in.
Guests are strongly cautioned to dress appropriately for climbing into the planes and also reminded not to leave their cameras at home. This is a rare experience that you’ll want to remember forever.
03/14/2025
📢 Experience History in Flight! ✈️
Our yearlong 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII Programing continues!
The legendary B-29 Doc is landing at Palm Springs Air Museum from April 29 – May 4 as part of the History Restored Tour!
🔹 Ground & Cockpit Tours:
📅 April 30 – May 2 | ⏰ 10 AM – 4 PM
📅 May 3 – May 4 | ⏰ 12:30 PM – 4 PM
💰 $5 per person (with museum admission)
🔹 B-29 Doc Flight Experience:
📅 May 2 – 4
🎟️ Book your seat now: www.b29doc.com/rides
Don’t miss your chance to step inside and even fly aboard this World War II icon! 🌟
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Palm Springs Air Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Contact The Museum
Send a message to Palm Springs Air Museum:
Videos
You know what time it is....
🚨BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND🚨
Experience the incredible Darkstar up close at the Palm Springs Air Museum for its
FIRST VIEWING OF THE YEAR! 📸✨ Don’t miss this unique photo and video opportunity, APRIL 7th - 18th, included with regular admission. Plus, kids 12 and under enter FREE with a paid adult!
Can any aviation experts ID this cockpit?
Can any aviation experts ID this cockpit?
🚨 First in the WORLD! 🚨 Stealth #833 now has a virtual pilot in the cockpit! Visitors can interact with Major General Greg “Beast” Feest (Ret.), depicted as he was during his time flying the F-117A and dropping the first bomb of Operation Desert Storm.
This groundbreaking exhibit, featuring tower interaction and the simulated whine of the APU, was brought to life by the Palm Springs Air Museum and former Disney Imagineers.
📢 Experience History in Flight! ✈️🔥Our yearlong 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII Programing continues.
The legendary B-29 Doc is landing at Palm Springs Air Museum from April 29 – May 4 as part of the History Restored Tour!
🔹 Ground & Cockpit Tours:
📅 April 30 – May 2 | ⏰ 10 AM – 4 PM
📅 May 3 – May 4 | ⏰ 12:30 PM – 4 PM
💰 $5 per person (with museum admission)
🔹 B-29 Doc Flight Experience:
📅 May 2 – 4
🎟️ Book your seat now: www.b29doc.com/rides
Don’t miss your chance to step inside and even fly aboard this World War II icon! 🌟
Did you know? ✈️ The Palm Springs Air Museum is home to the legendary P-51 Mustang, the same aircraft flown by the heroic Tuskegee Airmen - the first African American military pilots in U.S. history. 🏅
🚨NEW LIVERY ON THE SKYFOX🚨
Who doesn't love these views! 🌴☀️🌴
Thank you from the Palm Springs Air Museum. Last weekend, our annual Gala was a resounding success, raising an incredible $1.8 million for our ongoing preservation efforts and educational programs. We couldn't have achieved this without the generous support of everyone involved. Your contributions are invaluable to us, and we are deeply grateful for your commitment to honoring the legacy of the Greatest Generation. Your support ensures that the stories of our heroes continue to inspire future generations. Thank you again for your kindness and generosity. We look forward to continuing our mission!
Yesterday, we were able to witness history. The last Martin JRM Mars flying boat stood down for its final resting place at Pima. We were fortunate to have a flyover at the Palm Springs Air Museum. She was followed in chase by our P-51 Man O War. Thank you to Coulson Aviation - Next Gen Firefighting for the fly-by and your support throughout the year.
The colonnades are all up! Although we still have a way to go - a fantastic job by the construction crew to get this accomplished - all major steel is complete. Thank you to everyone who believed in us all these years. We wish all the docents who have passed could see this - we won’t let them down.
Our P-51 Mustang “Bunny” in honor of the famed Tuskegee Airmen of World War II
ABOUT THE PALM SPRINGS AIR MUSEUM
There is always something new at the Palm Springs Air Museum, where history comes alive and visitors can get close to the vintage World War II and Korea/Vietnam era aircraft. Named in 2014 as one of the top 14 aviation museums in the world by CNN Travel, 59 flyable and static planes are on display inside four climate-controlled hangars totaling 86,000 square feet inside with more outside on the tarmac. Many of the Museum docents actually flew these planes and served on the ships. The four hangars are organized by theme, with related exhibits lining the walls. Visitors enter through the Lobby, and pay at the Gift Shop to get their wristbands. From the Lobby, visitors can either go straight, past restrooms and the Buddy Rogers Theater to the hangars or head upstairs by elevator or staircase to the 9,200 volume research library and Education Center. In the outer room of the Library are computer flight simulators to entertain and teach the principles of flight to people of all ages.
The Pacific (Navy) Hangar includes exhibits and aircraft used by the Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Highlights include the Pearl Harbor diorama narrated by NBC journalist and author Tom Brokaw, the Grumman “cats”; the Avenger, Corsair, Dauntless and Invader. The PBY Catalina Flying Boat is usually on the Tarmac. Ship models, uniforms and weapon display cabinets complement the large wall Pacific Map and the aviation art by American Stan Stokes. Be sure and check out the Honor Wall showing our docent veterans!
The European (Army) Hangar features exhibits and aircraft used by the Army in the European Theater during World War II, plus a T-33 training jet used in Korea and Vietnam. Highlights of this hangar include the B-25 Mitchell Bomber, P-47 Thunderbolt, the renovated flying Red Tail P-51 Mustang (when not flying) the P-63 King Cobra (when not flying), the Spitfire and the C-47 (when not flying, otherwise it’s out on the Tarmac). Other highlights in this hangar include the Tuskegee Airmen mural, the interactive Living History Kiosk, the large wall European Map with interactive display, the Women Pilots of WWII exhibit and the Jackie Cochran exhibit. Portions of Chris Demarest’s World War Two Journey are also on display.
The smallest hangar (entrance from the European Hangar) contains the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Berger Youth Exploration Center with fun, interactive activities for young people (including a F-16 Flight Simulator), the Gen. Ken Miles Aviation Science Center, Freedom Fighters’ Café and restrooms. Flag and engine displays are also in this hangar. Visitors can see our mechanics working on one of our vintage aircraft.
Now open is the new Major General Kenneth P. Miles Hangar, (entrance from just outside the Pacific Hangar to the south), which houses our Cold War, Korea and Vietnam War aircraft and supporting exhibits, including the new Edward and Mona Sher POW Bracelet exhibit that was in the Pacific Hangar. Hangar includes the Presidential Experience, Korean War Remembrance Wall, Ken Marts’ Presidents Who Served, the Frederick Noble Engine Display, and several jets: F-4 Phantom II, F-84, F-86, F-100, F-102, F-104 and the EA-6B Prowler
Visitors can tour the interior of a flyable B-17 and C-47 (when not flying). Flight exhibitions occur most Saturday afternoons November through May. The Annual Flower Drop & Air Fair occurs every Memorial Day Monday.
Documentaries are shown daily in the Buddy Rogers Theatre. On-going lecture series highlights the significance of Air Power and as much as possible include eye-witness accounts.