Santa Maria Museum of Flight

The next time you find yourself on the Central Coast, make a little time to visit the Santa Maria Museum of Flight.

Sitting at the west end of the Santa Maria City Airport tarmac, the museum occupies a pair of hangers left over from the airport’s days in the US Army Air Force.

Back then, it was not uncommon to see Lockheed P-38 Lightnings roaring overhead. Inside, you find an amazing, and flyable, half-scale Lightning that was built to honor the brave guys and gals who flew the originals. Littered around the landing gear are the remains of some Lightnings that didn’t quite land as planned.

That’s actually one of the great things about the Santa Maria Museum of Flight – there’s a sense of history here, and also a sense of community, and a strong dose of folksy wisdom.

We met with docent Jerry Simas, who gave us a rainy tour of the museum ‘s wide-ranging collection. His laconic answer to my question about whether the half-scale Lightning could still fly was “Well, it was running when they shut it off.”

The museum was founded in 1984 to “preserve the past and present history of our aviation heritage, and inspiring future aviators in the Santa Maria Valley.”

There’s a memorial garden outside that is dedicated to the 99s – an international organization of woman aviators, mechanics, and innovators started in 1929 that is open to women who from over the world who love to fly. 

You’ll find that the museum is packed with surprises, from dioramas and models to some pieces of genuine Hollywood history, like the Hughes H-1 mockup built for the movie The Aviator. It doesn’t actually fly – doesn’t even have an engine, but it does have an electric motor that turns the propeller.  Some movie magic, there.

The 1991 Disney adventure film The Rocketeer was filmed right there, too. You’ll recognize the hanger, the runway outside, and of course, the Rocketeer’s iconic rocket-powered suit.

And up there is the Phoenix, a fictitious single-engine rescue plane built from the wreckage of a crashed Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, made for the 2004 movie Flight of the Phoenix, with a miniature Dennis Quaid at the Controls. This is the model that was actually used in the film.

Outside, a huge F-4S Phantom II sits across from a A-4D Skyhawk, both made by McDonnell Douglas and both facing down the Czech Aero L-29 Delphin jet trainer. Inside the second hanger you’ll find a beautifully restored Folland/Hawker Siddeley Gnat – another gorgeous little trainer.

In fact, the more you look at the Santa Maria Museum of Flight, the more surprises you’ll find, like this Link Trainer. And like the flag that actually belonged to a World War II Japanese aviator. 

It’s a fun little museum, jam-packed with fascinating memorabilia that is sure to delight the entire family.

Here’s a video we made of our tour.

And it’s easy to find the museum itself, at 3015 Airpark Drive. Get to the Santa Maria Airport, and head just a block or so west on Airpark.

It’s the only building that has a Phantom jet sitting outside.

They’re open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 4, and Sundays from 12 to 3.

Visit their website at www.smmuseumofflight.com