Hello, I'm heading to Scottsdale AZ in April to tag-along with my wife who's going to a business conference. I'm planning a trip to Tucson to go to the Pima Air and Space Museum. Can I see the entire thing in one day? It looks huge! Also, can visitors walk right up to the outside aircraft displays or are they roped off? Finally, Mapquest says the trip from Scottsdale to Tucson is about 2 hours 20 minutes. Is that about right?
You can definitely see it all in one day. Most of the aircraft are "touchable" but the restored ones indoors tend to be roped off.
Just keep two things in mind: (a) the aircraft get HOT even in the winter and in the summer some of them can be a couple of hundred degrees inside (record measurement from nearby Davis-Monthan is something like 600 F) and (b) watch out for the pesky California Ground Squirrel burrows -- I have nearly broken an ankle twice thanks to those critters when backing up to take a photo.
Cookie Sewell
I drive an 18 wheeler for a living and yeah, a little over 2 hours sounds about right. As a matter of fact the TTT ( triple T ) truck stop is very close to the Pima museum. Not a bad place to stop and fill up your car and your tummy. Keep in mind that the Pima museum is just in one small corner of the AMARG bone-yard. The bone-yard tour is a separate deal. ( I think you can pay for a bus tour ). I dropped my trailer one day at the truck stop and bob-tailed over to the museum. It was summertime and I vowed I was going to walk to every outdoor display aircraft. Well ... that didn't last too long. Basically you are walking in the desert. I said the heck with that ! A B-52 is a very big aircraft ... and there are three of them there ... and that's in just one small part of the outdoor display ! Some of the aircraft that stuck out in my mind are : One of the original Lear jets in the indoor display. And outside there was an A-5 Vigilante. Cool beans. Too many others to mention.
Have fun.
Chris
As mentioned, yes, you can walk right up to _most_ of the aircraft. If you look closely at them all, it'll take a full day, however it is well worth the trip. IIRC the admission is like $11, but as I said, well worth the trip. Brings back a lot of memories, and to actually see some of the older Russian MiG's is incredible. I can visualize Nikita Krankshaft raising his fist as he shouts us down. The museum is real close to I-10 and on the southeastern end of Tucson, N side of the freeway. There are oftentimes some extremely knowledgeable people present at some displays to chat with. I hope to go again this spring myself just for grins when visiting my son & family there.
As I recall, its around a 150 mile trip one way from Phx but its all freeway in between once you're on I-10. Be sure to Google it so you know what the hours of operation are when you go and can maximize your time there. Be sure to take a camera!!!
Grandpa John
Pauli G wrote:
great place. easy to see in half a day. only plane that I could go inside was an He-111. Missed a B-17 by one day. Might be worth a call to see if a certain plane is there or not.
Craig
I've been to Pima a couple of times. Yes you can see it in a day but if you are a "walk around / take pictures" kind of person, it's a full day. They do have a "golf cart train / shuttle set up if you want to ride around. It costs extra and you can get off at several points along the way. These "golf cart trains" are driven by aviation buffs who know a lot about the aircraft you will be seeing. When I got their on my first trip, I rode the shuttle and enjoyed the commentary a lot. I got off at the end and walked back in to look a little closer at individual aircraft. It took the whole day.
As others mentioned, the boneyard deal is a whole different thing and you have to reserve and register in advance. In the age of "homeland security" they are a lot more careful of who is coming and going on active military bases. If you have the time, it's well worth it.
Believe me, there is a lot to see and you will enjoy your visit..... (:>
I also *highly* recommend that you visit the Titan Museum located about 15 minutes south of Tucson. It's operated by the Pima Museum and features a tour of a Cold War ICBM missile silo complete with a Titan II missile. I thought this was a VERY interesting tour, especially since I got to turn one of the launch keys.
Martin
Pauli G wrote: : : I'm heading to Scottsdale AZ in April to tag-along with my wife who's : going to a business conference. I'm planning a trip to Tucson to go : to the Pima Air and Space Museum. Can I see the entire thing in one : day? : Ummm, were you going to "cruise through", or were you going to actually look at the aircraft? :-)
I spent most of the day there, shooting things, and barely scratched the surface. Okay, so not too many people are curious about the wheel wells of the, errrr... large navy blue amphib, (Neptune?) but I take requests...
I also cooled my heels a bit requesting permission to "cross the line" to shoot their bomb truck and grader. They probably do not get many requests like that...
Bruce
They should rig it up so that the whole room starts shaking right after you do that, and the tour guide yells "OH GOD, NO!" ;-)
Pat
Sounds more like a Mariner or Mars.
Pat
It's a Mariner, and beautifully restored too. It was a highpoint of of my visit. I visited the museum on New Years day, thourghly enjoyed it too.
Mark
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