After the attempt to visit Hornet fell through, we took a look around for other museums to go to. There was discussion of trying to hit Jeremiah O'Brien, but timing ruled that out, and eventually we decided to stay in the area and go to the Oakland Aviation Museum, which we had found out about because we noticed a sign to it on the way up from San Jose. And I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

The museum is small and kind of out of the way, on the outskirts of Oakland airport. But the collection was better than I would have expected for a museum that is pretty clearly taking whatever planes it can get. Inside, there's a replica of the Vin Fiz Flier, the first airplane to fly coast-to-coast (not nonstop, and definitely not without crashing), a MiG-15, a couple of light planes and a few helicopters. There was also a room of Navy artifacts and models, which allowed me to recycle a lot of the material I had prepared for Hornet, and another room dedicated to Jimmy Doolittle, which was mostly notable for having a Norden Bombsight on display in a replica bombardier's position, as well as discussing events that I think are overdone. Read more...
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