Museum of Flying

We came for a special event and had the entire museum to ourselves. There are tons of planes and plane history and parts to explore. I enjoyed the cockpit that they actually let you climb inside. So many buttons, gadgets and instruments… I am pretty sure I will never become a pilot but it was fun to act like a kid again. I saw they also had a flight simulator, but with my motion sickness issue, I decided that probably wouldn’t be the best idea.
Overall, I had a fun night. The place isn’t that big so I am sure you can walk through it in less than an hour. They had food trucks and bars open for us, but I am guessing that was due to the special event and it might not be a regular thing.

I came here for a special event and am not the biggest fan of planes or their history, so perhaps I’m not the best advocate for this museum. But if you’re a fan of all things aviation, then this place is for you.
It’s fairly modest, as far as museums go, but it has an impressive array of old school planes and plane models– as well as a classic car or two– from the earliest days of Man’s venture into the sky, and even has a neat little flight simulator inside the museum so you & a friend can go for a virtual spin. It’s a pretty spot on experience which will have you crashing and landing upside down more often than not, but it’s still fun.
Other than that, there’s not a whole lot to do but walk around, look at the planes, and brush up on your aviation history. Still, it’s nice to say you’ve done it at least once. And, given all there is to do, you can be in & out in under an hour.

Fantastic! Took my 11 and 2.5 year old and we were all entertained. The level of service by the staff was so impressive from the moment we walked in. Everyone was especially helpful and thorough. Their enthusiasm when explaining throughout the museum, whether specific history, how to fly or what to do, was great! I can’t wait to bring my father and brothers. The simulator was also so worth $ 8!

Really enjoyed our visit. The staff are really knowledgeable and happy to tell stories and talk you through exhibits.

Really enjoyed this smaller museum. Not too crowded on a Sunday morning. The FedEx cockpit was a huge hit.

I took my 2.5 year old son to the Museum on a playdate with another set of mom and her two kids. I thought the museum was OK. My son did get to sit inside one of the airplanes while one of the employees made sure everything was going okay. And my son enjoyed sitting in the 747 cockpit and another airplane exhibit where he got to push buttons, lift levers, pretended to fly, etc. The two young boys had a lot of fun. But other than that, perhaps it just wasn’t that interesting to me. The museum is small, I’m actually quite surprised by all the good reviews. I didn’t really feel like there was much to see there.

Great place for kid and adult that love plane. Small indoor and outdoor plane displays

This place is a little gem in Santa Monica. I went with my son today and he loved it. It’s on the smaller side but there’s a lot to see if you are into airplanes. Parking is free and it’s easy to get to. I paid $ 10 admission. You get to see all these planes on display and step into the cockpit of a 747. You can go through the entire museum in about 30 minutes to an hour. They also have some films playing on tvs throughout the museum and you can watch them while sitting on actual plane seats. The people that work there were very nice and helpful. Afterwards go down the street to watch the planes take off and land at the Santa Monica airport. It’s a real treat for the kids.

This place is awesome! Got a groupon for a deal on 2 adult admissions. Although the first time we tried to go they were closed (a bar mitvah), when we arrived the following day, we were blown away.
Every single person on the staff welcomed us directly, inviting us to stay for a lecture that was happening and informing us of a Ferrari club that was coming later in the day. Some of the staff offered additional facts and information that wasn’t on the signs.
There’s a cool plane cockpit you can go in as well– very fun!
The only drawback of this place was one female staff member (blonde person) who was setting up an exhibit that had been taken down for the party the previous night– she loudly complained about everything, even swearing quite a bit while doing so (in front of child visitors to the museum). I could hear her from every corner of the place and was incredibly annoyed.
However, even with her, I give the place 5 stars. Just a fun experience overall, and I would love to plan an event here too sometime! I had no idea this was tucked away in SM!
The Ferrari club thing was a bit weird, but nice to have more than one thing happening at the place I guess.
Check it out!

I was there outside of museum hours because my company was having a reception inside, so I did not pay, but I think regular fee is $ 10. I had no idea we had a museum of flying in Santa Monica until that day. It’s a very neat small museum full with artifacts about Douglas Aircraft Company, including a cockpit of Boing 727. I spent good amount of time in the cockpit because it was very interesting. They also have planes from different eras, including WWII. I was also very interested in seeing how stewardess uniforms changed in time, they had good number of mannequins. I also sat at a boing 747 seat and watched a documentary about flying. Overall, it worth a visit during a weekend with your family. They have good number of interesting stuff about flying.

This place is the best place for kids! My son was in love with the airplanes! You can even sit in them! The place is very clean, stuff is very friendly. Got our tickets on groupon so it was 50% off. Good place to do something different…

Good deal — 2 for one admission plus flight simulator via Groupon.
Ample parking
Friendly and helpful crew
Kid friendly for hands on experience
The best part of the small tour was the flight simulator.

A quick little outing for our son. Got a groupon so my wife got in for $ 10, son was free. Our son enjoyed looking at al the planes and various exhibits. It was also fun for him to sit inside some cockpits to pretend to fly. Talked to Hal, a docent, so definitely has a lot of flying history to share, including from his own life.
As a side note, there was a lady with short hair that I heard throwing stuff in the gift shop, complaining that she didn’t mess things up in other people’s homes. I think she was complaining that 3 kids had not put things away. I thought it was pretty tacky, especially because our son was hearing all her complaining… I hope she was just having a bad day, and that this isn’t the norm.
Other than that, a fun afternoon.

The staff was knowledgeable and friendly. Everyone was very welcoming. Lots of interesting planes to see. The placards for the planes could have been easier to find at times. Kids, (6 & 9) loved it. Very hands on. They enjoyed the simulator as well.

This is such a cute museum! I always drive by and finally had a chance to check it out.
It is very small but well kept and they have a flight simulator! It was so much fun. They are kid oriented I would say 5 years and older. The gift shop is really small but you can tell the place is small when you drive up. Don’t expect LACMA or anything like that. 10.00 admission charge and free parking.

Been there about 5 or 6 times due to the airports open house or school event. 1 thing they should do is when the current setup is done with they should put in completely new stuff and not replace 1 thing and that’s it for awhile. But quite a bit of stuff is cool. Staff is friendly. Upkeep is good.

Based on the photos and the lack of marketing, I was expecting something super tiny with a half a dozen planes on display. It is small with barely over a dozen planes, but a nifty little plane museum that is well worth visiting.
Not only is the museum little, so are the little prop engine planes. The biggest plane is a 727, but it’s only the nose cone. Thankfully, visitors can enter the nose and sit in the cockpit of the 727.
There is a small parking lot in front of the museum and under a DC-​3, but there is plenty more parking on the western side of the building. Allow 45 to 60 minutes to visit.

Loved it!
We purchased our tickets off
, saved a few bucks and found a cool new place to visit :)
The regular priced tickets for adults are only $ 10 and I noticed children under 5 are free. Wasn’t crowded at all and there was a lot more to look at than I had had expected. Staff are very friendly and knowledgeable, very willing to tell you about the planes and the history behind them.

I’d give 0 stars if I could! This place doesn’t even qualify as a museum. There’s just a couple of rooms with a few displays scattered around. This museum was recently moved to another location after being closed for many, many years. As long as it was closed, I was expecting something much larger and better, but I finally went today and it was a tremendous PO’d! My boyfriend had been so excited to see it and was extremely disappointed. The donation was $ 10 per person, but it literally takes 10 – 15 minutes to walk through it all & this has a 2^nd floor to it. The gift shop is pitiful by the way.
The previous museum was much, much nicer & bigger and even sold hot dogs in there with a little area to sit down and eat. There was a huge wall with a big mural as well.
My boyfriend and I wish we could get our $ 20 back!

For kids this place is perfect. It is small and interactive. We came when it was free with open house but it is like an enclosed warehouse with planes all over with planes that you can sit in like the FED EX cock pit, a flight simulator etc. The grounds is nice too with vintage planes outside that you can get close to.