Museum of Flying Los Angeles

Most visitors to LA don't realize that Santa Monica has its own private airport. On the grounds is a private airport where you can see Cessnas and private jets taking off, sitting right next to the runway!

I discovered this little nook of the neighborhood during an art show many years ago. Some of the old airport hangars have been made over into large art spaces. One day I had an extra bit of time and decided to check out the Museum of Flying across from the airport. I was chatting up one of the workers there and it turns out his family comes from a history of aviation, so he gave me a free tour of the museum. We bumped into a friend of his family who used to fly police helicopters for the LAPD and so I learned a lot about navigating the city from a bird's eye perspective.

The museum itself is quaint and interesting. They have a model of the Wright brother's airplane, along with vintage airplanes dating from WW1 through the Cold War. Since I travel so much, it gave me a much greater appreciation for the aircraft we fly in nowadays!