|
Author
|
Topic: National Naval Aviation Museum (Penascola)
|
collshubby
Member Posts: 591
From: Madisonville, Louisiana
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 12-21-2005 04:04 PM
   
My family and I decided to take a day trip to Pensacola and visit the National Naval Aviation Museum. I was wondering if anyone has been there recently and know of any spaceflight related items I should be on the lookout for? I will love seeing the aircraft in general but anything space will be icing on the cake. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 44682
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 12-21-2005 04:57 PM
According to A Field Guide To American Spacecraft, the Skylab 1 (SL-2) command module is on display at the Naval Museum.Gene Cernan's Ambassador of Exploration moon rock is also on display. |
mikej
Member Posts: 483
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004
|
posted 12-21-2005 05:10 PM
I've been there twice, most recently in June 2005 (although I didn't see the moon rock).Yes, they have the SL-2 command module. It's nicely displayed in that you can get right up close to the hatch and can see a good deal of the interior. They also have a display of the moon's surface consisting of an A7LB space suit with Cernan's name on it and an LRV. There's a full-size model of a Mercury spacecraft, complete with retro pack and escape tower, and a couple of pressure suits which were similar to the Mercury spacesuits. In the parking lot (they moved it from one part of the parking lot to another between my two visits) is a moderately-detailed Apollo boilerplate. The boilerplate isn't listed in the Field Guide. After my 2004 visit I sent an email to the museum inquiring as to its origins; I just received a generic reply stating that it was a "practice" spacecraft that hadn't actually been in space. |
collshubby
Member Posts: 591
From: Madisonville, Louisiana
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 12-26-2005 11:14 PM
Well, I went to the National Naval Aviation Museum today, and it was a fantastic place to visit. Well worth the drive! I took some photos, although a couple came out blurry. Here are the space related ones: - This is an Apollo boilerplate. No identification whatsoever. It was placed in an obscure spot in the parking lot and I didn't even see it until we were driving out.
 - This is a full-size Mercury mock-up they had with escape tower.
 
- This was the command module from the Skylab 2 mission. The first one is blurry but I did get two decent shots of the inside.
 
- Here is a lunar rover mock-up with an Apollo astronaut. No indication of this was a training suit, spare, etc.
 
- Al Shepard and Wally Schirra's Naval Aviation Hall of Fame plaques.
 
- There was a small art gallery with paintings and prints related to naval aviation. I drooled over this Naval Aviation in Space print because it was the first one I've ever seen in person.
 
- There was also a Naval Aviation 75th anniversary print which I've never seen before which had astronaut autographs.
 
- One last print - a Mercury one with Cooper, Glenn, Carpenter, and Schirra.
 - Here was a painting done to honor the crew of Apollo 1. I apologize because for the life of me I cannot remember the artist.
 - Gene Cernan's moon rock was not on display.
 The gift shop had autographed copies of "The Real Space Cowboys," "Apollo 13," "Schirra's Space," and "The Last Man on the Moon." I was real tempted to pick one up, but after Christmas I had no money left to spend. Oh, well I can get them another time. All in all a great day.
|
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 04-03-2011 11:06 AM
A few pictures of the Skylab 2 command module that I snapped yesterday... 
A display case at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola containing items from the flying careers of Gene Cernan, John Young and Walt Cunningham...  |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4641
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 08-18-2012 11:23 PM
Shot images today of this rusting CM boilerplate sitting in a remote parking lot adjacent to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Evidently its been in that general vicinity for years. Cannot locate an affiliated entry in A Field Guide to American Spacecraft so perhaps another mystery to solve if anyone is so inclined.  
|
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 08-19-2012 07:30 AM
Neat! I've been to the museum several times and I have never noticed it. Where in the parking lot is it (relative to the main entrance to the building)? I'd like to check it out the next time I go... |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 4641
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 08-19-2012 08:05 AM
Courtesy Google: |
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 08-19-2012 01:00 PM
Thanks for the picture. It's really been stuck out of the way. I'll look for it next time I'm at the museum... |
PeterO
Member Posts: 413
From: North Carolina
Registered: Mar 2002
|
posted 08-19-2012 05:24 PM
The boilerplate was placed in the parking lot in 2004. It is not there in the Google Earth image dated March 30, 2004, and it appears in the next image, dated Dec 30, 2004. |
mikej
Member Posts: 483
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004
|
posted 08-20-2012 08:13 PM
I photographed this boilerplate during my visits to the museum during the summers of 2004 and 2005.In June 2004, it was located in a different part of the parking lot (apparently the concrete slab N/NE of its current location, the other side of those three blobs of trees). It was moved to its current location by June 2005. I emailed the museum after my 2004 visit in hopes of getting additional information about it. I received a reply from the aircraft collections manager, who was only able to give me a generic description of what a boilerplate was. However, he did say that they received it from Eglin AFB in 1998. |
p51
Member Posts: 1681
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
|
posted 08-29-2012 05:46 PM
Thanks for posting this, I'll be passing through the area next month. I was on the fence on going to the museum (hadn't been there since the late 90s) but this was the extra push to get me to go... |
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 09-09-2012 11:32 AM
A few shots I took yesterday. Looks a little neglected. Not sure why it's off in a far part of the parking lot... 
|
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 09-09-2012 05:15 PM
Some walk-around shots I took yesterday... 
|
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 44682
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 12-05-2012 07:48 AM
The upcoming Salute to the Pioneers of Space event at the museum includes the unveiling of a full-scale replica of an Apollo lunar module to be displayed in Hanger Bay 1. Bill Powers is from Digital Designs, an Arizona company that was hired to build the LEM."When you get here and look at it once it's all built, and it's 23 feet tall, it's not as small as you think. It is actually pretty fair sized," he said. The focus of the museum is naval aviation, but there is a strong space component because so much of the space program was built on the experience of naval aviators. Having a LEM at the museum makes perfect sense to museum foundation managers. "Many of us were too young to actually see it happen on TV, but we've seen it in history books and now we'll be able to see 100 percent replica here. It's going to be very exciting," said Shelley Ragsdale with the museum foundation. 
Credit: Pensacola News Journal/Tony Giberson |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 44682
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 12-16-2012 02:38 PM
Here's a look at the replica lunar module, as on display during its debut at the National Naval Aviation Museum (photo courtesy OMEGA): |
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 05-23-2014 05:48 PM
Another visit to the museum today. They've got the LEM all set up and the Lunar Rover moved over near it. The Boilerplate has been repainted and brought indoors as well. 
|
Philip
Member Posts: 6065
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
|
posted 05-24-2014 06:14 AM
Thanks for sharing these photos! |
APG85
Member Posts: 308
From:
Registered: Jan 2008
|
posted 04-07-2015 07:16 PM
Something I missed from my last visit and I saw today: the recovery net/basket the helicopter used to lift the Apollo 11 astronauts from the raft floating next to the Command Module. There is also a nice display of the recovery ship patches. 
|
Philip
Member Posts: 6065
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
|
posted 10-26-2016 09:07 AM
Looks like those are "general" patches of the vessels as each recovery action had a separate patch for the occasion. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 44682
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 09-22-2020 03:41 PM
Update from Capt. Sterling Gilliam, director of the museum: Hurricane Sally has come and gone, but she left her mark on NAS Pensacola. We wanted to let you know that the museum weathered the storm well with no major structural damage to the building or the aircraft displayed outside. The torrential rain did cause a number of roof leaks in our buildings, including the spaces in which we house our small artifacts. However, our operations/maintenance and curatorial teams went into action quickly and have the situation well in hand. As of this morning (Sept. 22), power has been restored to the museum. While our planned Phase 1 reopening to active duty personnel and dependents has been delayed, we look forward to taking that step as soon as possible. |
advertisement