A museum of flight is simply a museum dedicated to the relatively short history of human aviation. Though people have been flying in balloons since the mid-eighteenth century, it has been only a little over 100 years since the Wright brothers made the first motorized flight in 1903. Since that time the airplane has become one of the most important carriers of people, cargo and mail. It has played a major role in exploration, in search and rescue, and in war. It is little wonder, then, that several museums have been established to help tell the amazing story of human flight.

The Seattle Museum of Flight has the slogan Dream, Discover, Soar. In the museum are a flight simulator kiosk, and the SAM 970 that, as Air Force One, carried presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. The Museum of Flight in Seattle also tells the story of the Wright brothers and has a model of their first plane, the Flyer. One wing of the Seattle Flight Museum is the Red Barn, which was the original factory in which Boeing planes were built. The Red Barn is located at the Boeing Field/King County International Airport. This is part of the Boeing Museum of Flight. See the website for the Museum of Flight in Seattle for discount information. The Museum of Flight in Seattle,Washington has a regular newsletter to which patrons can subscribe. Interested persons can check the website for information on process_auditing and the museum of flight.

The Lone Star Flight Museum is in Galveston, Texas. The museum’s collection includes vintage fighters and bombers. There is also a Texas Hall of Fame commemorating Texans who made significant contributions to aviation.

The Milestones of Flight Museum is in Lancaster, California. Among its collection is a German World War II Storch in mint condition, a plane that once belonged to Howard Hughes, and a set of seats and landing gear skis from Richard Byrd’s Antarctic Expedition.

The Fantasy of Flight Museum is in Polk City, Florida, between Tampa and Orlando. It takes visitors back to the early days of aviation and has a great collection of World War I and World War II aircraft. In fact, this museum claims to have the largest private collection of antique planes in the world. The museum offers rides in a balloon or an old time biplane.

The Southern Museum of Flight is in Birmingham, Alabama. Its collection includes an early aviation hangar and several restored planes. Among them are an F-14 Tomcat, an F-86F Sabre and an F-84F Thunderstreak.

The National Air and Space Museum of Flight belongs to the Smithsonian Institute and is in Washington D.C. Here visitors can see, among other exhibits, the Wright brothers 1903 Flyer.