There are some smaller aviation themed attractions in the Pacific Northwest as well.

They may not be worth making a special hundred mile detour to visit, but if you're traveling in their region, it might be worthwhile stopping by.

Seattle - Other Regional Aviation Themed Attractions There's Plenty for the Plane Buff in the Seattle Area
	The Pacific Northwest is well served by all manner of aviation related activities.   NOTE :  Click on map image to open up a Google Maps page with all these locations explained.

Many people understand Seattle is the original home to Boeing, and remains its major production location.

There are tours of the Boeing facility up in Everett.  Also in Everett are two fine collections of primarily World War 2 era 'warbirds'.

In addition, there are other activities to enjoy around the Seattle region if you're fascinated by planes and aviation; activities both on the ground and also potentially up in the air, too.

Seattle - a Mecca for Aviation Enthusiasts

The presence of Boeing has almost certainly caused the Seattle area to be more aviation-aware than would normally be the case for other cities its size.  There's a huge number of former Boeing employees and retirees who seek ways to continue to enjoy their interest in aviation.

The presence of Boeing, plus both Navy and Air Force air bases in the region adds to the overall level of awareness of the importance of aviation to the local area.

In addition, the presence of Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, and these days a generous supporter of all sorts of different activities that catch his interest, ranging from Rock music and Science Fiction through to warbirds and aviation in general has further added to the region's ability to collect and present historic airplanes.

As a result, there's a lot to see and experience around the Seattle region, and when you tire of looking at planes, the chances are you'll find an opportunity to take to the air as well; possibly in a vintage plane, maybe even a 'war bird'; or if you prefer the ultimate safety of not needing to worry about engine failure, you can go fly in a sailplane (glider) instead.

Please click through the successive pages in this series for information on the aviation related places you can go and the things you can see in the greater Seattle and Puget Sound area, and read the additional material below about how best to plan your aviation themed activities in the greater Puget Sound area.

0.  Aviation Themed Attractions in the Seattle Area - intro/overview

1.  Museum of Flight, Seattle

2.  Boeing Factory Tour & Future of Flight, Everett

3.  Flying Heritage Collection, Everett

4.  Historic Flight Foundation, Everett

5.  Museum of Flight Restoration Center, Everett

6.  Heritage Flight Museum, Bellingham

7.  Fly in a glider/sailplane/balloon

8.  Special Events

9.  Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, OR

10.  Other Regional Aviation Museums

Other Aviation Themed Places to Consider Visiting

There are various smaller collections of planes and other aviation themed memorabilia in Washington state and the adjoining states of ID and OR as well.

Maybe one of these smaller collections has something you absolutely want to see, in which case it would make sense making a special trip to visit.  Or maybe they are putting on some sort of special event that is also compelling to you.

Or perhaps you are traveling close to them anyway as part of the balance of your travel plans.

In all such cases, it might make sense to visit and enjoy another perspective on our aviation history and heritage.

Here are quick descriptions of five such places (in alphabetical rather than any other sort of order).

Olympic Flight Museum, Olympia WA

The Olympic Flight Museum is just off I-5 in Olympia, and is located at Olympia Regional Airport.

The museum has six planes (including a Japanese Zero and a British Strikemaster) and five helicopters, plus a couple more planes as 'static' displays and four others tantalizingly described as 'not on display'.

The museum is open daily in the summer, and five or six days a week the rest of the year.  As their website says, 'visitors are encouraged to call in advance to confirm the museum is open'.

Admission is $7 for adults, with discounts for children and AAA members.

Pearson Air Museum, Vancouver WA

If you are driving between Seattle and Portland, possibly en route to/from the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, you could consider a stop at the Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver WA (not to be confused with Vancouver, BC of course!).

This museum is very close to I-5 making it easy to make a detour to include the museum in your travels, and is part of the larger Fort Vancouver national site and adjacent to the Pearson Field airport.  It has a small collection of old planes and memorabilia dating back as far as 1905, and is in the US's second oldest wooden hangar, dating back to 1918.

The museum is open Wednesday - Saturday.  Admission is $7 for adults, with discounts for seniors, military and children.

For more details, visit their website.

Port Townsend Aero Museum, Port Townsend, WA

This museum is located at the Jefferson Country International Airport (the 'international' designator simply means that this small airport operates occasional flights to/from Canada), which is about five miles out of the lovely town of Port Townsend on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

It is a lovely ferry and car journey to Port Townsend, which is a nice town to visit.  You can do a three ferry loop - taking the Mukilteo ferry to Whidbey Island then a ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend one way, and the other way you can drive to Kingston and take a ferry to Edmonds.

They have a collection of about 30 planes and gliders, primarily featuring 'general aviation' type planes - ie small private planes rather than large passenger or military planes.  The museum was founded in 2001, and in 2008 moved to a lovely new building.

The museum is open Wednesday - Sunday most of the year, although it does occasionally close if a special event is being staged at its location.  Adult admission is $10 with discounts for seniors, military and children.

More details on their website.

Tillamook Air Museum, Tillamook OR

This is getting a long way from Seattle, but it is not very far from Portland (75 miles - an hour and a half) and slightly closer to McMinnville (65 miles, probably also 90 minutes driving time), where you might be planning on going to visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

Whereas some of the other museums have distinctive custom designed and built structures to house their collections, the Tillamook Air Museum is housed in a former blimp hangar from the WW2 era, which it claims is the largest wooden building in the world.

The museum also claims to be 'one of the top five privately owned aircraft collections in the nation'.  It has about three dozen airplanes, including a P-38 Lightning, a DC-3 in its C-47 form and an F-14A Tomcat.

There is also a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser in its modified Mini-Guppy format - a passenger plane that was semi-revolutionary in its day, but which was quickly eclipsed by jet aircraft and so had a short life and the subsequent indignity of conversion into the series of guppy variants.

Assorted other artifacts include pieces of the Hindenburg.

The museum is open daily, with a $9 adult admission price and discounts for seniors, military and children.  More details can be found on their website.

Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa, ID

This small museum was founded in 1989 and moved to its current location in 2001, where it has 20,000 sq ft of exhibit space, with approximately five main plane exhibits plus assorted memorabilia and a section on space related items.

Not a lot is known about this museum, and it is uncertain if it has regular opening hours or not.

If you find yourself in the Boise area, then perhaps you should call them to see their current opening schedule and visit.  Nampa is a suburb of Boise.

Some more information is available on their website.

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