southern museum of flight

Been living in the greater Birmingham metro area for three years and never heard of it before. A friend suggested that my keep D's will have some good time there. The museum is located near the Birmingham airport, but hidden within residential buildings were you wouldn't be able to find it without a car navigation system. It is a small place but nicely packed with several original flight artifacts. They even have one of the model T Fords on display. In addition to a piece of cloth of the original Wright brothers' plane. I believe the museum could do better with some efforts. Nevertheless, it is a great place to satisfy your enthusiasm for flight information.

This doesn't hald a candle to Kennedy Space Center, the Naval Aviation museum in Pensacola, the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson, or the National Air and Space Museum in DC. Not something you would want to see again and again and not a must see, but it is interesting none the less.

WOW! What a place! This museum is a hidden treasure! Keep in mind that this is not a huge museum - which allows you to really get involved with spending time on exhibits. There is an entire area of experimental aircraft, and planes (or aircraft pieces/objects) from just about every flight era. It's worth going just for the Soviet Gunship (helicopter), plus all sorts of neat things. Don't miss the "outdoor" airplanes/helicopters that surround the area. They do a good job of setting up exhibits to look like the real habitat. It really is worth the visit, so get in there!

I decided to visit this museum as I was looking for something to do. I was pleasantly surprised as it was very informational. I would recommend it to anybody who has an interest in aviation.

I have been to other flight museums, and this one is small compared to them, but, nonetheless, it was still worth the visit. This museum has planes from the early ages of aviation, WWII, and the Vietnam war (they even have a couple of soviet aircrafts), as well as some modern ones. There are quite a few air flight simulators present in the museum (computer game, not the professional ones) so you can practice your take-off and landing skills. As you wander through the museum, quite often mannequins start talking, or you hear the aircraft engines getting started, and those things freak you out the first time you experience them, but after a while they become quite amusing.If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend visiting this museum; it is definitely worth a visit.

What a great hidden museum. Been flying over Birmingham for years but never knew of this place. As my dad and I flew back home from the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola we stopped at BHM. Atlantic East loaned us a car and the museum is only a couple blocks from them. It's in a shady looking area, but the museum itself is great. Would be good to take kids as well. Lots of experimental aircraft and some rare planes with lots of aviation artifacts and memorabilia. We are excited to make a planned trip back to spend more time there.

Nice small Museum if your a real flight person this is not a museum to travel to from any distance. It is a good local museum but not a must see if flight is what you live for. Make sure you drive the block to see the outside area there are number of planes parked outside worth seeing.

We had a great time at the Southern Museum of Flight where we spent a couple hours or so. In addition to seeing and reading about air flight starting from the earliest days, we learned that they were getting ready for a special program on Veterans Day - which turned out to be a real treat: we got to watch the dress rehearsal of the musical part of the program - a group of eight to ten ladies, in costume, singing and dancing to WWII era music. They started off with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, a favorite of mine. It was a delight. I think it is noteworthy to remark about how energetic, sleek & agile these ladies were. Why is that laudable you ask? We found out that the youngest of them was 65. The others were older still, all the way to age 81.While Joan was spending some time in their gift shop, I found a comfortable seat in the lounge area where I was joined by an older gentleman. I learned that he was a retired military person, having spent over twenty years in the air force, leaving active duty in 1975. I also learned that he had been a military pilot and spent some time in Vietnam where he flew the F4 Phantom Fighter/Bomber - the most common fighter plane during my tenure there - at least in that part of the country where I served. As we were discussing this particular aircraft, I recalled, and told him about an experience I will never forget: one day another fellow and I were driving a truck by an airbase about ten miles north of the village of Cam Rahn. The road was bordered on our right by the South China Sea and by the runway on our left. We were passing by the end of the runway at the exact same time that two F4s were taking off. Because the roadway was probably twenty feet lower than the runway, we neither saw nor heard the jets approaching - that is until they passed directly over us as they hit their afterburners. Talk about shock and awe! For an instant, I actually thought that our truck had exploded!Anyway, it was interesting to see a number of these aircraft. I learned a few things: the first time an airplane took off from a warship was in 1910! And I saw the largest recipro-cating engine ever used in an operational aircraft. Developed during WWII by Pratt & Whitney, the “Wasp Major”, with its seven radial cylinders had a displacement of 4,362 cubic inches and produced 3,500 horsepower. It was used on a few aircraft, including the B-36. Probably the most awesome plane I saw was the Lockheed A12 - the successor to the U2 and predecessor to the SR71. It had a maximum speed of 2,210 mph and a service ceiling of 95,000 feet. This speed and ceiling, coupled with a range of 2,500 miles made it very useful, I’m sure, to the CIA back in the day.

If you are an air buff, you will enjoy seeing the vintage planes and hearing the stories about them from war buffs.

We decided to drive by the Southern Museum of Flight even though it was a Sunday and we knew the museum was closed. The airplanes outside made this a worthwhile trip. From a Korean War F84 to a Russian Mig 21 to an SR71 they were all on display for you to see. We look forward to our next trip to Birmingham to visit the museum.

This museum is located close to the airport in a regular neighborhood. There are aircraft located outside and many more located inside. One section is dedicated to civilian aviation whereas the other section is all about military aviation. Inside, you'll find information about great aviators of the 20th century. There are both fixed wing and rotary aircraft. There's a hugh Hind helicopter, of the type that the Soviets used in Afghanistan. You will also find home built aircraft as well as gyrocopters. This is quite an extensive museum and the displays are really good.

I was in town for an auto race and wanted something to do outside of that. I like aviation, this popped up, so went. It is awesome! They have some truly early planes you don't usually see, but what captured my fancy where the engine displays. They have more engines, cutaway and whole, jet and piston, than any museum I've seen, including the Smithsonian, and you can get quite close and really the workings. This really appeals to my inner engineer, and I have to give kudos to those who put this together. My expectations in coming here were shattered upon entrance; this is an incredible collection, a true labor of love for aviation.

Took my 5 yo grandson. He loved the planes on exhibit and the flight trainers that he could sit in. Too young to understand the 'history' involved in the planes.

Do you enjoy the Air and Space museum in Washington, DC? Then don't miss this museum. It's just as good, with even more to see and learn about. Put this stop on your list.

I was very surprised at the quality and quantity of great exhibits which were on display at the museum. It was well kept and was a great learning experience for my kids. - The only reason for me not giving it five was it's out of the way location. I found it hard to find and it wasn't close to anything else in Birmingham that you might be touring with a family. It is close to the airport.