Hiller Aviation Museum: Visitors, prepare for takeoff
A replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer is suspended from the ceiling of the atrium and the futuristic Rutan Defiant is parked on the roof. Those two planes, representing the past and future of flight, are among 50 full-size jets, planes, gliders, helicopters and other flying machines at the hangar-sized Hiller Aviation Museum, appropriately located so close to the San Carlos Airport that you can see what the pilots are wearing as they taxi down the runway.
Plenty of descriptions, photos, newsclippings and videos convey the history of aircraft in America, with an emphasis on the Bay Area’s prominent role. But people mainly visit the Hiller to admire the planes. The variety of colorful aircraft is impressive.
To whet your appetite, start by visiting the restoration workshop. Aviation craftsmen can usually be observed between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., lovingly resurrecting old planes to be added to Hiller’s collection. Then stroll out to the 1970 Boeing 747 cockpit: go outdoors, up the tarmac stairs and into the forward section of the 747. Sit in one of the jet’s seats to watch a video on the history of 747s, then sit in the pilot’s seat, where you’re surrounded by hundreds of knobs, gauges, dials and levers.
On returning to the atrium, step inside the museum’s “aircraft gallery” and be prepared to be wowed. From two levels you’ll get to admire flying machines from the 1869 Avitor, a blimp-like unmanned “aeroplane” flown here on the peninsula long before the Wright Brothers, to the 1986 Boeing Condor, an unmanned spy plane with a 201-foot wingspan that could stay aloft for 80 hours. Some planes are on the main floor—you can touch or even climb into some of them—but most are suspended at different heights from the ceiling, crowding the “air space” of the gallery like an air traffic controller’s worst nightmare.
Also displayed in chronological order by decade are gliders built between 1883 and 1911; the first “aerobatics” plane (flown at San Francisco’s 1915 Pan Pacific Expo); a 1931 autogiro (an airplane/copter hybrid); the first FAA-licensed helicopter (the 1945 Hiller 360—designed by museum founder Stanley Hiller); and many more colorful aircraft.
The Hiller is fascinating for visitors of all ages, from 8-year-olds thrilled to sit in one of several cockpits (including a Blue Angels cockpit) to 80-year-olds who still remember when some of the older planes were on the cutting edge.
HelloSanFrancisco tip: Be sure to climb the stairs in the aircraft gallery to the “Future” section, where aircraft models offer a glimpse into the future of civil aviation—cool concepts like the bat ray-like Hypersoar plane and a 750-passenger jet.
Posted by Bob Cooper
