Back in August of 2023 I took my nephew to visit my mom in Arizona. We took advantage of the trip to pay a visit to the Pima Air & Space Museum to see the collection there. There are a couple of planes and helicopters that I had never seen in person like the SR-71. They have over 400 aircraft spread out over 80 acres and 6 indoor hangers.
If you want to learn more or plan your own trip, visit their website.
B17G Flying Fortress
The centerpiece of Pima’s 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, this restored B-17 represents the heavy bombers flown by the 390th during World War II. The surrounding exhibit preserves artifacts, records, and personal histories from the group’s veterans.
We visited shortly before HBO’s Masters of the Air premiered on TV.
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
Pima’s Blackbird is SR-71A serial number 61-7951, displayed in the museum’s Main Hangar. Built by Lockheed’s Skunk Works for high-altitude strategic reconnaissance, the SR-71 could exceed Mach 3 and operate above 85,000 feet. The Blackbird family set multiple speed and altitude records and remains one of the most extraordinary aircraft of the Cold War.
Mil Mi-24D “Hind-D”
Pima’s Hind was built for the East German Air Force around 1977 and originally carried the number 406. After German reunification it briefly served with the unified German Air Force before being retired, eventually passing to the Imperial War Museum and then going on loan to Pima in 2012. The Mi-24 combined heavy armor and firepower with space for up to eight troops, making it one of the Cold War’s most distinctive attack helicopters.
