Wings Over the Florida Beach
Where can you go to a museum that not only displays its exhibits but flies them? Try Miami and its superb Florida beaches for the Wings Over Miami Air Museum . bout twenty-four years ago, a pilot named Kermit Weeks kept his vintage collection of aircraft available to the public, serving as a kind of aviation museum. However, in 1992, just six years later, the Weeks Air Museum was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. It crushed the hanger and ruined most of the planes. Undeterred, he rebuilt the museum and kept it in place until he moved the expanding collection to Florida’s Polk County, where he created the “Fantasy of Flight” . This left South Florida without an aviation museum, and caused four plane enthusiasts of military and classic aircraft to join forces and transition the hanger Weeks left behind into the museum we have today: Wings Over Miami.
The museum is meant to be a tribute to aviators and veterans who were pioneers in the history of military and civilian aircraft. It is, in fact, one of the few museums where the exhibits are not only displayed but flown. The idea is to share the history of flight with the public and provide a legacy not only of the aircraft themselves, but a glimpse into the lives of the pilots who were in the cockpit.
Recent acquisitions include vintage planes, military trainers, and jet aircraft manufactured and flown during the era of the Cold War. As you stroll through the museum, you’ll see people working on planes to maintain and renovate them, a reminder that this is literally a flying museum. If you’ve arrived in Miami to enjoy its hotels and Florida beaches , you should know this museum is open only Thursday through Sunday from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon. It’s closed Monday through Wednesday, and has a cost of ten dollars for adults, seven dollars for seniors sixty and above, and six dollars for children twelve and under. There are group rates available. The museum is located in Miami at 14710 SW 128th Street and may be reached at (305) 233 5197.
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