Based on traveler ratings and TripAdvisor Flights experts, TripAdvisor announced its top 10 aviation picks in the U.S., on the East and West coasts and in Hawaii.
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum houses the world's largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. The free museum in Washington, D.C. includes the original Wright 1903 Flyer and the Apollo 11 command module.
Visit www.nasm.si.edu.
Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum, New York
Aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Intrepid, the museum in New York houses a collection of 30 aircraft on the deck and hangar bar of the ship and one of the Concorde supersonic jets on loan from British Airways on the Intrepid pier, which visitors can explore inside and out. Other interactive exhibits include an A-6 cockpit simulator and a virtual flight zone.
Visit www.intrepidmuseum.org.
Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC
On the site where Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved the first successful plane travel, visitors can follow the routes where the Wright Brothers tested their first aircraft and wander around the memorial's museu, including its collection of models, tools and machines.
Visit www.nps.gov/wrbr.
National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, FL
More than 4,000 aviation artifacts and 150 Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aircraft are on display for free at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida. Visitors can take a ride in the museum's flight simulators or see the Blue Angels practice on select Tuesday and Wednesdays.
Visit www.navalaviationmuseum.org.
Museum of Flight, Seattle
The Museum of Flight has more than 85 aircraft, ranging from antique to modern aviation, the air traffic control tower exhibit at Boeing Field and the exhibit, "Style in the Aisle," featuring flight attendant uniforms from the 1930's to the 1980's. Among the aircraft collection is an Air Force One aircraft that carried presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
Visit www.museumofflight.org.
Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ
One of the largest aviation museums in the world, the Pima Air & Space Museum has more than 300 aircraft and spacecraft in its collection, including more than 125,000 artifacts of modern aviation and exhibits featuring the B-29 Superfortress, SR-71 Blackbird, and World War II German V-1 "buzz bomb." Among its outdoor displays are aircrafts alongside their ground support vehicles and an airplane "boneyard."
Visit www.pimaair.org.
Boeing Aircraft Factory Tour, Everett, WA
The world's largest building by volume, The Boeing Aircraft Factory has a tour the production facililty, from which visitors can get a bird's eye view of aircraft production, including several Boeing models, including the 787 Dreamliner and walk around the aviation museum, boasting aircraft engines and conceptual aircraft designs.
Visit www.boeing.com/commercial/tours.
Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, Honolulu
Built in the hangars that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, covering tens of thousands of square feet, the Pacific Aviation Museum's exhibits include a collection of military aircraft from the World War II Era in Honolulu. Visitors can take the pilot's seat in the site's flight simulator, where they can take off and land on an aircraft carrier and take part in a high stakes battle in the sky.
Visit www.pacificaviationmuseum.org.
Gravelly Point Park, Arlington, VA
In Virginia, north of the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., park visitors can get a free glimpse of planes taking off and landing as they fly overhead.
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, McMinnville, OR
Location in McMinnville, Oregon, the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum's collection features cargo planes, commercial jets, bombers and spacecraft. Visitors can follow modern aviation's development in the museum's exhibits and archives and see Howard Hughes' wooden "Spruce Goose," the largest plane of its time at completion in 1947.
Visit www.sprucegoose.org.
Visit www.tripadvisor.com.