Vintage aircraft pilots perform in 2008 during Davis-Monthan's annual Heritage Flight Conference. A jet-powered Vietnam War-era F-4 Phantom II flies in formation with a propeller-driven P-51 Mustang from the World War II era.
US Air Force/Christina D. Kinsey
Pima Air & Space Museum —
Right next door to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Pima Air & Space Museum has more than 300 exhibits, including this rare Boeing YC-14 which was designed to land at speeds as low as 99 mph, according to the museum website.
Seattle's Museum of Flight boasts a Lockheed M-21 Blackbird, built to support a CIA spy program, it is "the fastest and highest flying air-breathing production aircraft ever built," according to the museum.
Courtesy Museum of Flight, Seattle
The first jet-powered Air Force One —
This Boeing 707-120 -- code named SAM (Special Air Missions) 970 -- is the first presidential jet to serve as Air Force One, according to the museum. Previous Air Force One planes had been propeller driven. The museum says SAM 970's passengers included presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon as well as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and ex-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Courtesy Museum of Flight, Seattle
The last Concorde —
This aircraft ended an era in aviation history. It flew the final Concorde commercial flight, when the supersonic fleet was retired in 2003. While making its journey to the museum, the British Airways jet set a New York-to-Seattle speed record of 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 12 seconds, the museum says.
Courtesy Museum of Flight, Seattle
Edwards Air Force Base, California —
The region surrounding California's Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles has served to develop and test so many aircraft it's been dubbed the Aerospace Capital of America. This stealthy F-117 Nighthawk was decommissioned in 2008.
US Air Force/Julius Delos Reyes
Faster than sound —
At Edwards, Chuck Yeager became the first person to pilot an aircraft faster than the speed of sound during level flight. The experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane broke the barrier in 1947 after being dropped from a modified B-29 bomber.
The Flagship Knoxville -- the shiny silver centerpiece of American Airlines' C.R. Smith Museum -- is about a 10-minute cab ride south of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Courtesy CR Smith Museum
Fantasy of Flight —
Looking for a really hands-on aviation thrill? Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida, about 45 minutes southwest of Orlando, offers daredevils a chance to take the stick and fly a vintage Boeing Stearman PT-17. For the less ambitious, visitors can enjoy simply sitting in the cockpit of a World War II-era P51C Mustang.
