Valiant Air Command Wardbird Museum
Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
(Located at the Space Coast Regional Airport)
(Located at the Space Coast Regional Airport)
6600 Tico Rd.
Titusville, FL 32780
Titusville, FL 32780
AT A
GLANCE: Valiant Air Command Warbird
Museum
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Date of Visit:
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Saturday, December 31,
2016
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Parking
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Plentiful and free,
onsite parking.
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Amount of time needed
to peruse exhibits:
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120 minutes (2 hours)
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Amount of time needed
for gift shop
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45 – 60 minutes
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Dress code
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There’s no dress code
here, but dress as to not offend the general public.
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Be sure to…..
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Take a peek inside of
the Tico Belle. You gain a new
perspective on personal space.
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Nearby/other
establishments to visit
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·
American Police Hall of Fame & Museum
·
Astronaut Hall of Fame*
* The Astronaut Hall of Fame is now located at the Kennedy Space Center
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Kennedy Space Center
Advice: plan an entire day for the Kennedy Space Center |
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Walkability, general
downtown area / amount of traffic
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You’ll need a car or
other transportation.
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Safety, in terms of
type and number of crimes committed in general area
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Generally safe. Even though you are a distance away from
any crowds, practice the normal precautions of stowing your valuables out of
sight and locking your car, even at a military museum.
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The Valiant Air Command
Warbird Museum is here to honor the women and men who defended the United
States who defended the United States by air during wartime. It does this by not only displaying photos,
medals, and uniforms, but also by restoring and maintaining the Warbirds. You’ll see both Air Force and Navy exhibits.
Who
is Valiant Air Command? Valiant Air Command (VAC) is a group of
likeminded individuals, started approximately 20 years ago, with the intent on
preserving part of our military history.
What
is a Warbird? A warbird is a specific type of plane, one
that had been flown in combat and is now retired. See: U.S. Military Aircraft Nicknames
for the endearing names that pilots used for different types of planes. I especially liked “Fat Face” and “Lawn Dart.” For a complete definition, see VAC website.
We visited the Warbird
Museum on New Year’s Eve, and weren’t aware they were closing early. The words were out of my mouth before I
realized: “I’m going to need at least 45
minutes for this gift shop.” We had to hustle,
because this meant we didn’t have the gift of leisure to stroll around the
exhibits at our own pace. Luckily, we
were able to see everything.
The VAC Warbird Museum
celebrates those who have served their country.
In my opinion, they do a fantastic job of this, apparent in its displays
and their gift shop. Before you visit
the gift shop, consider the advice I offered with theAmerican Police Hall of Fame & Museum Tour the museum first,
and visit the gift shop second. Admire
the warbirds, read about the pilots, and see the uniforms and medals. A great sense of appreciation will tiptoe
into your mind. War and history buffs
will want to spend 2 – 3 days here, touching and photographing these magnificent
machines. Try to subtly nudge them
along, although using a cattle prod is not out of the question. Another option is to let these people spend
time with the Warbirds while you visit the gift shop. In fact, the title of this blog refers to
that very thing. If you are visiting
this museum with a Warbird enthusiast, let them be and tell them to meet you in
the gift shop when they are finished.
Trust me; this strategy has saved relationships a countless number of
times.
I enjoyed the first
part of the museum depicting and explaining World War II (WWII) tactics. For instance, I never gave much thought to
D-Day: Germans on the beach and Allies
in boats. The Warbird Museum
reconstructed Normandy Beach on a 5’ x 5’ display, showing the actual layout of
the area. I hadn’t thought the topography
until I saw this display. You could say
that WWII played a large role in creating the state of Florida as we know it
today. Shipbuilding, housing for
recruits, and naval / military bases commenced to dot the coastline along the
Atlantic Ocean coastline. Both civilians
and military started to relocate here, taking advantage of Florida’s
subtropical climate.
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| Location of military establishments in Florida, on the Atlantic Ocean side. This is a map I created from information from Museum of Florida History |
Go to the first outdoor
hanger when through with the indoor exhibits.
While there, I heard a terribly loud noise while we were in this hangar. This was followed by half a dozen men
scurrying toward the open air area out back.
I hurried after them, feeling concerned.
Was the place going to explode, and the men were saving themselves? No. A
retired Navy pilot had started the engine of one of the Warbirds. It was loud, it was horrible, and the menfolk
were loving it and getting as close as possible. To each their own. The Warbird Museum had placards by each plane
detailing its history. Tico Belle, the
museum’s current restoration project was flown in actual battle. Each Warbird has a history, which is why they
are there. You’ll see Warbirds not only
from WWII, but from the Korean and Vietnam wars.
VAC Warbird Museum:
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| Warbirds everywhere |
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| Entrance to the museum |
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| Artwork |
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| A Blue Angels warbird |
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| Artwork on the Tico Belle |
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| Snoopy will always be my favorite pilot |
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| For the kids to play with |
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| A Huey Helicopter from the Vietnam War |
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| Artwork |
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| No, we will never forget |
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| A uniform on display |
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| A poster in the museum |
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| Again, we will never forget |
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| A map from the Vietnam War |
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| A photo from Bush's days in the Air Nation Guard |
Enter the gift shop and
you will recognize that the culture of Air Force and Navy pilots lives on. Back in WWII, pilots were sent to Hawaii in
droves after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in the United
States. One of the first displays inside
the gift ship is of colorful Hawaiian shirts, each one utilizing the image of
planes mixed in with the tropical items of pineapples and palm trees. On your right are leather flight
jackets. They were 20% off. For a sale, 20% off is a decent discount, and
I eagerly attacked the rack. I might
even get two! Humming happily to myself,
I looked for my size. The price was
printed on the same tag as the the size, and I dropped the jacket I was holding
like a hot potato. The price of one
jacket is equivalent to a couple of car payments, even at a discounted price. If I bought two…let’s just say we could have
made our monthly house payment. I don’t
want to give you the impression that they were overpriced. These jackets are the real thing and are the
jacket for you if you wanted to do a Lindbergh and fly over the Atlantic
Ocean. Very cool and authentic, but hard
to justify buying one. I saw my required
shot glasses and t-shirts.
The gift shop has a
creative way of selling t-shirts: they
are all displayed and bore a large number pinned to the front. Find the t-shirt you like, go to the racks on
the other side of the leather jackets, find the corresponding number, and find
your size. I find it frustrating having
to ask the shop personnel about a particular design and size. The shop folks here are friendly, but I didn’t
want to waste any of my shopping time. I
finally had to ask if they had refrigerator magnets. The women behind the counter waved her hand
toward the display next to her asking, “Is this enough for you?” It was.
Sadly, the Warbird
Museum doesn’t offer any type of online shopping for merchandise in their gift
shop. Mind you, this is an excellent
gift shop, but I think they are missing the opportunity to make money by
marketing the gift shop with a solid online presence. If you see something you like, buy it. You won’t get a second chance. Along with an absence of online media, I
found another area that concerned me:
they are geared toward boys & men.
They had tremendous amounts of traditional toys for boys, but only one toy
was targeted toward girls. It was a toy
stewardess, with her own carry-on luggage and everything. They
did give girls a choice though. Your
stewardess could be from Delta or Southwest Airlines.
I’ve talked your ear
off for a while, so sit back and look at the pictures, below, that I took in the gift shop.
Gift Shop:
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| Hawaiian shirts |
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| Leather jackets |
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| Shot glasses |
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| Numbered t-shirts |
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| Clocks |
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| "Are these enough refrigerator magnets for you?" |
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| Clocks |
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| The glass counter didn't appeal to me |
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| Piggy banks |
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| Coffee cups |
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| Tote bag that reflects the attitude toward women, back in the day |
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| This is a great shop to let children shop on their own |
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| More toys |
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| Did you ever do a "paint by numbers" when you were young? How did that turn out for you? |
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| Military bears |
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| Girls can select from either Delta or Southwest Airlines |
By now, you are probably hungry, and I’ve got
just the place for you. Head toward
Columbia Blvd. and turn right. When you
hit Highway 1, take a left and drive for about 10 minutes. Just to let you know, Highway 1 changes its
name to Washington Blvd. Look for the
post office on your right, and Steve’s Family Diner is across the street, on
your left. This is a non-touristy bar,
and apparently the waitresses knew most of the customers by name. I heard waitress ask someone if they were
still thirsty. Getting a positive
response, she said: “Let me get y’all some sweet tea.” It was great!
The other thing I liked was that Steve’s Family Diner had gyros and Greek
salads on the menu. I miss the Coney
Islands of the Detroit area, and have had a hankering for a gyro sandwich for
some time. It was good. The Greek salad lacked beets and garbanzo
beans, but was otherwise good. Their
salad is huge, and you could easily split it with a couple of friends.
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| Steve's Diner is the place to be |
I am happy to have
shared the VAC Warbird Museum and Steve’s Family Diner with you. You will come across people who claim to “know”
Florida because they visited one of the massive theme parks. Regretfully, they don’t. They are tourists who came to see what they
wanted to see, and then left. Once
again, you are the traveler who comes to see what’s really there. Congratulations,
because you, my travel friend, know the real story. In this case, it’s the overall history of our
nation throughout war, and the role that brave and dedicated military and
civilians played in Florida. It sure
doesn’t involve mouse ears.
Update 1/6/17
I had notified the VAC Warbird Museum that I had reviewed their gift shop. This is the email I received in response:
Update 1/6/17
I had notified the VAC Warbird Museum that I had reviewed their gift shop. This is the email I received in response:
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