Tag: aviation

Aerial Races mural at Air and Space Museum!

Several very cool murals adorn a curved interior wall at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. I particularly like this one. It was painted beneath the older and much larger March of Transportation mural.

I’m not sure if it has an official title–it’s described as a pre-World War I scenic mural…depicting an imaginary airfield in France, about the time of the first great aerial races and daring exhibitions… It was painted in March, 1984 by New Zealand pilot and artist-designer Jon Francis Petrie.

In the mural, words painted on an observation tower indicate: ROUEN Aérodrome La Grande Exposition d’AVIATION 1910.

I’ve tried to search for biographical info on the artist, but to no avail, except that he was born in 1940. Perhaps someone who is knowledgeable can leave a comment.

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Memories on the 250th birthday of the U.S. Navy.

Today is officially the 250th birthday of the United States Navy. On October 13, 2025, the U.S. Navy was established by the Continental Congress.

Needless to say, the Navy has a very large presence in San Diego, with important bases that include Naval Base San Diego, Naval Base Point Loma, Naval Air Station North Island (where naval aviation was born), and Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. Over the years, countless sailors trained at the old Naval Training Center San Diego, and have deployed from San Diego’s harbor on ships in both wartime and peacetime. Until 1997, Top Gun pilots trained at Naval Air Station Miramar.

I’ve published a wide variety of blogs concerning the U.S. Navy in San Diego. Given today’s 250th anniversary, I thought this would be a good time to revisit some of those past blog posts.

Click the following links to bring back some U.S. Navy memories…

Creating a plaque: Navy history in San Diego revealed!

History of recruits at Naval Training Center San Diego.

The Ship’s Bell mosaic at Liberty Station.

Inside the Navy’s landlocked USS Recruit training ship!

Nautical History Gallery & Museum opens!

The Naked Warrior stands in Coronado park.

Chow: Feeding a Navy in San Diego.

Coronado’s surprising role in submarine history.

Top Gun fans vs. reality on USS Midway!

Monument to tallest structures ever built in San Diego.

Bronze plaque marks birthplace of naval aviation.

Memories of the Greatest Generation at Liberty Station.

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

A funny Air Mail mailbox in Pacific Beach!

An unusual mailbox is located high above the sidewalk in Pacific Beach. You might see it while cruising down Ingraham Street.

What’s that? I wondered during my walk today. Is that actually a mailbox? Only a mail delivery giant could possibly reach it!

Then I zoomed my camera in for a closer photograph…

Oh, I see! The funny mailbox is for Air Mail! Makes perfect sense!

Hopefully the mail delivery aircraft doesn’t stall!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Glider history made in San Diego’s Point Loma.

Did you know that glider history was made above the bluffs of Point Loma in San Diego?

Two landmark plaques that commemorate this history (which includes the breaking of a sailplane flight duration world record) are located just inside the entrance gate of Cabrillo National Monument. A small dirt footpath leads up to the boulder upon which they are mounted. Beyond, a slope descends steeply to the Pacific Ocean.

I recently walked from the Cabrillo National Monument’s visitor center down to the plaques to have a close look…

The plaque on the left states:

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE EARLY AVIATION PIONEERS THAT FLEW AMERICAN DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED SAILPLANES IN SAN DIEGO. THESE AVIATORS ARE REMEMBERED BY THOSE WHO FLEW AFTER THEM AND THE CITIZENS OF SAN DIEGO

John C. Barstow – William Hawley Bowlus – Alan R. Essery – Forrest H. Hieatt – Anne Lindbergh – Earle R. Mitchell – Adolph R. “Bud” Perl – William Beuby – Lowell E. Bullen – Albert E. Hastings – I. N. Lawson – Charles A. Lindbergh – Allison J. Moore – William Van Dusen

SAN DIEGO SAILPLANE ENTHUSIASTS – THE ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST

(Yes, the names include Anne and Charles A. Lindbergh!)

The plaque on the right states:

POINT LOMA

THIS LANDMARK IS DEDICATED TO THE PIONEERING SPIRITS OF THE PILOTS WILLIAM HAWLEY BOWLUS AND JOHN C. BARSTOW WHO MADE MILESTONE FLIGHTS IN GLIDER HISTORY AT THIS SITE

WILLIAM HAWLEY BOWLUS – FIRST AMERICAN SOARING FLIGHT TO EXCEED ONE HOUR DURATION – 1 HOUR 21 MINUTES OCTOBER 19, 1929

JOHN C. BARSTOW – DURATION FLIGHT OF 15 HOURS 13 MINUTES EXCEEDING THE WORLD RECORD – APRIL 29-30, 1930

DEDICATED APRIL 27, 1996

THE NATIONAL SOARING MUSEUM – HARRIS HILL, ELMIRA NY – AN AFFILIATE OF THE SOARING SOCIETY OF AMERICA

SPONSORED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Fly your kite on this world-famous hilltop!

The first controlled winged flight in human history took place in San Diego in 1883. That’s when John J. Montgomery launched his glider from the top of a breezy hill in Otay Mesa West. So it stands to reason that the famous hill today would be an ideal spot to fly your kite!

The grassy hill, where a monument to Montgomery’s legendary flight now stands, experiences plenty of sunshine and a nearly constant breeze. The hilltop’s expansive Montgomery-Waller Community Park is a place where families gather for picnics, sports and recreation . . . and to enjoy their own special flight!

I sat on a park bench today for a few minutes and watched a kite dancing in the cloudless, blue San Diego sky…

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Balboa Theatre centennial: A salute to San Diego military!

The Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego is celebrating its centennial. The old vaudeville/movie theatre opened in 1924, survived a threatened demolition, and has experienced a beautiful restoration. Today the Balboa Theatre is a popular concert and event venue whose splendid interior and pipe organ recalls what entertainment was like in San Diego a century ago.

I’ve learned a special event is coming on Friday, March 29, that honors both the historic theater’s centennial and San Diego’s military. The Flying Fleet, a silent movie released in 1929, will be returning to life, accompanied by the Wonder Morton theatre pipe organ played by Ken Double.

Much of The Flying Fleet was filmed in San Diego. Scenes depict two love smitten pilots training at Naval Air Station North Island. The romantic drama includes action from the United States Navy’s first aircraft carrier USS Langley! You might consider The Flying Fleet a melodramatic prequel to Top Gun!

Is your budget feeling stressed? Tickets are a whopping $3.50!

Interested in learning more? Click here!

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Aviation enthusiasts recreate 100-year-old aircraft.

A disassembled 1927 Boeing FB-5 ended up as a box of parts. Almost one hundred years later, volunteer aviation enthusiasts in San Diego opened the box, then got to work in machine shops to recreate the very rare aircraft.

The reassembled FB-5 made its debut in 2022!

I saw this historical fighter in all its restored glory during my recent visit to Aerofest at the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex in El Cajon.

I was told that eventually this FB-5 will be exhibited at the world-famous museum in Balboa Park. A sign explained it’s one of about a dozen airplanes “built from scratch” in the museum’s extensive collection.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Restoration of replica Wright Flyer, world’s first aircraft.

Visitors to the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex in El Cajon yesterday were in for an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind treat!

An amazing, full-size replica of the Wright Flyer, invented and flown by Orville And Wilbur Wright in 1903, was on view as it is being restored. The famous Wright Flyer, (also known as the Kitty Hawk, Flyer I, or the 1903 Flyer) was the world’s first successfully powered and controlled aircraft.

The careful restoration has been ongoing inside one of the hangars at the Gillespie Field Annex. Right now the aircraft’s fragile wooden framework is laid bare, as the outer fabric has yet to be replaced.

A sign by the aircraft details its history, dimensions and construction. This particular Wright Flyer reproduction was obtained from Valentine Aero in 1979. When various repairs are completed, it will be proudly displayed at the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park.

To read the sign, enlarge my photograph.

I took these photos of the Wright Flyer replica during my visit to Aerofest yesterday. The annual event allowed visitors to peer into this hangar, plus purchase all sorts of aviation collectibles in support of the museum.

I first visited the Gillespie Field Annex in early 2019 and blogged about what I saw. See that post here. (Please note that entry is no longer free–it’s $7, but well worth it!)

The first powered, controlled, sustained airplane flight in history. Orville Wright, age 32, is at the controls of the machine, lying prone on the lower wing with hips in the cradle which operated the wing-warping mechanism. His brother, Wilbur Wright, age 36, ran alongside to help balance the machine, having just released his hold on the forward upright of the right wing. The starting rail, the wing-rest, a coil box, and other items needed for flight preparation are visible behind the machine. Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Aviation enthusiasts spot planes in San Diego.

There’s a community of aviation enthusiasts in San Diego who love to spot airplanes. I met two of these spotters recently on top of downtown’s Cortez Hill. They were taking photographs of planes approaching San Diego International Airport.

The first spotter I spoke to is named Scott. He operates the SANspotter website. We spoke for a few moments about the many different aircraft I’ve seen while walking atop Cortez Hill–from huge airliners flying nonstop from London or Tokyo, to small, sleek business jets, to relatively tiny propeller-driven planes.

About a week later, I encountered a second friendly spotter whose smile and enthusiasm were infectious. He became excited when a shiny, colorful Southwest Airlines plane came into view. With his powerful telephoto lens, he took an amazing crisp photograph.

Both spotters found their ideal position at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Date Street, near the west end of Tweet Street city park, across Interstate 5 from Balboa Park’s Marston Point.

If you’re interested in joining this community of San Diego spotters, here’s the San Diego Spotters group page on Facebook.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Drone Soccer coming soon to San Diego!

Something super cool is coming to San Diego! Drone Soccer will soon be rolled out to some of the City of San Diego’s Recreation Centers!

What is Drone Soccer? Check out the U.S. Drone Soccer explanatory video here. Flying “soccer balls” powered by drones are maneuvered strategically, as players strive to score goals by flying their ball through an elevated hoop. (Sounds a bit of like Harry Potter’s airborne game of quidditch to me!)

Kids playing Drone Soccer in San Diego will learn all sorts of great STEM knowledge, including robotics, engineering and drone piloting–all the while having lots of fun!

Parks and Recreation had a canopy set up in front of the Municipal Gymnasium today letting people know this is in development. It’s still in the early stages, so there’s no dedicated San Diego webpage or social media page that you can follow just yet. I was told that should be finished shortly.

The hope is that next year, during the U.S. Drone Soccer 2024 National Championships at the San Diego Convention Center, some local teams will be ready to compete! How cool is this!!!

Are there any schools in San Diego that already have Drone Soccer teams? Are you a teacher? You need to check this out! Spread the word!

Meanwhile keep your antennae up. If I learn more in the days ahead, I’ll provide an update here!

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!