Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:32 am
In a static museum:
1. Light it as well as you can and paint the walls white.
2. Avoid obstructing the aircraft. Keep signs and guardrails, if any, at knee level. Try to make it so that displays of engines, models, etc. don't block good overall views/photos of the aircraft. Space permitting, allow people to view the aircraft from as many sides as possible.
3. Roll some of the planes out into the sunlight a few times a year for special events if at all possible.
4. Accept my thanks for preserving these important artifacts.
August
1. Light it as well as you can and paint the walls white.
2. Avoid obstructing the aircraft. Keep signs and guardrails, if any, at knee level. Try to make it so that displays of engines, models, etc. don't block good overall views/photos of the aircraft. Space permitting, allow people to view the aircraft from as many sides as possible.
3. Roll some of the planes out into the sunlight a few times a year for special events if at all possible.
4. Accept my thanks for preserving these important artifacts.
August
Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:56 am
Beer, yeah, beer would be good, especially if Ice Cold.
Actually, I would like to see a bit of history on the actual aircraft on display. Where did it come from, who restored it and what it represents. Sometimes the details on how a display came about can actually be more interesting than just regular details like how much you can stuff in the bomb bay and wether the ashtray is heated or not.
I know space can be at a premium, like at our San Diego Aerospace Museum, and sometimes in the zest to show it all, things get overstuffed into a display and can ruin the photo op or make it confusing.
Keep the displays simple!!
Just my crazy thoughts, yours may differ!
Actually, I would like to see a bit of history on the actual aircraft on display. Where did it come from, who restored it and what it represents. Sometimes the details on how a display came about can actually be more interesting than just regular details like how much you can stuff in the bomb bay and wether the ashtray is heated or not.
I know space can be at a premium, like at our San Diego Aerospace Museum, and sometimes in the zest to show it all, things get overstuffed into a display and can ruin the photo op or make it confusing.
Keep the displays simple!!
Just my crazy thoughts, yours may differ!
Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:56 am
Accurate text and data...whether on a board or brochure/flyer. I couldn't care less if every other rib was missing on your static Ventura or if the bolts are gold anodized or Zn instead of cad plated. It is all spoiled when reading the history and find it polluted with grammatical and spelling errors, grossly inaccurate production/performance data or history that is not true. Get it right. This is the cheapest thing of an entire display project and is so neglected. A pass through the USAF museum in Dayton is a real fine example....a good place to take an impressionable youngster and read him a display with 3 spelling errors in as many paragraphs! The putzes there can't even spell Antarctica! 
(They left out the 1st C). Just What kind of message does this send to a young mind? It's OK to misspell, exagerate, or lie?
Name the parts correctly..... A tire is not a wheel (go ahead, get out Webster's and look it up). The wheel is what the tire is mounted upon. This type of terminology is acceptable on forums as this or in the street, but intolerable at a place of "learning".
(They left out the 1st C). Just What kind of message does this send to a young mind? It's OK to misspell, exagerate, or lie?
Name the parts correctly..... A tire is not a wheel (go ahead, get out Webster's and look it up). The wheel is what the tire is mounted upon. This type of terminology is acceptable on forums as this or in the street, but intolerable at a place of "learning".
Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:08 pm
Wow !
Some of you guys should pay a visit to the national Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Canada. Many of your whishes would be granted...
My two main coments are space around the planes and lighthing. We need more of both ! But I understand space is scarce...
And then, a good pamphlet at the door describing ALL the planes inside. I will even buy a book if it's filled with background info on the museum's artifacts, not only planes, but engines also, and any memorabilia.
Flying or static, I personally love both and feel we need them both.
Some of you guys should pay a visit to the national Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Canada. Many of your whishes would be granted...
My two main coments are space around the planes and lighthing. We need more of both ! But I understand space is scarce...
And then, a good pamphlet at the door describing ALL the planes inside. I will even buy a book if it's filled with background info on the museum's artifacts, not only planes, but engines also, and any memorabilia.
Flying or static, I personally love both and feel we need them both.
Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:21 pm
Thanks for the feedback everone...it is taken very seriously
We have tried to achieve many of the things mentioned for a static museum.
-good lighting
-making sure there is at least one clean camera angle per aircraft
-keeping it so you can get right up to the aircraft (but please don't touch)
-keeping exhibits low
-plain language displays
and we are continuing to make changes, check out our website let me know how we have done so far.
www.albertaaviationmuseum.com
Over the winter we will be making even more
mini theaters on the backside of the aircraft to eliminate as much as possible from the camera angles , while still telling as much as we can about the history.
removing some material from exhibits that are over done
adding a full exhibit on "The People of Aviation"
adding a better "Commercial Aviation" exhibit
We have extensive interactive computer stations that have just come on line that are geared to the young and give them a taste of aviation.
Also adding flight simulators with reality built in...kind of MS simulators on reality check.
Our goal is to provide as well as possible for our visitors...be they casual interest or enthusiast.
we have a goal of at least one event per month as well.
thanks for the input...would love to hear more.
Tom H
We have tried to achieve many of the things mentioned for a static museum.
-good lighting
-making sure there is at least one clean camera angle per aircraft
-keeping it so you can get right up to the aircraft (but please don't touch)
-keeping exhibits low
-plain language displays
and we are continuing to make changes, check out our website let me know how we have done so far.
www.albertaaviationmuseum.com
Over the winter we will be making even more
mini theaters on the backside of the aircraft to eliminate as much as possible from the camera angles , while still telling as much as we can about the history.
removing some material from exhibits that are over done
adding a full exhibit on "The People of Aviation"
adding a better "Commercial Aviation" exhibit
We have extensive interactive computer stations that have just come on line that are geared to the young and give them a taste of aviation.
Also adding flight simulators with reality built in...kind of MS simulators on reality check.
Our goal is to provide as well as possible for our visitors...be they casual interest or enthusiast.
we have a goal of at least one event per month as well.
thanks for the input...would love to hear more.
Tom H
Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:30 pm
When I visit a museum nowadays, my time is often limited. I cannot leisurely take in the entire experience, so I take photos to enjoy later. Lighting is critical. Many museum seem to think aircraft in total darkness with scattered spotlights adds drama. It doesn’t for me. Just makes for lousy photos, even when using flash. I often overlook interesting displays because of this poor lighting. Try a few skylights instead of electric lights that create unusual color casts.
Don’t lie about the condition of the aircraft. I’ve been to a few museums that claimed “flyable aircraft”, when the aircraft actually last flew years ago, and were last really airworthy decades ago.
I prefer to see aircraft as they were while in military service, not something so clean and pristine you could eat off it.
Life-size dioramas. An aircraft surrounded with the weapons, gear, support equipment used in military service. Much more interesting than the aircraft alone. Fantasy of Flight in Polk FL has a very neat B-17 diorama, which also allows you to walk thru the aircraft and hear the sounds of combat. Of course, their lighting is so poor I couldn’t get any decent photos of it.
Something unusual, that no other museum has. Like the forward 3rd of a 737 that’s been cut in half lengthwise, to show folks how it is built and where components are located.
Aircraft that have been shot up or shot down. Not wreckage, but a reasonably intact airframe from most any war or skirmish. The USAF buried shot-up jets in the Saudi desert. It would be neat to see an A-10 that limped home after surviving a hit from a surface-to-air missile. I believe most of the aircraft wrecks from the Falklands war were melted down for scrap. Heck, even a hulk that has been used for battle-damage repair would be more interesting to me than many static display aircraft.
Truly historic aircraft instead of an aircraft pulled out of the boneyard with no remarkable history to it. I’d pay an extra $20 just to see wreckage of Yammamoto’s Betty bomber, or the Lady be Good, or sit in the cockpit section of a B-52 that survived a SAM hit over Hanoi (are any of these B-52s left?).
I don’t mind spending 3-4 bucks for a pamphlet giving the specific details of the display aircraft. This saves me the time and effort of trying to photograph the data displayed next to the aircraft.
Behind the scenes tours of the workshops, etc, for an extra 5-10 bucks.
An exclusive photo tour for an extra 10 bucks. Take a SMALL group (5-6 people) on a leisurely tour during a slow weekday, allow them access to the cockpits and interiors so they can get photos they normally wouldn’t. Keep them supervised at all times but let them get all the photos they want, AND use tripods.
Lots of small displays. Like the USAF museum in Dayton. Every time I visited there, I found neat displays I had overlooked before.
Wanna make some money? Have a dog-fighting flight simulator that costs $4 per fight, and if you win, you get a $10 gift certificate to the gift shop. Most aviation buffs I know like to think they’re pretty hot stuff with a stick, and cant resist the urge to show off in front of their friends, wives, and girlfriends.
Don’t lie about the condition of the aircraft. I’ve been to a few museums that claimed “flyable aircraft”, when the aircraft actually last flew years ago, and were last really airworthy decades ago.
I prefer to see aircraft as they were while in military service, not something so clean and pristine you could eat off it.
Life-size dioramas. An aircraft surrounded with the weapons, gear, support equipment used in military service. Much more interesting than the aircraft alone. Fantasy of Flight in Polk FL has a very neat B-17 diorama, which also allows you to walk thru the aircraft and hear the sounds of combat. Of course, their lighting is so poor I couldn’t get any decent photos of it.
Something unusual, that no other museum has. Like the forward 3rd of a 737 that’s been cut in half lengthwise, to show folks how it is built and where components are located.
Aircraft that have been shot up or shot down. Not wreckage, but a reasonably intact airframe from most any war or skirmish. The USAF buried shot-up jets in the Saudi desert. It would be neat to see an A-10 that limped home after surviving a hit from a surface-to-air missile. I believe most of the aircraft wrecks from the Falklands war were melted down for scrap. Heck, even a hulk that has been used for battle-damage repair would be more interesting to me than many static display aircraft.
Truly historic aircraft instead of an aircraft pulled out of the boneyard with no remarkable history to it. I’d pay an extra $20 just to see wreckage of Yammamoto’s Betty bomber, or the Lady be Good, or sit in the cockpit section of a B-52 that survived a SAM hit over Hanoi (are any of these B-52s left?).
I don’t mind spending 3-4 bucks for a pamphlet giving the specific details of the display aircraft. This saves me the time and effort of trying to photograph the data displayed next to the aircraft.
Behind the scenes tours of the workshops, etc, for an extra 5-10 bucks.
An exclusive photo tour for an extra 10 bucks. Take a SMALL group (5-6 people) on a leisurely tour during a slow weekday, allow them access to the cockpits and interiors so they can get photos they normally wouldn’t. Keep them supervised at all times but let them get all the photos they want, AND use tripods.
Lots of small displays. Like the USAF museum in Dayton. Every time I visited there, I found neat displays I had overlooked before.
Wanna make some money? Have a dog-fighting flight simulator that costs $4 per fight, and if you win, you get a $10 gift certificate to the gift shop. Most aviation buffs I know like to think they’re pretty hot stuff with a stick, and cant resist the urge to show off in front of their friends, wives, and girlfriends.
Last edited by tinbender2 on Fri Sep 21, 2007 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:49 pm
Rob Rohr?
Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:18 am
Lots of small displays. Like the USAF museum in Dayton. Every time I visited there, I found neat displays I had overlooked before.
And they keep adding more .... hopefully the Linebacke II will be completed when I volunteer this morning.
And they keep adding more .... hopefully the Linebacke II will be completed when I volunteer this morning.
Fri Sep 21, 2007 7:43 am
Oh, and I forgot this one...
Veterans that have really been there, done that ! I realize their numbers are decreasing but I will never forget the private tour of the Maritime Coastal Patrol B-24 I had one time in Ottawa.
I noticed the gentleman with the decorations on his jacket and went to talk with him. It was a slow day at the museum and after looking around to see if anyone would notice, we sneaked in through the openned bomb bay and he showed me the cockpit, explained everything and even told me a few strories.
Unforgettable and priceless !
Veterans that have really been there, done that ! I realize their numbers are decreasing but I will never forget the private tour of the Maritime Coastal Patrol B-24 I had one time in Ottawa.
I noticed the gentleman with the decorations on his jacket and went to talk with him. It was a slow day at the museum and after looking around to see if anyone would notice, we sneaked in through the openned bomb bay and he showed me the cockpit, explained everything and even told me a few strories.
Unforgettable and priceless !
Fri Sep 21, 2007 4:57 pm
I agree with many of the previous points:
1) great lighting
2)at least one unobstructed view of the plane
3) supporting artifacts AWAY from the plane (locate behind, on the wall, etc.)
4) "Photographer's Specials" after hours now and then...for a small added fee, allow in only photographers with tripods, etc...no daisypickers, families of kids, etc.
5) Provide or sell a booklet describing the EXACT aircraft in the collection, service histories--whatever they were; wartime or not. I often am limited to time, and wish I had those histories when I'm labeling my slides. And I'm happy to pay for such a listing, provided it's accurate and UP-TO-DATE...easy to do with today's desktop publishing techniques.
Thanks for hearing us out, and good luck to you and your museum...looking forward to visiting some day!
--Tom
1) great lighting
2)at least one unobstructed view of the plane
3) supporting artifacts AWAY from the plane (locate behind, on the wall, etc.)
4) "Photographer's Specials" after hours now and then...for a small added fee, allow in only photographers with tripods, etc...no daisypickers, families of kids, etc.
5) Provide or sell a booklet describing the EXACT aircraft in the collection, service histories--whatever they were; wartime or not. I often am limited to time, and wish I had those histories when I'm labeling my slides. And I'm happy to pay for such a listing, provided it's accurate and UP-TO-DATE...easy to do with today's desktop publishing techniques.
Thanks for hearing us out, and good luck to you and your museum...looking forward to visiting some day!
--Tom
Sat Sep 22, 2007 5:55 am
Hey mustangdriver...not to ruffle yer feathers too badly, but I think I told ya so 
LOTTA comments here about the poor lighting there at the NMUSAF...didn't figure I was the only one who had a problem with that.
The one thing I would love to see when I go to an aviation themed museum? The aircraft
LOTTA comments here about the poor lighting there at the NMUSAF...didn't figure I was the only one who had a problem with that.
The one thing I would love to see when I go to an aviation themed museum? The aircraft
Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:05 am
Last edited by Former Member 2 on Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:21 am, edited 2 times in total.
Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:12 am
6trn4brn wrote:Hey mustangdriver...not to ruffle yer feathers too badly, but I think I told ya so
The one thing I would love to see when I go to an aviation themed museum? The aircraft
No ruffled feathers, the lighting is a bit of a problem in buildings as big as those ones.
Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:20 am
my air museum (Canadian Museum of Flight, Langley, BC) used to produce a "guide to the collection" that had TONS of stats and history of the specific airplane in the collection as well as the general information about the type. The book was fantastic, but the last one was produced in 1992 or 1994. It is a great reference and I should convince the powers that be to start producing them again since our collection has changed significantly since our last book was done.
The books were in black and white and were something like $20CDN/USD if I remember correctly.
They would be a good replacement for the "pamphlet" idea; at least for the plane crazy people. a pamphlet would be fine for the average tourist though.
Cheers,
David
P.S. Mike K has a good point too. I'd love to hear the engines too...
The books were in black and white and were something like $20CDN/USD if I remember correctly.
They would be a good replacement for the "pamphlet" idea; at least for the plane crazy people. a pamphlet would be fine for the average tourist though.
Cheers,
David
P.S. Mike K has a good point too. I'd love to hear the engines too...
Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:41 am
THe NMUSAF has a book that highlights each aircraft in the collection, and tells you it's whole story. I can't remember how much they are as I get them for free as a member. I think they are like $12.00 bucks or something around there.