The San Diego Aerospace Museum (SDASM) is located in Balboa Park, in the former Ford Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It first opened its doors to the public in 1963. Today the museum’s exhibit is divided into several galleries, with exhibits highlighting San Diego’s contributions to the development of world aviation. The galleries include the Theodore Gildred Rotunda, Special Exhibits Area, World War I Gallery, Golden Age of Aviation Gallery, World War II Gallery and Modern Jets and Spacecraft Gallery, and the Edwin D. McKeller.

The museum has two restoration workshops, one on site and one on the Gillespie flight field. The complex there is also open to the public and to view the many outdoor aircraft on display. It has a model store and a store for restorers. There is also a library with a large collection not only of books, but also historical photographs of the aircraft themselves and their production process.

At the main entrance to the museum is the Theodore Gildred Rotunda. The Apollo 9 command module is on display here, along with model aircraft that are made by local San Diego companies. There are also miniature models of what visitors will see on a further tour of the museum (e.g. the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk), flying reproductions (such as the Curtis A-1 amphibious aircraft), replicas (like the legendary “Spirit of St. Louis” Ryan Aeronautical NYP aircraft) and flying vehicles (like the Ryan Firebee and General Atomics MQ-1 Predator).
At the museum’s main entrance is the Theodore Gildred Rotunda. Here are miniature models of what visitors will see as they explore the museum further.

The Theodore Gildred Rotunda is free for visitors to view.

The rest of the exhibit is mostly originals, although there are a few replicas as well. The most interesting models to admire at the museum are Lockheed’s A-12 Oxcart, the SP-1 Sea Dart, a copy of the Vin Fiz Flyer, the original Spitfire Mk. XVI, the original Mustang P-51D, the A6M7 Zero from Mitsubishi, the Tomcat F-14 Grumman, the AH-1E Cobra from Bell, and finally two of our pride pieces: the MiG-15 at Gillespie Field and the MiG-17.

Among the newest exhibits in the modern jet and spacecraft gallery are the Ryan X-13 Vertijet, a replica Wee Bee Bee Aviation, the original F/A-18 Hornet Blue Angel 1, a replica Gemini spacecraft, and at the end of the gallery is the Boeing GPS-12 satellite module.