You find yourself traveling on I-80 near Omaha, Nebraska. You’ve been driving for hours. A nice walk would do you good and you have some time. What will you do? Stop by a crowded truck stop with “the cleanest bathrooms in the country”? Go to a rest stop with a few trees and a maybe a “You are here” map? Allow me to suggest a visit to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Aerospace Museum. Located just off Exit 426, the SAC Aerospace Museum (as I’ll refer to it from here on out) houses an impressive array of World War II and Cold War aircraft. My history-loving son and I made the trip on President’s Day. Here was our experience.

The Museum

Upon opening the doors, we were greeted with the suspended SR-71A, “Blackbird.” Per the SAC Aerospace Museum’s official website, the SR-71 is considered the fastest military plane in history. On a 15-mile course, this astonishing piece of engineering clocked in at 2,193 mph. That is smoking! It also holds the record for fastest time from London to New York at 1 hour 55 minutes. You couldn’t even finish most movies in that time! The tilted presentation of the Blackbird gives it a somewhat ominous feeling; almost as if it’s poised for yet another reconnaissance mission at 80,000 feet. And it was good at recon, capturing 100,000 square miles of photographic surveillance of the earth’s surface in one hour. One of 32 SR-71s built, the display at SAC Aerospace Museum saw the third-most flight hours in the fleet.

Divided into Hangar A and Hangar B, the aircraft within are awe-inspiring. The hangars house the tiny F-85 Goblin and the colossal B-36J Peacemaker, as well as the propeller-driven B-25N “Mitchell” and jet-powered F117 “Nighthawk.” There isn’t a designated path to follow from what we could tell, but the somewhat scattered layout did not bother us. In fact, it was fun bouncing from one plane to another at our leisure, exploring the well-written informational placards. However, if experiencing a museum like this is not your style, you’re in luck. The SAC Aerospace Museum offers an excellent free tour.

The Free Tour (by Actual Former Crew)

In my opinion, the free tour is the most valuable experience. Often conducted by the very crew who flew the aircraft, tours occur daily at 11:00 on weekdays and 1:00 on weekends. The tours are approximately 2 hours long. What I love about tours is that unlike a placard, a guide can answer questions and provide context to the exhibits. Our guide, David, provided insight into the aircraft that only a pilot can offer. In addition to giving us context, David also humanized the flying experience with relatable stories. He answered all of our questions with patience and interest. Considering that the guides do these tours for free, it’s clear they are passionate about the museum and its contents. Upon seeing these aircraft, it’s easy to understand why.

The Aircraft

I counted 35+ aircraft on display between the two hangars. I don’t want to ruin the fun of going to the museum, so instead of discussing them all, I will just focus on one of them: the B-52 “Stratofortress.” The B-52 measures in at a whopping 185 feet wingspan and 420,000 pounds at max load. It is capable of both free-fall bomb delivery as well as air-to-ground missiles. Since the 1950s, this Boeing-made aircraft has been the backbone of the strategic bomber force. Yes, you read that right. It is still the superstar bomber today. And what’s crazy is that it will remain the principal bomber until at least 2050! Standing underneath this massive aircraft made me realize that though humans are small as individuals, we can achieve great things through collaboration.

The Exhibits

SAC Aerospace Museum has several permanent exhibits (I counted 11) as well as space for a temporary exhibit. There were two permanent exhibits I found particularly interesting. The first was that of Doolittle’s Tokyo Raiders, the US Military’s retaliatory strike on Japan for Pearl Harbor. The second was the exhibit exploring Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the U-2 that was shot down in the Soviet Union in 1960. Thanks to these exhibits, I now have Last Mission to Tokyo and Operation Overflight on my audiobook list!

As of this posting, the temporary exhibit is Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion and is open until May 5, 2024. The exhibit displays many of da Vinci’s inventions. Yeah, he did much more than just paint the Mona Lisa. Visitors can twist, pull, and push the various controls to learn about the machines’ different functions and ranges of motion. Its interactive nature makes the exhibit a hit with the little ones, but my 13-year old son and I also enjoyed this hands-on style of learning.

Why You Should Go

If aircraft and military history are your thing and you find yourself near Omaha, Nebraska, then the SAC Aerospace Museum is a must stop. The museum demonstrates the lightning-fast transition of propeller-driven aircraft of World War II to jet-powered planes at the dawn of the Cold War Era. And we’re lucky enough to have the former crew members to guide us through this story. So what say you, I-80 travelers? Will you take a few hours and experience history?

A Note of Thanks

Thank you for reading my first post! I hope to post regularly about the places I visit and the history I discover. You can find out more about me on the About page. Also, please let me know what you think of my blog on the Contact page. Your input will help make this site better.