Valiant Air Command Wardbird Museum

Valiant Air Command Wardbird Museum

Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
(Located at the Space Coast Regional Airport)

6600 Tico Rd.
Titusville, FL  32780

321-268-1941

 

valiantaircommand.com

AT A GLANCE:  Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
Date of Visit:	Saturday, December 31, 2016
Parking	Plentiful and free, onsite parking.
Amount of time needed to peruse exhibits:	120 minutes (2 hours)
Amount of time needed for gift shop	45 – 60 minutes
Dress code	There’s no dress code here, but dress as to not offend the general public.
Be sure to…..	Take a peek inside of the Tico Belle.  You gain a new perspective on personal space.
Nearby/other establishments to visit	·         American Police Hall of Fame & Museum ·         Astronaut Hall of Fame* * The Astronaut Hall of Fame is now located at the Kennedy Space Center ·         Kennedy Space Center Advice:  plan an entire day for the Kennedy Space Center
Walkability, general downtown area / amount of traffic	You’ll need a car or other transportation.
Safety, in terms of type and number of crimes committed in general area	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.

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.  

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:

Warbirds everywhere

Entrance to the museum

Artwork

A Blue Angels warbird

Artwork on the Tico Belle

Snoopy will always be my favorite pilot

For the kids to play with

A Huey Helicopter from the Vietnam War

Artwork

No, we will never forget

A uniform on display

A poster in the museum

Again, we will never forget

A map from the Vietnam War

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:

Hawaiian shirts

Leather jackets

 

Shot glasses

Numbered t-shirts

Clocks

 

"Are these enough refrigerator magnets for you?"

Clocks

The glass counter didn't appeal to me

Piggy banks

Coffee cups

Tote bag that reflects the attitude toward women, back in the day

This is a great shop to let children shop on their own

More toys

Did you ever do a "paint by numbers" when you were young? 
How did that turn out for you?

Military bears

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.

 

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: