Desert Belle: Palm Springs Air Museum

"Indio and Other Desert Cities"

Eastbound on I-10, I passed a sign that I had not seen since 1997. It read, “Indio and other desert cities.” Back in 1997, I was crammed into a rental car with three other graduate students and our advisor driving from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, CA to present at the 45th American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics. It was my first presentation at a scientific conference, my first trip to California, and my first time in the desert. Everything seemed entirely foreign and, for me, that novelty was epitomized by the offhandedness of the "and other desert cities" sign.

An evening event for the '97 conference was hosted at the newly opened Palm Springs Air Museum. At the time, I did not know a Skyhawk from a Blackbird. I was still about three years away from becoming immersed in aviation and developing a fascination with aviation history. Nonetheless, I remember being shown (what I now know to be) a Grumman Avenger with the explanation that it was the type of airplane flown by former president George Bush in World War II. Bush flew airplanes in the war? I just had no idea.

Twenty six years later, I was in California to give an invited talk at a scientific conference and decided that it was time to see what became of the small museum I first visited in 1997. Inbound, the same highway sign was there but the landscape had visibly changed. What was once barren desert had become barren desert populated with rows and rows of wind turbines. Entering Palm Springs, drifted sand occupied the shoulders of the highway and signs cautioned travelers about reduced visibility in blowing sand. Though it was November, the outside air temperature was 90°F. It was a place obviously wrested from the desert and made habitable through sheer force of will. 

In 2023, the Palm Springs Air Museum is substantially larger than what it was during that first visit in 1997. This is what I saw:

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

North American P-51D Mustang.

North American P-51D Mustang.

North American P-51D Mustang.

North American P-51D Mustang.

I was quite taken with the Mustang (obviously), but absolutely stunned by what was behind it: the Boeing B-17 bomber that portrayed the Memphis Belle in the 1990 film.

Boeing B-17, "The Movie" Memphis Belle.

While it was not surprising to encounter a movie star in California, I was surprised to encounter this particular airplane that once lived south of Rochester under the care of the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. I was well acquainted with the "Hollywood Belle" after I spent a morning crawling through the entire aircraft in 2020 and welcomed the surprise reunion.

Boeing B-17, "The Movie" Memphis Belle.

Dents beneath the cockpit window suggest that the airplane had been flown in icing conditions at some point in its lifetime.

Boeing B-17, "The Movie" Memphis Belle.

Boeing B-17, "The Movie" Memphis Belle.

Supermarine Spitfire Mark XIV.

Supermarine Spitfire Mark XIV.

I was puzzled by the five bladed prop on this Spitfire and wondered if it was a post-war modification perhaps added for air racing purposes. Additional research revealed that the Mark XIV Spitfires came from the factory with 2050 horsepower Griffon engines that drove five-blade Rotol propellers. What a beast!

WACO YPT-14

A Boeing Model 75 Stearman that belonged to Baron Hilton, the "Flying Innkeeper".

Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.

Grumman F7F Tigercat.

Grumman F7F Tigercat.

This former Air Zoo docent was overcome by the sight of a Tigercat. While it is not the same aircraft that was once part of the Air Zoo collection, these airplanes are incredibly rare.

Palm Springs Airport control tower.

Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Miss Angela.

North American P-51D Bunny undergoing maintenance.

Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk.

Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk.

Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk.

Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk.

North American T-28 Trojan.

Grumman F8F Bearcat, the first type of WWII airplane that I ever sat in.

Grumman F8F Bearcat.

Chance Vought F-4U Corsair.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.

Douglas A-26 Invader.

Douglas A-26 Invader.

North American T-6 Texan.

Also on display was Clay Lacy's Learjet (the "LacyLear"). In addition to belonging to a famous aviator, the airplane made many appearances in movies and television shows like Any Which Way You Can, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Airwolf, Airport 75, The Bionic Woman, Dragnet. Capricorn One, Mission Impossible, the Partridge Family, The A-Team, Miami Vice, and Magnum PI.

Main entrance, Palm Springs Air Museum.

Due to a delayed flight (thanks, United!), I had less than two hours to spend at the museum before they began closing the place up around me. My impressions were positive. All of the aircraft on display were in excellent condition and many of them airworthy. There were some rare airplanes in the collection (oh, that beautiful Tigercat!), though it seemed a little unfair that they had two Mustangs and two B-17s! My time in Palm Springs was brief, but entirely worthwhile.

A McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and, fittingly, palm trees.