10 Best Sights in Florida for Aviation and Space Geeks

If you’ve ever dreamed of being an astronaut, a visit here offers the next best thing to zooming off into space. NASA’s visitor complex is arranged into "mission zones" with exhibits featuring the early days of space exploration to current space missions.

Stand under the Saturn V rocket, the largest rocket ever flown, or step into the Lunar Theater for an immersive recreation of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Get an exciting inside look at life as a space explorer in the astronaut training and space shuttle launch simulators. There’s even a chance to watch a real, live rocket launch (from a safe distance!) or sit down for lunch and a chat with a real astronaut.

This small museum at Miami Executive Airport has a private collection of hundreds of model airplanes together with a hangar filled with vintage aircraft, military trainers, and jet aircraft from the Cold War era.

There’s an F-14 Tomcat supersonic fighter jet on site as well as several planes that are still in flying condition, including a Yakovlev Yak-52 Soviet trainer aircraft. It's a fascinating place for engine tinkerers too, with a chance to see the ongoing aircraft maintenance and renovation work that’s done on site. Entry fee is about $10.

Wallaby Ranch near Orlando offers some sky-high thrills with tandem hang-gliding sessions and lessons. The tandem experience lets you fly with an experienced instructor, who shows you techniques for flying the glider while you take in the views over the 100-acre ranch and surrounding Florida woodlands.

Courses are available to anyone, from those who've never tried it to experienced gliders looking to improve their skills. There’s also a campground, walking trails, a swimming pool and children's playground for those who'd just like to hangout as well as hang-glide at the ranch.

Learn all about the earliest American ventures into space at this museum that’s dedicated to the history of rocketry and space flight. The Air Force Space and Missile History Center is set on 2 adjoining launch pad complexes that were used in US space missions in the 1950s and 1960s.

Get a close-up look at a Matador pilotless bomber, the fearsome Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile, and a groovy-looking Gemini Vehicle control panel. A visit to the museum is done by joining a special bus tour that departs from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex regularly from Wednesday through Sunday.

A must-see for aviation buffs, the National Naval Aviation Museum has more than 4,000 artifacts and 150 restored aircraft from the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. You can find the museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Among the many impressive planes here is Que Sera Sera, the first aircraft to land at the South Pole. You’ll also have a chance to see practice flights of the Blue Angels, the US Navy flight demonstration team based here who perform exhilarating aerial feats at air shows around the country. The museum also offers thrills with its flight simulators and giant screen theatre. Entry to the museum is free.

Who needs an amusement park ride when you can do some heart-racing barrel rolls in a real fighter plane at Warbird Adventures? The tour offers the flight of a lifetime in the front seat of a T-6 Texan single-engine turboprop or a Curtiss TP-40 Warhawk – a trainer plane with dual controls from World War II.

On a discovery flight, you'll even get some on-the-go training and have a chance to take the controls. If you'd rather stay on the ground, there's also the onsite Kissimmee Air Museum to explore.

Florida’s fine weather year-round makes it a popular place for air shows, many of which are free to attend. Sky-high stunts by such teams as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds are always the highlight of an air show, but there’s usually plenty of other things for aviation fanatics to see including vintage aircraft and exhibits of the latest in aviation technology.

Among the air shows around Florida are the Lakeland Sun ’n Fun Fly-In during April, the Fort Lauderdale Air Show and Miami Beach Air & Sea Show in May, the Pensacola Beach Air Show in July, and the Florida International Air Show in November.

The Florida Air Museum at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport has an extensive collection of vintage aircraft, ultralights, air racers, home-built and factory-built aircraft, engines, and more that span a century of aviation. Exhibits at Aerospace Discovery include a private aviation collection by eccentric tycoon and pilot Howard Hughes, air racing displays, and artifacts from aviator adventurers like Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.

You’ll enjoy some hands-on aviation action with several flight simulators to try, too. Check the museum’s schedule for events like children’s workshops and speaker seminars held throughout the year.

Set in large hangars at Space Coast Regional Airport, this combat aircraft museum has more than 45 warbirds covering the aviation era from before World War I to the present day. One of the most iconic aircraft here for war history enthusiasts is the still-airworthy "Tico Belle", a C-47 Skytrain that dropped American paratroopers in to fight in the World War II “D-Day” Normandy invasion.

The entry fee of about $20 includes a guided tour, with discounts available for children and the elderly. Expect to spend at least 2-3 hours here if you want to take it all in.

Aviation is just one part of this elaborate discovery center in Fort Lauderdale, with a huge range of things to see including prehistoric exhibits, climate and storm displays, exhibits on Florida’s unique ecology and an IMAX theatre.

The aviation exhibit offers an interactive experience with three replica cockpit simulators to climb into, including a World War II Vought F4U Corsair fighter-bomber, and a "7D" capsule theatre that takes you on a heart-racing virtual flight. Admission is about $17, with discounts for kids and the elderly.