Western Museum of Flight, Hawthorne, California

Jack Northrop's company and the diverse, original family of aircraft that it has produced over the past 70+ years occupies a special place in southern California's rich aviation history. The Western Museum of Flight is a direct outgrowth of Northrop's (now Northrop Grumman) long association with Hawthorne airport, where the original Northrop factory was located. Many historic aircraft made their first flights from Hawthorne, including the mighty B-35 and B-49 flying wings - being able to walk along that runway was a real thrill for me. Formed by former Northrop employees in 1981, the Western Museum of Flight is dedicated to preserving artifacts from California's aviation history, especially those produced by Northrop.

Most of the museum's aircraft are on outdoor display. These include such gems as the #1 prototype YF-17 Cobra, the losing design in the USAF's Lightweight Fighter competition (which it lost to the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon) and the winning design in the USN's VFAX competition (for which it evolved into the McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet), an ex-RNoAF F-5A Freedom Fighter, an F-14A Tomcat (in gorgeous high-visibility VF-2 Bounty Hunters markings), a DC-3, an A4D-1 Skyhawk, and an F-86F Sabre. Aircraft awaiting restoration or under restoration include an F-89 Scorpion interceptor, an RF-5E Tiger II, and a Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star reconaissance aircraft. Unfortunately, the museum's exotic and hugely cool YF-23A Black Widow II fighter (which lost the the USAF's ATF competition to the Lockheed Martin F/A-22A Raptor) was on loan to Northrop Grumman for use in promoting the F/B-23 concept to the USAF, but I was lucky enough to see it (alongside the X-47B UCAV prototype) at the Northrop Grumman factory as we drove by.

A few airframes are on display inside, including a MiG-17 fighter and a de Havilland Tiger Moth. The most fascinating (at least to me) was the tiny Northrop JB-1 "Bat" glider, a 1944-vintage manned proof of concept airframe for a jet-powered flying wing "buzz bomb." This is one of only three surviving Northrop flying wings from the 1940s (the others being the N-1M at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and the N-9M at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino - I consider myself lucky to have seen all three).

There is a very diverse collection of artifacts inside, including wind tunnel models, some unique photos, aircraft engines (including one of the R-4360s that originally powered Hughes' HK-1 Hercules flying boat), flying clothing, and desktop and concept models. While the interior is somewhat cramped, there is plenty to see. For me, one of the most distressing displays was a frame full of wreckage from one of the Northrop YB-49 flying wing bombers - as much of one as I am ever likely to see, since none of the big flying wings was saved from the scrapman's torch back in the 1950s.

I really enjoyed poking around this museum - it is filled with fascinating artifacts showcasing many diverse aspects of California's aviation history, and visiting the birthplace of Northrop's flying wings felt almost like making a pilgrimage. I would recommend a visit if you are anywhere near Los Angeles International Airport.