Lone Star Flight Museum

The Lone Star Flight Museum is the natural companion to Space Center Houston and the best place in the region to see historic aircraft up close. The museum began in Galveston, where Hurricane Ike badly damaged its collection in 2008, and it moved to a new purpose-built campus at Ellington Airport, the field where NASA's astronaut training jets fly, opening there in 2017. Today it occupies two large hangars, the Heritage Hangar and the Waltrip Hangar, filled with restored military and civilian aircraft, many of them still airworthy; because planes fly in and out for events and maintenance, the displays change from visit to visit. Around the aircraft you will find exhibits on aviation history and the people who made it, including the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, which honors Texans who shaped flight and spaceflight. There are hands-on flight simulators and interactive exhibits that make the museum enjoyable for children, and for an extra fee, the museum offers rides in vintage warbirds, an unforgettable experience for aviation enthusiasts that needs to be booked in advance and depends on weather and aircraft availability. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, with Sunday afternoon hours, and closed on Mondays. Adults pay a moderate admission, with reductions for seniors, youth and children, discounts for military and AAA members, free entry for children 4 and under, and occasional free museum days on Tuesdays. Parking is free. The museum closes for special events several times a year, including the Wings Over Houston airshow weekend and private events, so always check the visit page before you go.

Plan the museum as part of a Bay Area day. Ellington Airport is on the southeast side of Houston, roughly midway between downtown and Space Center Houston, so the flight museum fits neatly before or after the space center. Do the space center first, while you are fresh and the trams are less crowded, then spend a couple of hours among the aircraft in the afternoon. Kemah Boardwalk and Clear Lake are close by for dinner.

Inside, start in one hangar and work through it slowly. Volunteers and docents, many of them veterans or former pilots, are often on hand and happy to talk about the aircraft, and their stories are a highlight. Children gravitate to the simulators, and some aircraft can be viewed closely enough to appreciate the scale and the engineering. If you want a warbird ride, book well ahead and be flexible about dates, since flights depend on weather and maintenance.

The annual Wings Over Houston Airshow at Ellington, usually held in the fall, brings flying displays from historic and modern aircraft, and the museum is closed to regular visitors that weekend. The museum also closes for galas and private events and keeps holiday schedules around Thanksgiving and the end of the year, and the Heritage Hangar sometimes closes early for event setup while the Waltrip Hangar stays open. Check the visit page for closures before driving out. The hangars are air-conditioned, which makes the museum a good choice on a hot afternoon.