Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/31/26
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location
Hiller Aviation Museum
Categories
Drive to San Carlos and meet at the Hiller Aviation Museum (Holly Road Exit off Hwy 101, 601 Aviation Way), and join fellow HPREC members in a guided tour of one of the Bay Area’s “most driven-past museums.”
HPREC’s John McGowan has logged more than 1,000 hours as a docent at the museum as well as flown in and out of the adjacent San Carlos Airport and will team with another long-term docent to lead the group through the exhibits to learn more about the fascinating history of Stanley Hiller Jr, and his contributions to aviation on the Peninsula.
The museum (founded in 1996) features a wide range of exhibits showcasing aviation in California, from Dr. Montgomery’s Gliders developed at Santa Clara University to Stanley Hiller’s first helicopter constructed when he was a 19-year-old dropout from UC Berkeley. He went on to found his helicopter company on Willow Road in Menlo Park where Facebook is today, and many of his unique prototypes and production helicopters are on display.
Newer exhibits feature a number of electric VTOL aircraft, including machines from Airbus, WISK and Black Fly. Visitors can enter the Boeing 747 cockpit and first-class cabin exhibit to see what the first generation 747s looked like to pilots and can practice landing a Boeing 777 simulator at SFO. There is a gift shop onsite; no food available for purchase.
Cost for attendees is $10, and the group is limited to 16 people. Carpooling with a FLEX pass can save time getting home on Hwy 101 as late afternoon traffic can be slow between San Carlos and Mountain View.
Sign up for this event on the HPREC website by clicking here and, on the Events/Activities Calendar, scroll to March 31.
Deadline for signing up is Friday, Mar 27.
Hope to see you there!