Take a tour of the Naval Aviation Museum

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - The National Museum of Naval Aviation is world's largest naval aviation museum, and it's aboard NAS Pensacola.

It attracts 900,000 visitors a year. If you like planes and jets and helicopters, this is the place to visit. And if you want a chance to be on the deck of a carrier, one of the newer exhibits will let you know what it sounds, feels and even smells like.

The Director of the Museum, retired Navy Captain Robert L. Rasmussen said,  "We attempt to replicate for just a few minutes, standing on the deck of the operational aircraft carrier."

It's like going to sea without leaving land, complete with the roar and vibration of the engines, and even the faint scent of diesel fuel.

Rasmussen was our guide through the museum and he knows every square inch of it.  He's a retired Navy captain, former Blue Angel pilot and now, the Director of the National Naval Aviation Museum.

He showed us the West Wing of the Museum contains a collection of World War II aircraft and artifacts through the Korean War. The South Wing features post-Korean war and pre-Vietnam aircraft. There are also displays highlighting the Navy's Blue Angels and many contemporary aircraft.

The huge building behind the main pavilion is called Hangar Bay One. It's the newest display area.

Rasmussen said, "We have the S-3 that President Bush landed on the deck of the [Abraham] Lincoln, right after the conclusion of the invasion of Iraq," and the Marine helicopter that had the designation Marine One when former President Richard Nixon used it.

There's also a chance to go back to the Pensacola of the 1940s. It's called the Homefront.

Rasmussen said, "We have Martine's restaurant, Levin's pawn shop... our little store was based on a store in the Alabama countryside."