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Hiller Aviation Museum
The 11-year old Hiller Aviation Museum sits just a few miles south of SFO airport on Highway 101. The non-profit educational institution was founded by helicopter pioneer Stanley Hiller, Jr. and is dedicated to 'The Dream of Flight.'

The 53,000 square foot museum features more than 50 aircraft exhibits including the 1869 Avitor (above middle photo), a huge 45-foot, 1-hp steam-engined, 'aeroplane' that flew over San Francisco before the Wright Brothers learned to walk. Also in the collection is a Boeing Condor spyplane and a Curtiss Pusher, the first plane ever to land on a ship. That feat took place in San Francisco Bay in 1911.

The museum also features a number of hands-on learning exhibits including computer flight simulators and a chance to climb into a Blue Angels training cockpit. Along with a library, theater, and aircraft restoration workshop the museum offers field trips and even free flight for children from 8 to 17 years of age.

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