Love that this museum is just sitting right next to the Santa Ana Airport like it's no big deal. The plane and car collection is awesome, and there's a whole spread of other historical artifacts scattered around that'll eat up most of your afternoon. What's cool is you can actually see inside some of the big planes, which really shows you what these crews were working with. Spoiler: hot, not much legroom and even less comfort. To add to the experience, there are docents/walking Wikipedias, roaming around ready to help. They're kind, friendly, incredibly knowledgeable, and their stories are the kind that stick with you for days. I became a member partly because of them. My favorite part of the museum is being able to sit and watch takeoffs and landings from SNA the whole time you're there. I could genuinely camp out all day. Just wish the runway was bigger so we'd get some bigger planes like at LAX. Anyway, so this museum started in 2009 showing Major General William Lyon's personal collection. Every aircraft here is still kept airworthy, not just propped up for looks, which is crazy. That detail alone makes it feel less like a museum and more like a very well organized hangar of time machines. But the real main event is the monthly car and plane meetups. They roll open the massive hangar doors so you can walk straight out onto the tarmac, and suddenly you're watching planes take off from super up close. It's unreal. Members get in an hour early too, so you skip the crowds entirely. A lot of people don't know this place exists though, which is wild given how good it is. Glad we stumbled onto it. Go check it out! read more

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Came to Lyon Air Museum to check out the collection of historic planes and cars. Admission was $15 per adult with kids 5 and under free. The museum itself is fairly small since the exhibits are primarily limited to the indoor display area (at least during our visit). There's a pretty interesting collection of aircraft, vintage cars, and other historical items to walk around and look at. It's a nice place to spend an hour or so, especially if you have kids who are interested in planes and cars. There's also a small interactive area where visitors can actually climb into some of the vehicles which was a fun addition. The planes weren't available to enter when we visited, but we were able to get inside about four different cars. This was probably one of the more enjoyable parts for the kids since they could actually sit inside rather than just look at the exhibits. I do wish we would have been able to go outside to watch some of the planes taking off from John Wayne Airport. You can catch glimpses of some planes through the large garage-style doors, but being able to view them outdoors would have definitely made the experience more enjoyable. I'd highly recommend visiting during the cooler months especially if you're sensitive to heat. There is no air conditioning in the main display room. During our visit the space felt pretty dry, warm, and stuffy after walking around for a while. There is a small theater room with air conditioning where you can sit and watch videos and learn more about history. We enjoyed this area and thought it was a nice addition to the museum. Overall, it's a smaller museum so I wouldn't plan on spending several hours here, but it's a neat stop if you're interested in aviation or military history. read more

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I really enjoyed visiting this air museum today. They have an amazing display of airplanes and automobiles. All of the employees here are very friendly and knowledgeable about each aircraft. My favorite airplane was the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Overall: I recommend visiting this museum if you enjoy seeing military aircraft or rare automobiles. read more

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Dads, out there! You have to take your sons to this living museum. They have an amazing selection of planes and cars. More than anything of value, it is the docents who were there during WWII. They tell living stories from those who were there. Like the planes, and the cars, these men who are almost 100 years old, tell some amazing stories. This is a goldmine in the heart of Orange County. It is a living museum. You can see where Hitler stood in his car right in front of you. This is real. Please, take your sons and daughters to this amazing place. Five stars all the way! read more

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Lyon air museum is a hidden gem in Orange County that has historical planes and classic cars. The staff there is super friendly and very informative ! There is also very interactive pieces of were you can take very cool photos ! Overall check them out it was a great time ! read more

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Came with a group of 25 for a birthday. Booked in January for March. We got split in 2 groups since we were so large. But it was great! Our tour guides were so knowledgeable and shared their experiences and stories with us. It was everyone at the museum is so friendly and helpful. read more

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What an amazing museum! Had I not joined my friend for breakfast I would have missed this museum. Being an aviation enthusiast, I love walking in and around historic aircraft and Lyon really brings the the history to life. Was in Irvine with my girlfriend and her son for a seminar near SNA and with time to kill I took her son to visit Lyon. We arriving on a Sunday and there was no one there. Was able to spend some time with the docents talking about the displays. Was impressive to walk around their static aircraft displays, with the ability to look inside the a C-47 or B-17. The planes are meticulously restored with a fabled history. The weekend we were there featured a showroom full of mini cars. We spent about two hours, end to end looking at displays, reading the material and learning about the history. It was a great experience and would highly recommend this museum if you happen to visit the area. read more

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A cool place to learn about Aviation during the WWI and WWII and Local tour guides very helpful. read more

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Came by here yesterday with the youngest kid for a birthday outing. Enjoyed the large planes inside on display and they also have an interactive area for little kids. Mine got to sit inside a cockpit and some army cars. Admission was $14 for adult and my kiddo was free due to age. Upstairs has some mini airplane displays. Also small theater for an educational show. I saw staff / docents hosting tours but we skipped that since a 3 year old can't really focus for that long! read more

Lyon Air Museum - Historic airplanes - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Today the museum revealed their latest addition, a P-51 Mustang. It taxied along the apron and into the museum under its own power watched by docents and members. read more

Lyon Air Museum - Arrival of P-51 Mustang. - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

The Lyon air museum is right behind the John Wayne airport. You can watch all the planes and jets arriving and departing on the landing strip from the museum which was pretty cool! we got so lucky to meet a U.S Air Force veteran who served during these times of history and happily shared his experience! (Thank you Fred) it's definitely a nice place for kids to learn and grow their passion for aircraft's! It's a Small museum but everybody is so welcoming and helpful there. They have nice souvenirs for purchase. If your around the area I'd recommend dropping in to learn some good ol U.S history. read more

Lyon Air Museum - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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The Lyon Air Museum was amazing! My dad and uncle are both vets so they got a really detailed and long tour of all of the different planes and histories contained inside the main viewing area. There were even four different planes and cars for visitors to sit inside of as photo ops. The biggest highlight for me, though, was getting to watch the SNA airport runway at the perfect spot where commercial, charter, and personal airplanes would literally lift up into the sky where I could take the perfect photos of each airline on their ascent. Lyon Air Museum is mostly about war planes, but for more commercial aviation enthusiasts like myself, it's still a neat place to catch United, American, Delta, Southwest, Alaska, and even Spirit airlines in action. read more

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This is a MUST SEE ! The exhibits are amazing. The history is so rich and we got a private tour by Dan, who is awesome. This is a 20 out of 10. We will be back! read more

This place is amazing! Great indoor activity! Nicely organized, clean and hands down beautiful museum. Fun interactive vehicles for kids to get inside too. read more

Really enjoyed all the history here. We went on the weekend over the Christmas holiday and experienced a little local gem for any history buff or aviator enthusiast. read more

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We took still another trip to the Lyon's Museum. They do a great job with special events - like the recent "mini-cars". Thank you, admin, donors, volunteers, and everyone else who helps out. This is a great Air Museum! read more

Lyon Air Museum is an aircraft museum that exhibit a collection of authentic aircraft, rare vehicles, and war memorabilia of the 20th century. It is base at John Wayne Airport in OC. Founded by Maj Gen Will Lyon, this 30,000 sq ft museum houses a fleet of operational aircraft and vehicles-jeeps, cars & motorcycles. Admission ticket was $14 bucks. Museum was very organized and extremely clean. Most of the museum volunteers were former USAF officers and pilots. They bring a breadth of knowledge and experience about the aircraft and the WW2. You can spent 30 mins to see the entire museum but I spent 2 hrs just because I love aviation. Overall, I like LAM and I recommend you visit. read more

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Found this spot on Groupon and I'm so glad! I have three young boys and they all had a blast. We got to see some cool planes up close and my kids saw others landing and taking off as well. We will definitely be back. Definitely need to mention Patty at the front desk who had the best customer service and was so sweet. Ron was a worker walking around inside and he was so helpful and informative. So thankful both Patty and Ron were the ones to assist me because it made my experience here that much better! read more

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Wonderful experience and lots of great memories and photos. I will definitely be back and will be visiting again with out of state friends and family. read more

As soon as we entered, we were greeted kindly by the receptionist. She guided us through where to go and which parts of the museum are easily missed since she did not want us missing any of it. Everyone was so kind and knowledgeable. My kids had a blast in the area where they are allowed to sit and play in the cars! Perfect summer activity, inexpensive and educational while still being loads of fun. read more

Lyon Air Museum - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Didn't know about this place. Never even heard about it before. Until my buddy who was visiting asked me if I would be interested in checking it out with him. Like you have to even hint at twisting my arm when it comes to learning about history. I even beat him there. Don't remember the cost. Check the site. Parking was free in their small lot. Not many must know about this place as well because parking wasn't an issue. The exhibits, artifacts to see up close and personal to learn about history and how the pieces played a part back in their day. Planes, cars and motorcycles. Lots of information shared which I'm sure is only scratching the surface of how things were back in the day. There's was also a screening room where a video explaining the history of aircraft carriers was on a loop. Also a place to sit and relax if need be. It's not a large museum but I still spent hours looking and and reading everything. The volunteer staff must have noticed because one of them asked me jokingly, if I was building a plane because I was taking so many pictures. Which by the way, you can find on my FB page (public) if you wanna see what I saw without needing to go in person. read more

We had the most amazing morning at Lyon Air Museum today. We were greeted by the friendliest front desk employee who chatted with us and made an effort to make us feel welcome. She buzzed us into the hangar where we met two gentlemen docents who were also veterans. One of the gentleman, Hal gave us the best impromptu tour of the entire hangar for about an hour. He had funny anecdotes and personal memories to share and he was an absolute gem. We loved getting to see the private planes outside the hangar as well (there's an open air viewing area that is chained off). There was a bonus motorcycle exhibit happening at the same time and we got to see Maverick's bike in Top Gun. Such an amazing experience and we can't wait to go back! read more

Lyon Air Museum - Motorcycle exhibit - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

This was a bucket list adventure, for my son and I. We went to the World War II spectator event on January 25. The museum is full of World War II aircraft, cars, motorcycles, and memorabilia from the war. They have a fantastic display of real flight ready aircraft to see. They also have a great exhibition of model aircraft and all sorts of things from World War II. But at the event, my son and I attended we were able to see the planes up close on turmac. The pilots allowed everyone to get inside their planes. The I icing on the cake was to watch the planes takeoff. I can say for a fact, this was one of the greatest events my son and I have ever witnessed. Especially for him who is a future aviator in training I would like to thank all of the pilots and the staff at Lyon air museum, for their gracious acts of kindness. They made this 49-year-old feel like he was 11 years old. I and my son can't wait to go back to explore this museum once again. They have a spectacular event coming up on February 15 if you want to see some real live aircraft come out and enjoy The Lyon air museum. read more

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This is a great museum. It's relatively small, but there's lots to see. The best is the movie about aviation. About an hour long. There are tons of real airplanes inside and the middle of the museum opens up to John Wayne airport where you can see the planes taking off and landing. Not a lot of people and there are docents to answer your questions. Clean and pretty well maintained. Nice place overall. It would be fun to attend a holiday party here. read more

Fun place to visit if you are local. Lots of WW2 fighter planes to see and admire. The guides are super helpful and eager to help. They want you to pick their brains. read more

The little Lyon Air Museum that could. It may not be big, but everything in here is in tip-top condition and these are some gems. Plus the location is great, being on the opposite side of the runway from John Wayne Airport with all the private planes and helicopters parked out front and commercial jets roaring off the runway all day. The museum is the brainchild of Major General William Lyon and all the major artifacts are from his personal collection, that he decided to share with the world by opening this museum. General Lyon passed away in 2020, but his legacy lives on and is well kept by the staff at LAM. For a relatively small museum, there are some big multi-engined aircraft in here and they are immaculately maintained. The Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress is probably the biggest and most famous for its role in bombing Germany in WWII. The example at LAM named "Fuddy Duddy" though wasn't a combat veteran, but was completed in 1945 and served mostly as a transport for General Dwight D. Eisenhower and later starred in movies like "Tora Tora Tora". It is perfectly preserved here with its polished chrome finish and bright yellow markings. The B-17 is accompanied by a Douglas A-26 Invader named "Feeding Frenzy" and a North American B-25 Mitchell named "Guardian of Freedom", both twin-engine WWII medium bombers. Other planes of note are the civilian DC-3 and USAAF C-47 Dakota cousins, both built in the Douglas Aircraft factories. Another hobby the General enjoyed was collecting vintage hot rod racing cars with many examples placed beneath the wings of the aircraft. They are all custom built and some even are related to the planes themselves. You'll notice that some of the racers are streamlined tear-dropped shapes. That is because they started life as external fuel tanks on fighter planes and ended up as surplus that inventive geniuses strapped engines and wheels on to race at famous courses like the Bonneville Salt Flats. Don't forget to go into the mini theater at the far end of the hangar to watch the "History of the Hot Rod" movie that will get your engine revved up. read more

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Absolutely Amazing. I never knew this was so close to me in Orange County. The planes are gorgeous, the space is bright and beautiful, and stuff is knowledgeable and very welcoming. If you're a fan of aviation history, beautiful machinery and just a nice day of activities, this is the spot. read more

Lyon Air Museum - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

What a wonderful hidden gem!! Came here with a group of 13, 12 and 10 year olds and they had a great time. The docents are wonderful friendly and very knowledgeable. You can tell the collection is well taken care of and we were told that everything works! There is even a couple of vehicles that you can touch and play with. Not to mention the flying simulator. Bathrooms were very clean and the facility is well taken care of. The kids are already asking when we can go back. read more

Such a cool museum next to John Wayne airport. Please make sure to ask the staff questions about the planes. They have amazing stories, many are WW2 veterans. Parking was super convenient. The museum was full of amazing planes and cars. read more

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Thanks to Groupon I found out about this aerospace museum next to the John Wayne Airport. It's pretty small so it should only take you 1-2 hour max if you read every single display. There are several military aircraft, vehicle and motorcycle displays. I try to visit every car museum whenever I can, so it was a nice surprise to see some rare automobiles in there. If you're looking for a unique venue for an event, you might want to consider this museum. You get a cool backdrop of John Wayne Airport's runway. read more

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Definitely a great place to learn about the the man and airplanes that served in World War II. There are some interactive exhibits that let your kids (and the kid inside all of us) to climb into some vehicles. Watch their calendar and they occasionally have events that also let you out to the tarmac where you can see all the airplanes and jets that use John Wayne Airport take off and land up close. Very cool experience. Take some time to read all the posters and exhibits and see some of the cramped quarters flyers and gunners had to endure to fight for freedom. Enjoy! read more

Lyon Air Museum - Shelby Cobra day. - Museums Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Went here on a classroom field trip and I wanted to go back ever since I love aviation and I'm going in the navy HOOYAH

Absolutely amazing place. Well worth the drive and money. Kids love it. Great way to get educated on the history of our military

Super knowledgeable friendly staff. There's a great interactive section for kids too. It's definitely warm but they have a small theater with air conditioning if you need a break. Fantastic area to watch planes take off and land as well. They have rotating exhibitions, currently it's roadsters. Takes about an hour or so if you take time, read everything and talk with the volunteers. read more

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Yes, the museum is small. But it's pretty darn cool. Plenty of free parking outside the front entrance. You can probably enjoy just about everything in about 1.5 hours, 2 hours tops. I highly recommend having one of the docents give you a tour. They've got great stories and you'll discover things you wouldn't learn otherwise. Get the Groupon! It's crazy to pay full price when Groupons are frequently available. No replicas here. Real World War II planes, Jeeps, etc. plus a fair number of cars and motorcycles previously owned by Steve McQueen. But the real stars here are the WWII planes. You can even get underneath some of them and peek inside. It's pretty incredible. Located literally next to the runways John Wayne Airport. The planes takeoff and land right next to the building. There are huge windows so you can watch all o the action. Well worth a visit. read more

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Fun for the kids! We brought our toddlers and they had a good time. It was a fun little outing. We stayed no more than 1.5 hr and their favorite part was riding the motorcycle and trucks they have on display. I wish they had more of those as it wasn't as interesting for them to just walk around and look at planes etc but it was still a fun time! We used the Groupon so the price was right. If we paid full price, I would've felt like we overpaid for sure. read more

museum tucked away behind John Wayne Airport. Costs 13 bucks to get in and the parking. Take about an 1-2 hours to look through and read everything. Cool Mix of airplanes, cars, and small little exhibits. Also large windows to check out planes taking off . read more

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Amazing day with my family and my grandpa came from east coast he was a us marine loved it.

Fascinating collection!! Our docent, Dave, was wonderful: So full of information and insights into the history of the planes. Made our visit very special! read more

What a beautiful display of planes all under one roof! I didn't want to leave. You can hear air chatter because the airport is there and see all the planes on the runway. The collection inside the museum hanger was spectacular. A little bit of everything and lots of interesting history. I asked the lovely gentleman working there so many technical questions regarding the aircraft and the guys were sooo sharp! They answered all my questions and even gave me a lot more insight on the planes. I love the vibe in this place! read more