RonnieAdventure #0018 - McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada

Okay, here is today’s quiz! What is probably the only museum in the world that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is free to the public? Hint! It is located in Las Vegas.

And the answer is – The Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum located on the second level esplanade in Terminal 2 at McCarran International Airport. Since I have been spending so much time in airports lately, I decided that just being at the airport is a RonnieAdventure!

While recently waiting in Terminal 2 for a flight, I starting roaming the hall to get some exercise and discovered the Cannon Aviation Museum. Much to my surprise, the exhibits were quite interesting (the museum curator is Mark Hall-Patton that you see on Pawn Stars). I discovered that the first airplane landed on a dirt strip in Las Vegas on May 7, 1920; and stayed for three days, giving people rides for $10 each. By 1926 air traffic had increased to a level that a formal airport was constructed several miles north of the current location. 

One of my favorite exhibits at the museum was a bright red 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible that was used as an airport emergency vehicle for a number of years. Apparently, because it was so light and fast, the Thunderbird was the first response vehicle to arrive at the scene of several emergencies. The other really interesting artifact was the Cessna 172 that was used to set the world endurance flying record. The plane with two pilots left the ground on December 4, 1958 and stayed aloft until February 7, 1959, or 64 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes, and 5 seconds. It traveled enough distance to go around the world six times. The endurance record still stands today. Fortunately, there were no speed limits in Nevada at that time, so the support truck was a 1957 Chevy pickup that would drive down the highway at a high rate of speed to refuel the plane and deliver supplies twice a day.

Museum Exhibits

Museum Exhibits

Museum Exhibits

1057 Thunderbird Emergency Vehicle

Cessna 172 used to set World Endurance Record

Refueling during endurance flight

McCarran International Airport is still expanding to accommodate the 40 million passengers that fly in-and-out of Las Vegas each year and recently opened Terminal 3, which is anticipated to be the last expansion at this location. We attended the Terminal 3 open house and marveled at the architecture and art work on display. I also realized that there are definitely more interesting people that hang out in this Terminal. Unfortunately, all of the airlines that I fly on leave from Terminal 2! Maybe I should think about changing airlines!

Butterfly Exhibit at Terminal 3

Part of the Terminal 3 crowd