If you go: Northwest aviation museums

1. Arlington Airport's Air Station Flying Museum, an ongoing preservation effort of a World War II naval auxiliary air station, is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. 18008 59th Drive N.E., on the east side of the airport. 360-403-9352. Also: Mercer Island billionaire Paul Allen is collecting vintage military aircraft in unmarked hangars nearby, but the project is cloaked in secrecy. Visitors have seen the planes on nice days when the hangar doors are pushed open and the planes are flown.

2. Tukwila's Museum of Flight is located on the west side of Boeing Field at 9404 E. Marginal Way. Admission is $11 for adults, $6.50 for youths ages 5 to 17, and free all year on the first Thursday evening of each month (including today) from 5 until 9 p.m. 206-764-5700 or www.museumofflight.org

3. McChord Air Museum on McChord Air Force Base, Lakewood, Pierce County, has a museum featuring military aircraft and exhibits. Winter hours: Wednesday-Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., but currently only active-duty military or retirees are allowed to visit. There will be an air show open to the public on July 13. Free; donations accepted. 253-982-2485 or www.mcchordairmuseum.org

4. Olympic Flight Museum at Olympia Airport will stage its annual Gathering of War Birds on Father's Day weekend, June 13-15. 7637-A Old Highway 99 S.E. (Exit 101 from I-5). 360-705-3925 or www.olympicflightmuseum.com

5. Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver, Wash., is on the oldest continuously active airfield in the West and has the country's oldest wooden hangar. The museum has about 20 vintage aircraft, a theater and a children's center. In November and December, the museum will sponsor a play about the Wright Brothers; 1115 E. Fifth St. (from Interstate 5, take the Mill Plain Boulevard exit and follow signs to the museum). 360-694-7026 or www.pearsonairmuseum.org

6. Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Ore., is a privately owned collection of nearly 40 types of planes. The massive hangar, built to house reconnaissance blimps during World War II, is at 6030 Hangar Road, two miles south of Tillamook, on Highway 101. 503-842-1130 or www.tillamookair.com

7. Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Ore., features hands-on activities, lectures on aviation history and science, and the famous "Spruce Goose," Howard Hughes' flying boat, which will open its fuselage and cockpit to the public in late March. Centennial events include a reception with Walter Cronkite on March 12, the unveiling of an SR-71 spy plane on June 6, and in August, a Purple Heart Memorial and antique aircraft fly-in. Highway 19 about 25 miles southwest of Portland. 503-434-4180 or www.sprucegoose.org