Remnants of decades-old movie sets are still evident at the Santa Maria Museum of Flight.
Museum docent Jerry Simas explains more about the Santa Maria Valley’s aviation history in the newest episode of the city’s online educational series Culture in the Valley.
The Museum of Flight is located at the Santa Maria airport and houses props from movies that were shot at the airport after World War II, when the site was used for military training.
“If it wasn’t for the Army and World War II, I seriously doubt there would be an airport here today in this spot,” Simas said in the episode.
The museum houses photos and airplane replicas from the time of the Wright brothers’ flight to present-day. Admission to the museum is free, and it is located at 3015 Airpark Drive in Santa Maria.
The city has produced four episodes of Culture in the Valley ranging from 14 to 30 minutes long. Previous episodes feature the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, the Santa Maria Valley Railway Historical Museum, and the Natural History Museum of Santa Maria, according to press materials.
All episodes are available on the city of Santa Maria’s YouTube channel and on Santa Maria Community Television cable channels. The show plays daily on Comcast cable channel 23 at 11:30 a.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. and on channel 24 at 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.
This article appears in Aug 14-24, 2025.