pby-naval air museum

If you know nothing about the PBY or the history of Oak Harbor this is a wonderful one stop place to learn the history - at least from 1942 onward. The PBY museum had more than the PBY, but was mostly a miltary exhibit focusing around this iconic aircraft. The only PBY they had was parked across the street still under tarp and not available to walk around (thus the 3 star rating). Inside were some good explanations about the PBY - but more impressive - the building of the Sea Plane Base by the US Navy in the early years of WWII and the establishment of the Navy Base in Oak Harbor. It is worth an hour of your time.

The PBY (WWII era seaplane) museum is a specialized but fascinating glimpse into the history of the Oak harbor base, it's relation to the city, and a part of the war that often gets ignored. The museum is small but expects to have a PBY on site later in 2015. Check their facebook site for details.

First, thank you for your past donation. We are sorry that you were disappointed with your recent visit to the PBY-Naval Air Museum. The cost of admission to any attraction is an understandable conern for any family. When we relocated to our new facility, a lot of thought was given to admission fees. The fee schedule that we settled on is in the middle to lower range of comparable small museums. Our fee schedule will be reviewed annually and certainly your comments will be taken into consideration in evaluating potential changes to the schedule.Updating our exhibits is an ongoing process. We strive to change about 10-15% of our exhibits every 6-8 months. Of course some exhibits remain for extended periods of time because of their hsitorical significance. The pictures on our TripAdvisor page were psoted in October 2014. Of the seven interior exhibit pictures, four are new and the other three have been significantly modified within the past 3-4 months. Early next year, we expect to do a major exhibit expansion when we move our PBY-5A aircraft from NAS Whidbey Island's Seaplane Base to a site nearby the Museum. With the outdoor display of the PBY-5A there will also be a variey of large military history exhibits for the enjoyment of our visitors. We hope that these changes will make a future visit more rewarding for you and your family. Please come and see us!

Dads love it as much as kids. They fly the planes and have a great time. Easy parking and gives kids knowledge of how things work in a plane.

This museum has a lot of history about the PBY Catalina aircraft. There are old black and white photos dating back to the second world war as well as aviator's uniforms and equipment. Be sure and watch the video which is quite interesting. There are also a couple of trainers where both adults and children can try their hand at handling an aircraft.

The new address is correct, 270 SE Pioneer Way, Oak Harbor, WA 98277.The correct name of the museum is now "PBY-Naval Air Museum:.

Easy to get to now. No more having to drive thru the gate to get on base! It is in the middle of downtown on Pioneer Way.Great gift store. Wonderful artifacts from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and War on Terror. And of course the focus and emphasis on the Patrol Bomber PBY Catalina. Bring the kids. It is a partial exhibit now, but by end of July it will be full tilt. Great simulators!

We went here at invitation of a family friend - very out of the way and a total Pain to get to. Although it's a public museum, the entrance requires you to go through a Naval security gate and not very easily. This could so easily be solved by changing the entrance to Pioneer Blvd and closing off the section of road that would lead to the base. We had planned for a hour and stayed till they closed. Our guide, Bud Zylstra was so great! He offered insights into the areas we toured - so much memorabilia! A restored PBY(Outside) as there as well a war memorial tribute - build by Bud. This gem shouldn't be missed if you are in the area!

You can't get there from here! The powers that be in their infinite wisdom have closed the seaplane base to the general public. You must go over to the main gate and just before you enter on the right you will see the office of base security. You can get a temporary permit at that office providing you have your registration, driver's license and proof of insurance. The seaplane base used to be open. So now you have to jump through several hoops to enter.

Went to see the museum but was told at the gate I wasn't allowed to enter because only active duty military were allowed through into the base. This was the gate at the end of pioneer. The guard said I was the third person that week that he had turned away and he didn't know where people were getting information that the public was invited to visit the museum. Maybe he was just an uninformed guard, but he made me turn around inside the gate while he held onto my drivers license. Disappointing

Did you ever look at a cabinet of WWII memorabilia and then talk to the guy who brought it back? Did you ever sit in the Pilot's seat of a PBY Catalina and imagine what it was like to search for enemy ships? Did you ever sit a flight simulator and try to land a fighter? You can do all that and more at this terrific little museum. For us the veterans were the highlight.

Small museum located on Sea Plane base at end of Pioneer Way through downtown Oak Harbor. Has actual PBY aircraft - interior is open to visitors during summer months. Museum exhibits in Simard Hall are well presented and cover WWII through Afganistan. Great family stop. Can cover everything in 2-3 hours. No admission charge. You need dirvers license, auto registration and proof of insurance to enter base - it is still an active Navy base.Enjoy.

This is a nice little museum. There is a lot of History packed in this building. I was looking for a place to donate my father's collection of Military books and magazines. I called different place and they were not interested. Someone suggested that I contact the Museum at NAS Whidbey. I told the man on the phone that my father was an Army man, they said "great" we represent all branches of the Military. I told the gate guard where I wanted to go, he gave me directions, after showing my D.L., proof of Insurance and vehicle registration, I was on my way. What a beautiful location, the museum building overlooks, which is historical, overlooks the Marina and Puget Sound. There is a P 3 on static display also. Inside there is so much to look at, at gift store and a room where a video can be watched about the origins of NAS Whidbey and the farmer's whose land the base was built on. Our grandson was able to use a flight simulator and flew a P 3. He tried to land on Cranberry Lake, [which is way to small] and crashed. Well worth taking the time to go through the gate on Regatta and spend some time learning history of WW1, WW11, Korea, Viet Nam, and our present involvement in the Middle East. This is an old building, so there are some stairs to the entrance door. I don't remember if there is a ramp or not, but these veteran volunteers will do whatever it take to help someone inside to view the museum's displays.

If you're looking for a great place to visit on Whidbey Island when it's cold out, and especially if you like history, then this museum is a 'must.' It's a little hard to find, and be prepared to show your driver's license and registration to get on the naval base--but it's worth it. Our guide, Will, took us on a great tour. We all learned so much about WWII and what it was like in battle. There's also a flight simulator, and fun juke box. The tour is free, but they do take donations--which we were happy to give!