Page 82 - SLO Visitors Guide - Fall 2024

82 FALL 2024 slovisitorsguide.com
Paso Robles
1102 Pine St., Paso Robles
Order Online
www.redscooterdeli.com
711 6th St., Paso Robles
(805) 237-1780
Two downtown locations:
Box Lunches • Wedding Packages • Wine Tours • Breakfast, Lunch & More
Patio Seating • Dog Friendly • Kids Menu • Gluten Free • Vegan Options
Take a tour of rare military aircraft and
vehicles at Estrella Warbirds Museum
Spend a day at the Estrella War-
birds Museum and Woodland
Auto Display. See rare military
aircraft and vehicles, as well as an
amazing collection of restored auto-
mobiles ranging from American
and European classics to racetrack
winners. The Woodland Auto Dis-
play has been called the best auto
museum on the Central Coast.
The museum was established
30 years ago at the Paso Robles
Municipal Airport and is dedicated
to restoring and preserving military
aircraft, vehicles, and memorabilia.
From its first hangar, the museum
has grown to a 20-acre, 14-building
A hidden gem of
the Central Coast
complex of exhibit halls, work-
shops, a library, a gift shop, and
conference facilities.
Estrella Warbirds Museum
Experience history firsthand by
standing next to an amazing array
of military aircraft and armored
vehicles.
The displays feature fighter
airplanes from the Cold War to the
present and include a Link Trainer
Flight Simulator to a state-of-the-
art, full-size F/A-18 cockpit simula-
tor used for pilot training. Make
an appointment for a Friday or
Sunday, and reserve your own flight
time in the simulator! The displays
in Freedom Hall include artifacts
from WWI to the present, featuring
actual cockpit instrument displays
from US and Japanese fighters, as
well as a Norden bombsight used
by US bombers in WWII.
The museum hosts the Gooney
Bird Group (GBG) and its C-47,
Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber. Betsy has
chronicled quite a history, logging
over 9400 flight hours in service
with the air forces of the US,
Belgium, France, and Israel. The
group acquired Betsy from Canada
where she had been mothballed for
six years and returned her to full
flight status in 2009. In 2019 Betsy
flew to the UK to participate in the
75th D-Day anniversary reenact-
ment along with many of her sister
C-47s and DC-3s. For a visual
treat, search online for “Daks over
Duxford,” and watch your choice of
YouTube videos of this anniversary
celebration.
The Red Ball Express display
features restored large military
logistics vehicles used to support
General Patton’s late 1944 march to
the Battle of the Bulge.
Woodland Auto Display—
the jewel in the crown
The jewel in the crown at the
museum is the Woodland Auto
Display. Be prepared to be amazed
at the 20,000 square-foot display
hall featuring a range of vehicles
from the 1886 Benz Motorwagen to
a 2005 Ford GT 550, and every-
thing in between. Autos on display
include American, European, and
Japanese classics, all in showroom
condition. Steve McQueen’s Indian
motorcycle and sidecar are on
display as well as an accurate recre-
ation of an Indy 500 workshop with
actual garage doors from the famed
Classic racecars at Woodland Auto Display.