Gillespie Field Aircraft Museum

Location: El Cajon (17 Miles / 20 Minutes East of Downtown San Diego)

Hours: 8AM – 3PM Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays

Cost: Free (Donations Accepted)

Features: Restoration Hanger for the Air & Space Museum includes More than Two Dozen Aircraft and an Atlas Missile.

Highlights for the Gillespie Field Annex: For those who could not get enough to satisfy their appetite for historic aircraft while visiting the San Diego Air & Space Museum, you will find quite a few more planes at the Museum’s annex facility just east of San Diego at Gillespie Field. This location is also popular for those who want to see an Atlas Rocket in person. Designed and built in San Diego, the Atlas Rocket was used to fight the Cold War, launch satellites, and send astronauts into outer space.

What to Expect

This is a self-serve museum. Enter through the unlocked gate. Inside, the staff of volunteers is busy refurbishing planes, helicopters, and other items for future display in the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park.

There are two hangers of aircraft as well as several jets parked outdoors. The first hanger door will probably be open. Just walk in and take a look around. Many of the items include display descriptions since they have been rotated through the Air & Space Museum exhibitions.

The second hanger door along the side of the building may be closed. Go ahead and enter through the normal sized door just before you reach the second hanger. You will see more refurbishing activity in this hanger.

The Air & Space Museum’s web site provides a partial list of aircraft on display at the Gillespie Field Annex. Among them are an F-14, F-16, and a MiG-21.

Information on Visiting the Aircraft at Gillespie Field

Directions from Google Maps to 335 Kenney Street in El Cajon, CA 92020. (The facility is not located at the airport entrance but rather in an industrial area on the opposite side of the airfield.)

Traffic – Other than heavy traffic heading west on highway I-8 during the morning rush hour, you should not face any traffic problems in the area during the normal hours. (Learn how to get the latest traffic updates.)

Transit – The restoration facility is about a mile walk from the Orange Trolley Line stop at the Gillespie Field Station. (See San Diego Transit Information for trolley schedules and information for the online Transit Planner.)

Nearby Attraction – Just 1.5 miles away, you can tour the Taylor Guitars Factory, which is known for producing the best acoustical guitars in the world.

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