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<\/p>\nPaso Robles’ Estrella Warbird Museum is way more than just warbirds.\u00a0 There are military vehicles, a munitions display, classic cars, race cars, vintage motorcycles, small arms, and more.\u00a0 And then it’s in Paso Robles, a worthy destination all on its own.\u00a0 We’ll touch on each of these in this blog.<\/p>\n
First, the warbirds.\u00a0 There are a bunch on display, and there are two I feel most connected with personally…one is the F4 Phantom, and the other is the F-16 Air Combat Fighter.<\/p>\n
That’s an F4 at the top of this blog.\u00a0 It’s what the USAF was flying when I was stationed at Kunsan AFB back in the mid-1970s, and it is an impressive airplane.\u00a0 I was on a HAWK air defense site just off Kunsan, high up on a mountain top overlooking Kunsan.\u00a0 We could pick up the F4s as they started their takeoff roll on Kunsan’s runway.\u00a0 When our high-powered illuminators locked on, the pilots knew it in the cockpit.\u00a0 They’d take off on full afterburner (a sensory and sensual delight for anyone who witnessed it), execute a quick 180, and then fly directly at my missile site coming in at just under Mach 1 below the top of our mountain.\u00a0 They were trying to break the lock my scope dopes had on them.\u00a0 Then, at the last minute, they’d climb just enough to clear the tops of the HIPIR’s Mickey Mouse ears.\u00a0 The radars would flip around 180 degrees in two axes with such force that one side of the radar’s support legs would clear the ground by 6 inches.\u00a0 Ah, those were grand and glorious days.\u00a0 At night, in the Kunsan AFB Officers Club, the Air Force jet jocks would ask me about the radars.\u00a0 My answer was always the same:\u00a0 Sorry, I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.\u00a0 They’d laugh.\u00a0 They thought I was joking.<\/p>\n
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When I left the Army, my first job was on General Dynamic’s F-16 engineering team, and just about every defense industry job I’ve had since was somehow associated with something on that airplane.\u00a0 Munitions, 20mm Gatlings, fuel tanks, aerial refueling systems, ejection seats…it all seemed to come back to the F-16.\u00a0 I loved being around that airplane.<\/p>\n
Well, okay…maybe one more airplane, and that’s the F-86.\u00a0 Yeah, it’s been obsolete for decades.\u00a0 But when I was at Kunsan AFB in the mid-1970s, the ROK Air Force (as in Republic of Korea) still flew the F-86.\u00a0 \u00a0It’s a\u00a0 svelte little bit of a fighter, and it was on display at the Estrella Warbirds Museum.<\/p>\n
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As soon as you enter the Estrella Museum, there’s a small arms display.\u00a0 Hey, I love that sort of thing, and this display grabbed my attention.<\/p>\n
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I caught something the Estrella curators missed.\u00a0 See those red arrows in the photo above?\u00a0 That rifle was labeled as a Mosin-Nagant.\u00a0 I know my Mosins, and this wasn’t one of them.\u00a0 It was maybe a Mauser, but most definitely not a Mosin. I told one of the docents. She thanked me, but I don’t think she understood what I was telling her.<\/p>\n
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The Estrella Museum had a munitions display, too.\u00a0 It was cool.\u00a0 I like bombs and bullets.\u00a0 And mines.\u00a0 A mine is a terrible thing to waste, you know.<\/p>\n
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The Museum also houses the Woodland Automobile Display, which includes classic cars and race cars with an emphasis on dirt track oval racers.\u00a0 The collection was extensive, interesting, and photogenic.<\/p>\n
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There were military vehicles and motorcycles, too.\u00a0 I’ll get to those in a second, but first, take a look at this.\u00a0\u00a0How about a water-cooled Harley Knucklehead engine used in midget racing?\u00a0 That’s what you see in the photo below.<\/p>\n
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The engine you see above is a Drake-modified Harley V-twin, and it was way ahead of its time.\u00a0 The Drake\/Harley was called a “popper” because it vibrated so much.\u00a0 These engines produced close to 100 horsepower, and that was way back in the 1940s.\u00a0 100 horsepower.\u00a0 Water cooled.\u00a0 Harley, how could you have ignored this back then?<\/p>\n
The Estrella Warbird Museum also has a few interesting military motorcycles, including a World War II US Army WL Harley, an M20 BSA single (used by the British in World War II), and real oddity…a 98cc World War II Welbike used by British paratroopers.<\/p>\n
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For me, a big part of the Estrella Warbirds Museum was its location.\u00a0 I love the Paso Robles area.\u00a0 Getting there is easy.\u00a0 If you’re coming from the North, pick up the El Camino Real (Highway 101) south.\u00a0 If you’re coming from the south, it’s the 101 north.\u00a0 Take California State Route 46 east,\u00a0 Airport Road north, and watch for the signs.<\/p>\n
The best kept secrets in this area?\u00a0 The obvious ones are not secrets at all:\u00a0 The riding in and around San Luis Obispo County is awesome.\u00a0 Paso Robles is a wine producing region, and there are plenty of vineyards.\u00a0 You can ride west on State Route 46 to get to the Pacific Coast Highway, one of the premier motorcycle roads in the world (it intersects the PCH near Cambria and Hearst Castle; both are worthy destinations).\u00a0 \u00a0For a world-class dinner, ride just a few miles south to McPhee’s Grill in Templeton (make reservations, though…you won’t get in without a reservation).\u00a0 There are great missions all along the 101 attesting to the region’s early Spanish influence (they followed the El Camino Real in developing the missions, you know), including the nearby San Luis Obispo and San Miguel Missions.\u00a0 Paso Robles is a California destination, and the riding is good year round.\u00a0 If you’re going in the winter months, dress accordingly.\u00a0 If you’re riding in the summer, stay hydrated.<\/p>\n
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