Making dreams come true is what Stanley Hiller Jr. was known for. From creating model race cars, to testing his flying experiments over his parents driveway, Stanley Hiller Jr. at age 15 created the first functional coaxial helicopter (a helicopter which has no tail rotor, functioning with two counter rotating blades). He got accepted into UC Berkley and subsequently dropped out to pursue his helicopter manufacturing business. He also established the first helicopter factory on the west coast. Most notably, the Hiller 360 helicopter became the first civilian helicopter to cross the United states. His accomplishments as a teenager are remarkable. Additionally, his accomplishments in aviation are undoubtedly impressive to say the least.

The Hiller museum is visited by nearly 100,000 visitors annually. I decided to make my way up to the San Carlos Airport (KSQL) to see the excitement for myself (the museum is conveniently located on the west side of the airport.) For those who don't know, San Carlos is just south of San Francisco (parking is free!) I met with Willie Turner (the Museum's Director Of Operations.) Willie has 26+ years of experience working with the museum, he worked for Mr. Hiller before the museum officially opened up. Willie's duties involve maintaining the building, marketing, event planning, and much more. Willie described Mr. Hiller as a "very nice man, he was a brilliant aviation businessman and engineer. When you spoke to him, you could see his wheels turning, and he was way ahead of his time. He would have loved to be alive to see today's technology."

Willie showed me around and described how each and every one of these exhibits has a story to tell. Being shut down for almost a year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic put the museum through some testing times. Many other museums opted to take on exhibits which were not true to their theme, auction off their exhibits, or even close down all together. The Hiller Museum was able to make it through the tough times by staying relevant to aviation, limiting spending, and providing virtual tours to school groups. Willie said "you can start off with the early aviation and work your way over to the Drone Plex of the future." Willie explained to me how the museum has a nice mix of interactive exhibits (things you can touch or play with) and viewable exhibits (things that are not touchable by the general public.) It's a great place to bring your kids of all ages. They even have 75 events a year (Santa by helicopter, leprechaun skydiving, biggest little airshow, etc.), an invention lab with Legos and a simulator zone.

It's very apparent that the entire museum gives off an "awe" of technological "awesomeness." Hiller was an early developer of the vertical take off and landing (VTOL). Although the VTOL technology did not do too well at the time due to issues with aerodynamics, instability, and wired controls (to name a few reasons.) The invention was ahead of its time, he did not realize VTOL was successful in the future mostly because of digital controls. If you love interesting ideas, you have to see the Rotor Cycle! It was a Hiller design contracted for the military. The idea was that you could take this mobile chopper in a box, dump it out of a plane to a trapped soldier and he could fly himself out of a location. Isn't that something!

It's hard to think which aircraft or exhibit could be a favorite. They are all unique with stories that captivate your attention from any angle. They are all special in many ways, I spent so much time staring at the old beacon from KSFO, I could have spent another hour looking at the personal hovercraft wondering how anyone could have made that real, the different colored lights made the aircraft come to life. One exhibit I am biased towards that you can't miss is the Grumman Albatross. The flying boat was flown around the world in 1997 replicating Amelia Earhart's 1937 final flight. Amelia Earhart was actually a cousin of my Great-grandfather.

You can walk inside and outside for exhibits and activities. The main open area is an event space which can be rented for any kind of event (weddings, barmitzvahs, business meetings, birthday parties and much more). Right next to the event space is the big glass window to look inside the restoration shop! These restoration specialists can fabricate and replicate anything they put their minds to. They are always looking for volunteers of any age who are looking to gain experience in building airplanes, restoring parts, painting pieces, and even holding a wrench when a friend is in need.

I saved the outside for last because I didn't even know what the heck to say about this piece. I have flown by the nose of this 747 for quite some time and had thought it was an empty piece of a metal. I found out today, that inside the 747 nose was a real piece of interactive history "hiding in plane sight." With most of the 747's out of service or being turned into cargo planes, this may be the only place for the youth of today to see the inside of the aircraft that revolutionized the airlines and made flying affordable today. Picture what it was like to be in the cockpit of this behemoth. Most people get anxiety imagining what all the switches and buttons do. This piece was driven over here from Roswell New Mexico. Restoration involved many experts who provided thousands of volunteer hours to make it look original.

Hiller's dream of "a helicopter for every garage" didn't necessarily come true but he left a huge museum full of cool stuff for everyone to see. If you are ever in Chantilly Virginia you can see some of Hiller's exhibits that are on loan to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum. The rest of the exhibits are here in San Carlos. So, if you are ever in California, put the Hiller Aviation Museum at the top of your list and remember "life is worth flying for".