Want to experience the cockpit of a Boeing 747? LA museum expansion prepares to make it happen

The California Science Center has installed the first of more than a dozen aircraft in the museum’s 200,000-square-foot expansion coming to Exposition Park.

As of this week, the front portion of a Boeing 747-400 towers over the ground floor of the Korean Air Aviation Gallery, one of three main spaces in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

The new center, which recently completed construction, is built around a towering centerpiece: space shuttle Endeavour in its 20-story vertical launch position.

Once open to the public, the center will be the only place in the world to see an authentic space shuttle in its “Go for Stack” position, which is what officials called the months-long process of moving each component into place, according to the museum.

Walter Cho, chairman of Korean Air, said the airline’s namesake gallery is all about inspiring future generations to dream big.

“We want them to see more than airplanes, but the science, engineering and imagination behind them,” Cho said during a news conference Tuesday. “And most importantly, we want them to think, ‘I can do that, too.’”

Jeffrey Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center, said museum officials are working to announce an opening date for the center within the next several weeks. He told LAist that people will be able to visit “well before” the 2028 Olympics.

Admission to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will be free.

What's inside?

The California Science Center unveiled the first few aircraft on display in the Korean Air Aviation Gallery about six months after offering a sneak peak inside the Kent Kresa Space Gallery.

The galleries will guide guests through hundreds of exhibits and authentic artifacts focused on the exploration of the universe — including rocket ships that carried humans into space and telescopes used to view stars and galaxies beyond our reach, according to museum officials.

The Korean Air Aviation Gallery has three themes — learning to fly, everyday flight and advanced aviation, according to the museum. It’s designed to explore the four forces that affect every aircraft: lift, thrust, weight and drag.

“That basically shapes the aircraft, tells you what it has to look like in order to accomplish whatever mission you have,” said Kenneth Phillips, the curator of aerospace programs.

The roughly 20 aircraft that’ll be displayed — some already suspended from the ceiling — were selected by the California Science Center for the engineering principles they can teach.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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The 747, at least the front 70 feet of it, was moved to L.A. last year. After taking thousands of flights under Korean Air for two decades, it was rescued from an “aircraft graveyard” in Arizona, Rudolph said.

Museum crews took the plane apart, reassembled it in the building and gave it a fresh paint job.

Officials said the 747 played a significant role in aviation, helping take the technology from daredevils testing the limits to a regular part of global travel. Visitors will be able to explore the inside of the aircraft and take a simulated five-minute flight from LAX to Seoul.

Walter Cho, chairman of Korean Air, celebrated the first aircraft installed in the Korean Air Aviation Gallery, including the front of a real Boeing 747-400 that was built for the airline in 1993.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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A rendering of the final vision for the Korean Air Aviation Gallery in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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The other roughly 20 aircraft that’ll be on display — some are already suspended from the ceiling — were selected for the engineering principles they demonstrate, according to Rudolph.

For example, the section on speed will feature a F-106A Delta Dart, the fastest turbo-jet powered airplane with a single-engine, according to officials. The museum is also working on displaying an F-100D Super Sabre, the world’s first supersonic fighter jet, and a Vampire T.35, the first British aircraft powered by a single jet engine.

This Northrop T-38 Talon was built around 1959 and joined NASA's fleet a few decades later. It was used for air force and astronaut training, according to the museum.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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A de Havilland Vampire T.35 was the first jet to land on and take off from an aircraft carrier, according to the California Science Center.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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The museum is also looking ahead to advanced aviation, including an indoor drone flight area.

Perry Roth-Johnson, curator of science and technology, told LAist he wants visitors to be able to explore the autonomous tech you can already see in L.A. today through self-driving cars like Waymo.

“We want to give people a little cityscape where they can fly drones on sample missions around the city and get a sense of how this technology works,” Roth-Johnson said in an interview.

What's outside?

Construction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center was completed last month, nearly four years after the California Science Center broke ground.

The expansion’s curved stainless-steel design stands out from the museum’s mostly copper-colored exterior.

Construction of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center was completed last month, bringing the expansion closer to welcoming visitors.

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Makenna Cramer

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LAist

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According to officials, it was inspired by the aerodynamic geometry of the space shuttle. Endeavour itself is hidden beneath a 2,000 ton diagrid structure, peaking at 200-feet-tall, that offers unobstructed views of the artifacts inside.

Steven F. Matt, chairman of MATT Construction — which built the expansion — said that construction was completed successfully without a scratch on the space shuttle.

“This project stands as a tribute to the generations who built our aerospace legacy and will continue to inspire children for decades to come,” Matt said in an April statement.

Amie Nulman, a structural engineer and principal with Arup, which engineered the building, told LAist previously that one of the challenges was making sure the design could withstand earthquakes without damaging the space shuttle. She said the shuttle’s support system is on base isolation, meaning it’s going to glide around when the ground starts to shake.

“The stack is going to be moving different to the building, and so we did a lot of studies to make sure they did not get too close to each other during earthquakes,” Nulman said in a 2024 interview.