An offer from Amazon.com just hit my Google alerts, advertising a book by John Purner titled 101 Best Aviation Attractions, which happens to be published by the same owner of AviationWeek, McGraw-Hill Publishing.

I flipped through the list, and was surprised to see that I could count on one hand the ones I had been to. (The book includes air shows and other events, not just museums).

But there are two that I have never forgotten which didn't make the list. One is Thunder City in Cape Town, South Africa, and the other is the National Norwegian Aviation Museum, or Norsk Luftfartsmuseum.

The latter is in Northern Norway in Bodo (pronounced Buddah). It was such a pleasant surprise several years ago on a press trip to Iceland and Norway, because I had never heard of it. The museum is on the same site as the German airfield from World War II, and many of the graphic photos and descriptions are of nothing you would ever see in U.S. history books.

The museum highlights Norway's civil and military aviation history, and has only been open since 1994.

(Photo courtesy of Norwegian Aviation Museum)

But for something truly different--the chance to actually fly in an ex-military fighter jet--Thunder City in Cape Town shouldn't be missed.

The "museum" maintains four English Electric Lightnings, three BAE Buccaneers,  seven Hawker Hunters, a Strikemaster and a Puma (SA330) helicopter.

(Photo of Hawker Hunter courtesy of Thunder City)
 

I didn't know what any of those were when I was there about five years ago, but I did know that I wanted to learn after one of the 8 or so reporters on the trip drew the short straw and got to enjoy the rare experience of flying in a fighter jet.