CR Smith Museum

I’m quite the aviation museum buff and I was skeptical about this one because it only has one airplane, but it proved to be worthwhile. The exhibits are well done and there are quite a few of them. If you’re way early to your flight departing DFW, I highly recommend as it is only 5 minutes from the South entrance, 10 min from the rental car return and 15 from the terminals.

It was amazing I loved the history of flight attendants outfits. The aircrafts where really small back then. Man fat people would not fly for sure. The shopping there is like more gift shops very expensive but the overall price is ok. The tour was self guided or follow along. Can be boring if you don’t like aircraft.

Great aviation history as well as the history of the airline. Beautiful tribute to those who lost their lives on September 11^th.

The museum is really fun for 3 to 6 year olds kids. All the state simulators kept my 4 year old entertained for 3 hrs. Love the museum. My kid had more fun for than in the perot museum.

This museum was a bit of a surprise near DFW. I was expecting a basic museum with some displays on the history of American Airlines and a display of the Douglas DC-​3, but I was surprised on how nice the facility was. The museum is located in the American Airlines corporate campus south of DFW and is a little out of the way. The facility is well done with a nice entrance and exhibit hall.
You can start with a short film while sitting in old first class seats. It is a little cheesy, but worth a view. Afterwards, you can walk around the exhibit area and learn about the history of the airline interspersed with exhibits on aerodynamics, maintenance, and commercial aviation. The museum has very little military background, only when American helped the military effort.
They have a shiny Douglas DC-​3 in their exhibit which is well restored, although a bit musty inside. You can walk inside the aircraft and view the small ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial in the bricks under the exhibit.
Overall, the museum is a must for anyone interested in commercial aviation or any type of flight. Small children will likely get bored, but there are some interactive displays that may hold the imagination of older children. If you are stuck at DFW, you can probably get a quick ride here for a nice break and history lesson.

Loved it! A little over priced and the day we were there they were having technical difficulties with their movies. But over all a fun, interesting, and great learning adventure!

I’ve been to this museum many times in the past. I’ve always loved it. Actually, I love just about everything to do with planes. After all, we used to live in the Dallas-​Forth Worth area and I retired from American Airlines.
This museum lays out the history of the airline. It’s fun to visit and there are many things to see. When we drove back through this area, the CR Smith Museum was a must stop for me. We hadn’t been back in 10 years and figured it was about time.
I also had to replace a trinket from the museum gift shop. They really have a good gift shop there.

Meh. It’s cold outside so I have deemed it museum season which is increasingly difficult with an unruly one year old in tow and no known baby sitters since we are new to the area. Yet, I’ve heard good things about this little museum and children’s exhibit so we checked it out yesterday and we were unfortunately disappointed.
The children’s exhibit was on recycling which is totally cool yet it was very small and half of the displays were broken. So we ventured to the regular parts of the museum thinking we could see a few models of airplanes but alas there was only one. So we toured the other exhibits and displays and it seems about 50% were broken. Unimpressed American Airlines. Your flights leaving DFW tend to be delayed with the promise of a gate mix up or seat issue every time I fly and your museum left much to be desired too. Maybe we will give it another shot next year but I doubt it.

Went here on a whim with a friend last week. We lucked out and went on a day when they had this Lego Castle exhibit going on. Awesome stuff for the kids — dress-​up, jousting, a slide, building with Legos, awesome professional structures/​figures already built, etc. That was the coolest part of the visit.
I took my toddler, and I think without the Castle exhibit, it’s much more geared toward school-​aged kids and older. As an adult, I really liked it and thought it was interesting, but it felt a little small. Maybe that was due, in part, to the large Castle exhibit.

I’m a bit of an airline historian. American Airlines has been around since the mid 1930’s and was called American Airways at the time. It started as a company that made it’s profits hauling mail while hoping to entice passengers into this thing called «air travel» and has now become the largest airline on the planet earth (post USAirways merger).
A beautiful restore DC-​3 is perched behind large windows inside the entrance. You can write a book on that airplane alone but it basically revolutionized air travel and there are original and re-​engined versions of it still flying 75 years later.
You’ve got to have a love for this type of history to enjoy a place like this and the museum commemorates American Airlines’ history while walking you through a number of eras shared by other commercial air carriers.
What I like about this museum is it’s unique commercial aviation subject matter. Most other museums direct a large portion of their attention to warbirds and military application so it’s refreshing to get a dose of civilian aviation history.
The museum itself is fairly small but there are some fun interactive displays and an enjoyable iMax presentation. The price of admission is next to nothing and it’s a fun way to spend a couple of hours learning some great stuff.

Surprisingly good!
There was tons of interactive things for the kids, but even adults had fun with them. Lots to learn for all ages.

A small but very interesting museum that details the history of American Airlines. One might describe it as «kitschy» — especially the IMAX theater with its 20+ year old (first class) seats and 20+ year old film. (Both of these could use an update.) But I will admit that I learned much. Things that caught my attention were the Magnetronic Reservisor, the fact that IBM helped American create Sabre in the late 1950s, and that it was C. R. Smith (the American Airlines CEO) that persuaded Donald Douglas to design the DC-​3.

I’m an aviation buff, but I’ve never stepped foot on an American Airlines flight. This was a great find nonetheless.
Though I wasn’t too «up» on American’s history, I felt like I was after I left. The exhibits were very informative and kept you interested. The flight simulator was closed when I visited and I didn’t see the film… but hard to complain with a $ 4 admission with college ID.
Definitely a cool place to spend a few hours regardless of your interest level in aviation.

Really Dated. «Spirit of America» Film is torture. Michael Bolton’s singing was even more hellish. Just when you think there couldn’t be another verse…

For all their ads this is still a third tier operation. Perish the thought that someone may recline their seat and you’ll be tasting the seat back, No room. Flight on Thanksgiving at 50% capacity yet selling seats LAX to NY at 600 per. the day before. $ 27 for wifi. Flight arrival at 6PM yet they only serve a very limited breakfast and snack menu and they are out of nuts on the first go round of drink service.

Great displays, hands on exhibits, informative programs, and a great movie!!!

It’s not a big museum, but there are a lot of really interesting static and hands-​on exhibits. My only complaint would be that in the three or four times I’ve been there, it seems like something is always under construction, or not working. Overall though, good quality, especially for the inexpensive price.

Wow! This was such a cool place. There aren’t many airline or commercial aviation museums out there, but this one is just fantastic. Even though I’m an employee if another airline, I still loved reading the history and story of American Airlines simply because I am a huge commercial aviation buff. The items they have saved and the interactive exhibits are just great! So many great things to check out! I came a little late in the day and had to rush, but I would definitely go back.

I am a fan of aviation and felt that the C. R. Smith Museum was a fantastic look at the history of American Airlines and commercial aviation. What made it even more amazing was that the price point is amazing.
Located at the headquarters and training center for American Airlines the C. R. Smith museum provides visitors with a great overview of how the company started. The displays and videos show the airlines connections to Charles Lindbergh and the US Air Mail service. It is a testament to how a person with a vision that can be shared with others can create an amazing company that affects our world in astounding ways.
The museum has an excellent flight simulator in it that will allow you to try your hand at flying. Using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 you can join a member of the museum staff and fly an American 737. We were hopping between the Hawaiian islands and having a great time. They have gone the extra mile to build a virtual cockpit around the screen that provides yokes, throttle levers, gear and flap controls and much more. My daughter and I were wondering where we could put one in our home.
One of the centerpieces of the museum is the DC3 which you are allowed to enter and walk through. Like Meredith, we wish they could have done something about the smell, but it is bearable for the time that you are in it. To walk through this aircraft and to think of air travel in the early days is amazing. We did notice how much more leg room they had back in those day.
The museum also has a special display set up right now (January, 2011) on the history of football, in anticipation of the Super Bowl coming to town.
If you are in the Arlington and enjoy aviation, be sure to come visit the C. R. Smith (American Airlines) museum.