By Benjamin Rothstein

DOVER — The Dover Air Force Base is gearing up for its First State Airshow on Saturday and Sunday, and its year-round attraction, the Air Mobility Command Museum, is getting in on the fun.

The museum’s Open Cockpit Saturday event — which takes place the third Saturday of each month — coincides with the air show this year.

According to museum deputy director Eric Czerwinski, about 90% of its planes’ cockpits will be open to the public, with many of the site’s guides being former workers on those aircraft.

A food trailer will appear at the museum Saturday, too.

Both inside and outside, the AMC Museum is a window into Air Force history.

“Our planes are some of the biggest aircraft in any museum in the world, including the C-5 Galaxies,” Mr. Czerwinski said. “Visitors get to go inside different types of planes, transport planes, that represent about 80 years of ... airlift and air-refueling history.”

He said the facility also features over 4,000 artifacts, along with its 36 aircraft.

Some of those include a rusted C-46A Commando, a plane built during World War II; a B-17G Flying Fortress, with mannequins in flight attire; and an air traffic control tower that visitors can climb up for a view of the vehicles on display and the base’s flight line.

In fact, the tower’s head was formerly used at the Dover Air Force Base, before it was replaced in 2009 and rebuilt on a replica tower by the museum.

The Air Mobility Command Museum also has a 9/11 memorial, with girders from one of the World Trade Center buildings and a piece of the Pentagon.

In addition to Open Cockpit Saturdays, the site is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, with free parking and admission. It’s at 1301 Heritage Road, with an entrance on Del. 9, south of the base. The museum gives walk-in tours, but they can be scheduled in advance, as well.

Mr. Czerwinski said it’s also a great gathering spot to witness the air show.

“People, a lot of times, will come here to watch the air show from the back side, instead of going to the air show itself. You get a little bit better parking and get a different view, plus we have all the airplanes,” he noted, adding that there have been between 2,000 and 5,000 museum visitors during those weekends.