Museum of Flight

The Museum of Flight is a personal non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle city. It lies at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle. [5] It was established in 1965 and is completely accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. As the biggest personal air and space museum on the planet, it likewise hosts large K-12 curricula. [6]

The museum attracts over 500,000 visitors every year, [2] and likewise serves more than 140,000 students each year through its onsite programs: an Opposition Learning Center, an Air Travel Learning Center, and a summer camp (ACE), along with outreach programs that take a trip throughout Washington and Oregon. [7]

History

The Museum of Flight can trace its roots back to the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation, which was founded in 1965 to recover and restore a 1929 Boeing 80A-1, which had actually been discovered in Anchorage, Alaska. The repair took location over a 16-year duration, and after completion, was placed on screen as a centerpiece for the museum. In 1968, the name "Museum of Flight" initially appeared in usage in a 10,000 sq feet (900 m2) facility, rented at the Seattle Center. Planning started at this time for a more long-term structure, and preliminary ideas were drafted. [8]

In 1975, The William E. Boeing Red Barn was obtained for one dollar from the Port of Seattle, which had actually seized it after Boeing deserted it throughout World War II. The 1909 all-wooden Red Barn, the initial home of the company, was barged 2 miles (3 km) up the Duwamish River to its present location at the southwestern end of Boeing Field. [9] [10] Fundraising was slow in the late 1970s, [11] and after repair, the two-story Red Barn was opened to the public in 1983. [12]

That year a funding campaign was launched, so capital might be raised for construction of the T.A. Wilson Great Gallery. In 1987, Vice President George Bush, signed up with by 4 Mercury astronauts, cut the ribbon to open the center on July 10, [12] [13] [14] with an extensive volume of 3,000,000 cubic feet (85,000 m3). The gallery's structure is built in an area frame lattice structure and holds more than 20 hanging airplane, including a Douglas DC-3 weighing more than 9 loads. [8]

The museum's education programs grew substantially with the building of an Opposition Learning Center in 1992. This interactive exhibition allows trainees to experience an Area Shuttle objective. It consists of a mock-up NASA objective control, and experiments from all locations of space research.

Completed in 1994, the 132-seat Wings Cafe and the 250-seat Skyline multipurpose banquet and conference space increased the museum's footprint to 185,000 square feet (17,200 m2). At the very same time, one of the museum's most extensively recognized and popular artifacts, the Lockheed M-21, a modified Lockheed A-12 Oxcart created to bring the Lockheed D-21 reconnaissance drones, [15] was placed on the flooring at the center of the Great Gallery, after being completely restored. [16]

The very first jet-powered Flying force One (1959-1962, SAM 970), a Boeing VC-137B, was flown to Boeing Field in 1996; it got here in June and was opened to visitors in October. [17] [18] Retired from active duty earlier that year, [17] it is on loan from the Flying force Museum. Originally parked on the east side of the museum, it was driven throughout East Marginal Way and now lives in the museum's Aviation Pavilion, where it is open to public walkthroughs.

In 1997, the museum opened the first full scale, interactive Air traffic control service tower display. The tower overlooks the Boeing Field runways, home to one of the thirty busiest basic aviation airports in the nation. The display offers a glance into what it resembles to be an air traffic controller.

The next significant expansion was opened in 2004, with the addition of the J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing, called after J. Elroy McCaw, a location business owner, business owner and The second world war veteran. [19] [20] [21] North of the Red Barn, the wing has 88,000 square feet (8,200 m2) of display area on 2 floorings, with more than 25 World War I and The second world war airplane. It likewise has large collection of design aircraft, consisting of every aircraft from both wars. [22] Many of these aircraft were from the collection of the Champlin Fighter Museum, previously in Mesa, Arizona, [19] [23] which closed in 2003. The wing opened on June 6, the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. [21]

In June 2010, the museum broke ground on a $12 million new building to house an Area Shuttle it hoped to receive from NASA, named the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. [24] [25] The new building consists of multisensory exhibitions that highlight stories from the visionaries, designers, pilots, and crews of the Space Shuttle and other space associated objectives. The gallery opened to the public in November 2012. [26] [27]

Though the museum did not receive one of the four remaining Shuttles, it did get the Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT), a Shuttle mockup that was utilized to train all Space Shuttle astronauts. [26] Because it is a trainer and not an actual Shuttle, small group (no more than six persons, minimum age 10, optimum height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)) guided trips of the interior are offered, for an extra charge. The FFT started showing up in numerous pieces beginning in 2012. The cockpit and 2 sections of the payload bay showed up through NASA's Super Guppy. [28] [29]

During the 50th anniversary celebrations for Apollo 11 in 2019, the Museum of Flight hosted a traveling Smithsonian exhibit with the Apollo Command module Columbia, which was utilized during the very first Moon landing. [30]

Aircraft on display screen

The Museum of Flight has more than 150 aircraft in its collection, consisting of:

Exhibits and facilities

On its grounds is the Personal Courage Wing (PCW) with 28 World War I and World War II aircraft from several countries consisting of Germany, Russia, and Japan.

There is likewise the "Red Barn", a signed up historic website also referred to as Building No. 105. Built in 1909, the building was utilized throughout the early 1900s as Boeing's original manufacturing plant. Through photographs, movie, narrative histories, and repair of work stations the exhibits in the Red Barn illustrate how wooden airplane structure with fabric overlays were made in the early years of air travel and offers a history of aviation development through 1958.

In June 2007 the museum opened a new area display: "Space: Exploring the New Frontier", which traces the development of space flight from the times of Robert Goddard to today and into future commercial spaceflight.

Restoration facility

The museum maintains a restoration center at Paine Field in Everett with about 39 ongoing projects including a de Havilland Comet 4 jet airliner, a Jetstar, and the Boeing 2707 mockup, among many.

Museum of Flight Library and Archives

The Harl V. Brackin Library at the Museum of Flight was established in 1985. Since 2011, it includes 66,000 books and subscribes to 100 regulars; focusing on aerospace and air travel, it has an online catalog. [44]

The Museum of Flight Archives is accessible to the general public through the Kenneth H. Dahlberg Research Center. [45] It includes countless photographs and thousands of linear feet of manuscript products. Highlights of the collections include the Gordon S. Williams photographic collection, the Peter M. Bowers Photographic Collection, the David D. Hatfield Aviation History Collection, the Norm Taylor Photographic Collection, the Elrey B. Jeppesen Aviation History and Navigation Collection, the American Fighter Aces Association Archives, the Lear Corporation Archives, and the Wright Airplane Company Collection. [46]

In December 2017, the Archives released a digital repository. The website features digitized materials from archival, library, and artifact collections. [47] In April 2019 the Archives began to make archival collections readily available and searchable online. [48]

Other centers

In September 2013, Raisbeck Aviation High School (formerly Aviation High School) opened in a new center straight north of the museum's Aviation Pavilion. The school is operated by Highline Public Schools as a STEM school with a concentrate on air travel. The school runs in partnership with the museum (which owns the land), Boeing, and other members of the regional aviation market. The facility will also be utilized for the museum's summer season education programs when school is not in session.

Opened to the public in June 2016, the Aviation Pavilion covers the space between the high school and the Space Gallery. The cover enables airplane which were seasonally highlighted, such as the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress, to be put completely on display. Constructed as part of the detailed "Inspiration Begins Here!" project, the structure consists of 18 of the museum's most renowned aircraft. The 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2) roof doubles the museum's exhibition space, and was developed with help from Sellen Construction and Seneca Real Estate Development.

In late May 2019, the museum opened the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Park including the fully restored B-52G Stratofortess Midnight Express (59-2584) as the culmination of Project Welcome Home. Just west of the Aviation Pavilion, the park is totally free to the public. [49]

See likewise

List of aerospace museums

References

Notes

^ Lentz, Flo; Martin, Sarah J. (December 13, 2017). "Landmark Registration Form". King County. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
^ a b "Museum of Flight Annual Report 2015" (PDF). Museum of Flight. p. 18. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
^ "Matt Hayes will succeed Museum of Flight CEO Doug King." Museum of Flight, July 12, 2017
^ "The Museum of Flight Welcomes Matthew R. Burchette as its New Senior Curator" (Press release). Museum of Flight. July 2, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
^ "Museum of Flight". Yahoo Travel. Archived from the initial on November 11, 2014.
^ "Museum of Flight". Boeing Academy. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
^ "Museum of Flight/Aviation High News Release" Museum of Flight. Retrieved: September 8, 2011.
^ a b Ogden, 1986 p. 193.
^ Truett, Jim (September 7, 1977). "Real expert in charge of flight museum". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. p. 17.
^ "Old racetrack now museum of flight". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. September 19, 1981. p. 19.
^ "Flight museum taxiing". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. October 22, 1980. p. A12.
^ a b "Air museum to open big gallery". Spokane Chronicle. Associated Press. July 6, 1987. p. A5.
^ "VIP's anticipated for flight museum opening". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. July 9, 1987. p. 7.
^ "Flight museum is open". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. July 11, 1987. p. 3.
^ a b "World's fastest airplane Seattle-bound - gradually". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. September 11, 1991. p. B3.
^ Ogden, 1986 p. 194.
^ a b c Szabo, Liz (June 21, 1996). "Original Air Force One retires". Allegheny Times. Beaver, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. A4.
^ "First Flying Force One to open for public tours this month". Seattle Times. October 8, 1996. Archived from the initial on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
^ a b Lalwani, Sheila (June 19, 2002). "Museum of Flight's expansion takes wing". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
^ "Museum highlights individual courage in new fighter wing". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Associated Press. November 12, 2003. p. 3A.
^ a b Tu, Janet L. (June 1, 2004). "Museum to introduce brand-new warplanes wing". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
^ "General History Fact Sheet." Archived December 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine The Museum of Flight, 2004. Retrieved: August 9, 2011.
^ Slivka, Judd (January 20, 2000). "Champlin Collection". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
^ Williams, Lauren C. (June 29, 2010). "Seattle's Museum of Flight breaks ground in its big bid for a space shuttle". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
^ "Photo Gallery: How to display a retired space shuttle bus." Collect Space. Retrieved: February 4, 2011.
^ a b Broom, Jack (November 7, 2012). "Museum of Flight's Space Shuttle Trainer display opens Saturday". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
^ "Space Gallery Construction Has Begun." Archived March 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine The Museum of Flight, 2010. Retrieved: March 30, 2011.
^ Brown, Jack (June 30, 2012). "Super Guppy, with space-shuttle trainer on board, touches down at Boeing Field". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
^ "Museum of Flight Awarded Full-Fuselage Shuttle Trainer." The Museum of Flight. Retrieved: April 13, 2011.
^ McKenzie, Madeline (April 10, 2019). "' Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission' exhibit splashes down at the Museum of Flight". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
^ "First 747 called "City of Everett"". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. July 12, 1971. p. 16.
^ "The very first 747 jet folds its wings for retirement". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. April 1, 1990. p. 7C.
^ "Concorde gets here, calls Seattle home". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. November 6, 2003. p. B6.
^ Lawless, Jill (November 5, 2003). "Concorde jets prepare for peaceful times ahead". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 3E. [long-term dead link] ^ Pyle, Richard (June 27, 2004). "Retired Concorde lands in museum". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Associated Press. p. 8A.
^ Gitlin, Jonathan (December 20, 2023). "What would you finish with a used Rolls-Royce Olympus engine from Concorde?". arstechnica.com. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ "De Havilland D.H. 106 Comet Mk. 4C|the Museum of Flight".
^ "Lockheed M-21 Blackbird." The Museum of Flight. Retrieved: September 2, 2011.
^ First Boeing 727, now brought back, takes last flight by: Siemny Kim Updated: March 2, 2016; KIRO-TV
^ "Super Constellation CF-TGE." rbogash.com. Retrieved: November 26, 2010.
^ "Alcor Lamson." Archived August 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Activate Media, 2006. Retrieved: May 20, 2011.
^ Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, p. 46. Soaring Society of America November 1983
^ "Lamson L-106 Alcor Glider." Museum of Flight, May 2011. Retrieved: May 20, 2011.
^ "Start - OPAC Discovery".
^ "Research Center Information|Museum of Flight".
^ American Library Directory. Vol. 2 (64th ed.). Information Today, Inc. 2011-2012. pp. 2568-2576. ISBN 978-1573874113.
^ "The Museum of Flight - Digital Collections". mof.omeka.net. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
^ "Archives at The Museum of Flight". archives.museumofflight.org. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
^ "Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park". Museum of Flight. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
Bibliography