Museum news in the state of Washington

[Pat Carry]

For those of you that keep track of such things, in Concrete, Washington the Skagot Aero Education Museum has a new name. Its now the North Cascades Vintage Aircraft Museum http://vintageaircraftmuseum.org

[krislhull]

That is correct. The museum in currently in the middle of a massive makeover, and there are some very exciting things in the works that are going to be revealed over the next year or so!

Interesting to some I am sure, but looking at the types of aircraft in that collection, it's one that I will pass on when I finally get to visit some of the great aviation museums in Washington and Oregon.

[JohnB]

Can anyone give a complete list of museums on the west side of Washington?

I'm a bit confused with "Flying Heritage" and "Heritage " that.
There's Allen's, Sessions', Anders'....and lord knows who else over there. Plus the guys to the north (Skagit) and south (Olympia).

[Pat Carry]

www.aerialvisuals.ca/Locator.php or www.warbirdalley.com/museum.htm

[krislhull]

Interesting to some I am sure, but looking at the types of aircraft in that collection, it's one that I will pass on when I finally get to visit some of the great aviation museums in Washington and Oregon.

The museum's website does not show the entire collection, in fact, it only shows maybe a quarter of what they have. They do have several historic aircraft in the collect, such as a Call-Air that was owned by Ken Arnold, and flown by him when he had his infamous UFO sighting in 1947, and where else can you see nearly every aircraft that Al Mooney designed in one location (they are missing two airframes). Granted, it is not a warbird museum, but they do have a PT-19, a J4F, and they are eying a Culver PQ-14. They are nestled up in the North Cascade Mountains in a VERY gorgeous area. The atmosphere is really what draws me to them.

[Fight2FlyPhoto]

Interesting to some I am sure, but looking at the types of aircraft in that collection, it's one that I will pass on when I finally get to visit some of the great aviation museums in Washington and Oregon.

I would make the trip. The combination of gorgeous classic aircraft and the incredible scenery make for unmatched beauty among the other museums.


IMG_1171-HDR(3) by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr


IMG_1204-HDR(3) by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr

[Sasquatch]

Can anyone give a complete list of museums on the west side of Washington?

Here's what the JET CITY and local environs has to offer:

1) Washington State's #1 tourist destination: the Boeing Factory Tour (on Paine Field, Everett, WA)

2) Historic Flight Foundation flying warbirds collection (owned by John Sessions, on Paine Field, Everett, WA)

3) Flying Heritage Collection flying warbirds collection (owned by Paul Allen, on Paine Field, Everett, WA)

4) Future of Flight aviation learning center and "hands-on" aviation museum (Paine Field, Everett, WA)

5) Museum of Flight Restoration Center (Paine Field, Everett, WA)

6) The fabulous "Boeing Red Barn" and Museum of Flight (on Boeing Field, Seattle, WA, 1/2-hour south of Everett - antiques, classics, former Champlin Collection of WWI and WWII warbirds, Space Shuttle training mock-up (formerly at Johnson Space Center in Houston), commercial aircraft, Concorde, and a large collection of space artifiacts, not to mention Boeing Field, chock full of regularly flying and easily photographable Boeing Commercial Aircraft)

7) Kenmore Air Harbor (on Lake Washington at Kenmore, WA, , 1/2-hour east of Everett, for float plane tours of Seattle and scenic/tourist flights to the San Juan Islands and Vancouver and Victoria, BC, Canada)

8 the Olympic Flight Museum (Olympia, WA, flying warbird collection and airshow, plus NW Helicopters, a major helicopter restorer and base, and a WA DOT Fire Cobra and Huey base, 1.5 hours south of Everett)

9) Heritage Flight Museum flying warbirds collection (astronaut Bill Ander's museum in Bellingham, WA, ~1 hour north of Everett)

10) Naval Air Station Whidbey Island: home of Prowlers, Growlers, and visiting Hornets (about 1 hour and a 20-minute ferry ride north of Everett)

11) Port Townsend Aero Museum: home of antiques and classics, as well as a hands-on aviation restoration skills school for young people (about 1 hour and 40-minute ferry ride northwest of Everett, WA)

--AND--

Only 3.5 to 4 hours south of Seattle, two more incredible aircraft museums: the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon; and the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon.

Lots to see and do up here! Hope this helps.

-Tom

[JohnB]

Thanks...I've been to many or most of them. I've cut and pasted your list to my files.
It's just that the FHC, HFF and HFM do tend to run together.

More planes and museums are welcome...just don't use the word "Heritage" in the title. Thanks.

Also, if one dares cross the Cascades, there is the WAAAM...the Western Automobile and Antique Aircraft Museum in Hood River. Like the newly renamed North Cascades museum, it features prewar GA types. In the winter it's the home of the airworthy Boeing 40....something you won't see anywhere else (the MoF's is a non-airworthy replica).

Mr. sessions has been very generous in sending his aircraft to this side of the state...his Spitfire for Felts Field's "Neighbor Day" as well as the B-25 and Staggerwing (for the semi-annual NW Bi-Plane Fly-In). Class act! He also bought a restored 30s Glacier Nation Park convertible bus from a friend here to use at Paine Field. I've been told Boeing also uses it to take delivery crews out to new aircraft.

[Stoney]

And the F....ing park service killed the Pearson Air museum

[Sasquatch]

Also, if one dares cross the Cascades, there is the WAAAM...the Western Automobile and Antique Aircraft Museum in Hood River.

Thank you for reminding me of that one John; I hope to get down there next year sometime. Also, I've heard there's a JN-4D Jenny at some place (B&B?) in Stevenson, WA on the Columbia too. Know anything about that one?

And the F....ing park service killed the Pearson Air museum

Don't even get me started on that one, Stoney.

NPS idiots.

-Tom

[Mike]

The Jenny is hanging in a museum, the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center. We visited it last year. It is located on the main road on the Washington side of the gorge, at the end of the driveway to Skamania Lodge just outside Stevenson.

http://www.columbiagorge.org

[Sasquatch]

Many thanks Mike; I knew it was somewhere down there...just couldn't find it. That's Wally Olson's old Jenny hanging there. I used to see him fly it at the old Evergreen Air Show before he passed and they closed the airfield. What a character...he is truly missed, as is Evergreen Field.

Thanks again...

-Tom

[airnutz]

And the F....ing park service killed the Pearson Air museum

Whut happened?

[Stoney]

The museum is on park service property and they cancelled the lease and then wanted to keep all the stuff in the museum. A lot of it was privately owned and on loan to the museum, I guess they thought because it was inside the museum nps could keep anything that was there. The museum people moved everything out ASAP. Several years ago they took my leased hangar and torn it down. they have words for the nps in germany.