Airline History Museum

Last updated
Airline History Museum
Airline History Museum Kansas City.jpg
The museum hangar with the Lockheed Constellation on the ramp
USA Missouri location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Missouri
Former name
National Airline History Museum
Established1986 (1986)
Location Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, Kansas City, Missouri
Coordinates 39°07′07″N94°36′01″W / 39.118693°N 94.600160°W / 39.118693; -94.600160
Type Aviation museum
Founder
  • Larry A. Brown
  • Dick McMahon
PresidentJohn Roper
Website airlinehistory.org

The Airline History Museum is an aviation museum located at the Kansas City Downtown Airport in Kansas City, Missouri focused on the history of airlines in the United States.

Contents

History

Founded in 1986 by aviation enthusiasts Larry A. Brown and Dick McMahon, the Airline History Museum was originally known as Save-A-Connie. Brown and McMahon were joined by a number of other enthusiasts, including (then) current and former TWA employees.

The group began by highlighting commercial aviation in the propeller age but has since moved into the jet age with the acquisition of a Lockheed Tristar aircraft. They hope to further expand the museum's collection of vintage passenger aircraft.

The museum leased a hangar at the Kansas City Downtown Airport in 2000 from Beechcraft. [1]

The museum's director was convicted of embezzlement in 2010. [2]

In January 2011 the Airline History Museum began its 25th year of operation, entering its silver anniversary with a new vision for the next quarter century: The museum announced a commitment to meeting or exceeding the "Characteristics of Excellence" standards established by the American Alliance of Museums. To that end, the museum immediately began a reorganization plan, which included a complete rebranding effort to include a new membership structure, new website, new corporate logo, and a new exhibit structure within the museum building.

In March 2011 the museum announced that in the continuation of its reorganization and restructure, it was being renamed the National Airline History Museum. This name change allowed it to be better positioned to receive Federal grants and other national funding. The museum announced in March, 2011 that it had teamed up with Kansas City's Roasterie Coffee Shop, with the Roasterie brand being known as "The Official Coffee of the National Airline History Museum" and carrying an image of the museum's DC-3 on its coffee products.

In 2013, the museum announced plans to restore its Lockheed Constellation to flight. [3]

In 2014, the museum acquired a Douglas DC-8 and attempted to have it ferried to the museum. [4] [5] However, the plan to store it on the ramp outside the hangar was rejected by the owner of the property. [6]

In 2016, the museum acquired a Boeing 727 in storage at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. [7] However, it was scrapped in 2021 after the museum was unable to move it. [8] [9]

The same year, the museum announced plans to partner with the owner of a Northrop Delta to have it restored. By that time its name had reverted to the Airline History Museum. [10] [11]

In 2020, the museum acquired a Ryan PT-22 Recruit that belonged to actor Harrison Ford. [12]

The museum was threatened with eviction in 2019, when the airport required the owner of the hangar, Signature Flight Support, to start paying rent. [13] The museum was served an eviction notice in 2022. [14] The following year the museum was locked out of their hangar. [15] [16]

Exhibits

The museum maintains five aircraft at the site; two are in flying condition and one is undergoing restoration. An additional corporate mock-up is also on display.

Martin 4-0-4

Martin 4-0-4 Martin 4-0-4 National Airline History Museum 2013-03-16.JPG
Martin 4-0-4

There were only 103 Martin 4-0-4s built. TWA operated 40 in their fleet along the U. S. east coast, while strong competitor Eastern Airlines operated the largest 4-0-4 fleet, flying 60 aircraft along that airline's eastern seaboard route, including in and around Florida. The museum's Martin 4-0-4 has not flown in years. As part of the National Airline History Museum’s reorganization plan, which began in 2011, a maintenance inspection of the Martin 4-0-4 was completed in August 2011 to determine the feasibility of returning the aircraft to flying status. Rumors of extensive corrosion and insurmountable mechanical problems were found to be untrue, and a maintenance program is being developed to return the aircraft to flying condition. [17]

Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3-G202A NC1945 Douglas DC-3-G202A NC1945, SN 3294 at NAHM 2013-03-16.JPG
Douglas DC-3-G202A NC1945

The museum's DC-3 is currently being made airworthy. One of its two engines has been overhauled, while its second is still undergoing a rebuild; the exterior and interior restoration of the aircraft is nearing completion, while the installation of new carpeting and restored seats has been completed. This Douglas DC-3-G202A, registration number NC1945, serial number 3294, was built in Santa Monica, California in February 1941. It was delivered to Transcontinental and Western Airlines at Kansas City, Missouri, on March 4, 1941, and now resides in its original home city again. [18]

Lockheed Super "G" Constellation

Lockheed Super G Constellation Lockheed Super G Constellation N6937C National Airline History Museum 2013-03-16.JPG
Lockheed Super G Constellation

The Lockheed Super "G" Constellation ("Super-Connie"), which holds the distinction of being the first Constellation ever to be fully restored to flying condition, has not been flown to air shows in recent years. Originally donated to Save-A-Connie by Paul Pristo in 1986, maintenance is still ongoing, with the goal being to get the Connie back in the air. The aircraft has completed several successful four engine test runs and is well on the way to becoming airworthy once again. Nicknamed "Star of America", this Constellation appeared in television and movie releases, as well as in several television commercials. It was featured in the Arts and Entertainment cable channel documentary First Flights, narrated by Astronaut Neil Armstrong, and the motion picture, Voyager released in the U. S. in 1992. The Connie's interior was also used in scenes for the 1995 movie Ace Ventura When Nature Calls , starring actor Jim Carrey. It also appeared in the 2004 movie The Aviator , directed by Martin Scorsese, which depicts the early years (late 1920s to the mid-1940s) of legendary film director and aviator Howard Hughes; the film starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Beckinsale, and Cate Blanchett. [19]

TWA's corporate "Moonliner II" replica

TWA's corporate "Moonliner II" replica TWA's corporate Moonliner II replica at NAHM front 2013-03-16.JPG
TWA's corporate "Moonliner II" replica

In 1956, after TWA became the corporate sponsor of Disneyland's TWA Moonliner attraction in Anaheim, CA, Howard Hughes added a 22-foot-tall (6.7 m) reproduction of Disney's one-third scale Moonliner, known as the TWA Moonliner II, atop the southwest corner of Kansas City's TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building, located at 18th Street and Baltimore, near downtown Kansas City. Disneyland's TWA Moonliner was a promotional concept of what a TWA atomic-powered spaceliner would look like in the faraway year of 1986. [20] When Hughes and Disney ended their business partnership in 1962 after Hughes sold TWA, the airline's new management removed the Moonliner II reproduction from its roof and sold it to a local travel-trailer company called SpaceCraft.

When SpaceCraft moved to Concordia, Missouri, in 1970, the now all-white Moonliner II landed on the south side of Interstate 70 (between Kansas City and St. Louis) where SpaceCraft operated a campground near its trailer manufacturing plant. It slowly rusted on that spot for more than 25 years. In 1997 a Columbia lawyer who collected Disney memorabilia bought the deteriorating Moonliner II. He then began a long, careful restoration process, eventually bringing it back to its 1956 condition and sporting its original red and white TWA paint scheme. It is currently on loan to the museum for display to both airliner and TWA enthusiasts. The Moonliner II is located about five miles from its original TWA rooftop location. [21]

Lockheed L-1011 Tristar

Lockheed L-1011 TriStar N700TS Lockheed L-1011 TriStar N700TS, National Airline History Museum, Kansas 2013-03-17, Cropped.jpg
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar N700TS

The museum announced in April 2009 that it was acquiring one of the last six remaining operational Lockheed L-1011 Tristar aircraft in the U.S., its donation to the museum made possible by Paul Pristo. [22]

FAA approval was granted to ferry the aircraft from Roswell, New Mexico, (ROW) to Kansas City, Missouri, (MKC). The aircraft arrived safely on January 30, 2010, shortly after 3:00 pm. This aircraft first flew in 1972 under the red-and-white colors of hometown airline TWA. Due to its large size, it is parked south of the museum's hangar at Wheeler Airport, the large tail hanging beyond the fence line surrounding the downtown airport's apron. [23] The aircraft is currently, slowly being restored to operational service.

As the engines were already sold prior to the purchase of the Tristar, it currently sits without engines on the apron outside the museum. Attempts to source mid-life engines are underway, so it is hoped will at least be a complete, operational example. It is possible to see it fly again, but maintenance needed to keep it in a certifiable flying condition is very time-consuming and expensive.

Although it can be easily viewed by the public, it is open for public access for special events only.

Simulators

Lockheed L-1011 Tristar Simulator

A full-motion, working Lockheed L-1011 Tristar simulator was donated to the museum by Orbital Sciences Corporation; it was never installed and later removed from the museum's possession and transferred to a site in California.[ citation needed ]

Lockheed L-1011 Tristar Cockpit Procedures Trainer

The museum also has a cockpit procedures trainer for the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, originally belonging to Trans World Airlines. [24]

General Purpose

A general purpose, custom-built flight simulator occupies part of the main foyer of the museum.

See also

Related Research Articles

Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed L-1011 TriStar</span> American wide-body trijet airliner

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter commercial operations, after the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. The airliner has a seating capacity of up to 400 passengers and a range of over 4,000 nautical miles. Its trijet configuration has three Rolls-Royce RB211 engines with one engine under each wing, along with a third engine center-mounted with an S-duct air inlet embedded in the tail and the upper fuselage. The aircraft has an autoland capability, an automated descent control system, and available lower deck galley and lounge facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trans World Airlines</span> Defunct airline of the United States (1930–2003)

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with Ford Trimotors. With American, United, and Eastern, it was one of the "Big Four" domestic airlines in the United States formed by the Spoils Conference of 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Burbank Airport</span> Airport in Burbank, California; serving the northern Greater Los Angeles area

Hollywood Burbank Airport, formerly called Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope, is a public airport three miles (4.8 km) northwest of downtown Burbank, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The airport serves Burbank, Hollywood, and the northern Greater Los Angeles area, which includes Glendale, Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Clarita Valley. It is closer to many popular attractions, including Griffith Park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Downtown Los Angeles, than Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and it is the only airport in the area with a direct rail connection to Downtown Los Angeles, with service from two stations: Burbank Airport–North and Burbank Airport–South. Nonstop flights mostly serve cities in the western United States, though JetBlue has daily flights to New York City. Southwest also occasionally flies non regular routes to the East Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albuquerque International Sunport</span> Airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Albuquerque International Sunport, locally known as the Sunport, is the primary international airport serving the U.S. state of New Mexico, particularly the Albuquerque metropolitan area and the larger Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas combined statistical area. It handles around 5.4 million passengers annually and over 400 flights daily. ABQ is located in Bernalillo County, between the Rio Grande and the Sandia Mountains, east of Old Town and Barelas, 3 miles (5 km) southeast of downtown, south of the University of New Mexico and directly to the west of Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed Constellation</span> Family of US airliners with 4 piston engines, 1943

The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its pressurized cabin enabled commercial passengers to fly well above most bad weather for the first time, thus significantly improving the general safety and ease of air travel.

Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport serving Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Located in Clay County, this facility is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, which categorized it as a general aviation reliever airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Bernardino International Airport</span> Airport in California, United States

San Bernardino International Airport is a public airport two miles (3.2 km) southeast of downtown San Bernardino, California, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The airport covers 1,329 acres (538 ha) and has one runway that can accommodate the largest existing aircraft, including the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Flight Museum</span> Aviation museum in Atlanta, GA

The Delta Flight Museum is an aviation and corporate museum located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, near the airline's main hub, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The museum is housed in two 1940s-era Delta Air Lines aircraft hangars at Delta's headquarters, designated a Historic Aerospace Site in 2011. Its mission is to allow visitors from around the world "to explore aviation history, celebrate the story and people of Delta, and discover the future of flight." Over 40 airlines in Delta's family tree can be found in the museum's collections and exhibitions. The museum is a nonprofit organization and relies on volunteers, corporate sponsors, donations, event rentals and merchandise sales. The Delta Flight Museum is considered an ongoing project and items are added to the collections year round.

A government contract flight is a type of charter airline operation contracted with a government agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TWA Corporate Headquarters Building</span> United States historic place

The TWA Corporate Headquarters Building, located at 1735 Baltimore Avenue in the Crossroads neighborhood of downtown Kansas City, was Trans World Airlines headquarters until 1964, when the airline moved to New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TWA Moonliner</span> Formerly part of exhibit at Disneyland

From 1955 through 1962, the TWA Moonliner was part of the first futuristic exhibit located in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was also an early example of modern product placement advertising by TWA's Howard Hughes teaming up with Walt Disney as the Moonliner's sponsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TWA Flight 843</span> 1992 American air accident

TWA Flight 843 was a scheduled Trans World Airlines passenger flight that crashed after an aborted takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport to San Francisco International Airport (California) in July 1992. Despite an intense fire after the crash, the crew was able to evacuate all 280 passengers from the aircraft. There was no loss of life, although the aircraft was destroyed by the fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision</span> Mid-air collision on June 30, 1956 over the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred in the western United States on June 30, 1956, when a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 struck a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation over Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The first plane fell into the canyon while the other slammed into a rock face. All 128 on board both airplanes perished, making it the first commercial airline incident to exceed one hundred fatalities. The airplanes had departed Los Angeles International Airport minutes apart from each other and headed for Chicago and Kansas City, respectively. The collision took place in uncontrolled airspace, where it was the pilots' responsibility to maintain separation. This highlighted the antiquated state of air traffic control, which became the focus of major aviation reforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed L-1649 Starliner</span> US airliner with 4 piston engines, 1956

The Lockheed L-1649 Starliner was the last model of the Lockheed Constellation line of airliners. Powered by four Wright R-3350 TurboCompound engines, it was built at Lockheed's Burbank, California plant from 1956 to 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation</span> US airliner with 4 piston engines, 1951

The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The aircraft was colloquially referred to as the Super Connie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed L-049 Constellation</span> US airliner with 4 piston engines, 1943

The Lockheed L-049 Constellation was the first model of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. It entered service as the C-69 military transport aircraft during World War II for the United States Army Air Forces and was the first civilian version after the war. When production ended in 1946 it was replaced by the improved L-649 and L-749 Constellation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TWA Hotel</span> Hotel in Queens, New York

TWA Hotel is a hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, that opened on May 15, 2019. It uses the head house of the TWA Flight Center, designed by the architect Eero Saarinen and completed in 1962, and two flanking buildings added for the hotel project. It contains a total of 512 rooms, as well as conference space, several restaurants, and an aviation history museum.

References

  1. ↑ Collison, Kevin (17 February 2021). "Airline History Museum Hits Turbulence with Landlord". Flatland. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  2. ↑ Martin, David (1 February 2011). "John Travolta helped Kansas City's Airline History Museum take off – but a con man almost took it down". The Pitch. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Hollingsworth, Heather (18 May 2013). "Museum raising cash to recreate Hughes flight". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Douglas DC-8-62". Airline History Museum. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "FAA Registry [N41CX]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Save A Connie, Inc. d/b/a Airline History Museum v. Executive Beechcraft, Inc., 3–4(Circuit Court of Clay County3 December 2021), Text .
  7. ↑ Zera, Francis (17 March 2016). "An American Boeing 727 Prepares to Fly to the National Airline History Museum". Airline Reporter. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Lacitis, Erik (18 November 2021). "'Absolutely tragic.' The grisly demolition at Seattle's Boeing Field of an old 727". Seattle Times. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  9. ↑ Godlewski, Meg (16 November 2021). "Airline History Museum Loses 'Derelict 727′ to Scrapper". Flying. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Campbell, Matt (18 March 2016). "Kansas City airline museum to restore rare 1934 Northrop Delta". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "[Homepage]". Airline History Museum. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  12. ↑ Shope, Alan (30 June 2020). "Plane Harrison Ford crash landed now part of KC museum". KMBC. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  13. ↑ Dornbrook, James (15 April 2022). "KC's Airline History Museum faces eviction from Downtown Airport". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  14. ↑ Dornbrook, James (20 July 2022). "Downtown Airport operator tries to evict Airline History Museum, 'dispose of' aircraft". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  15. ↑ Shope, Alan (13 April 2023). "Airline History Museum operators locked out of their hangar at Kansas City's downtown airport". KMBC. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  16. ↑ Hudnall, David (8 May 2023). "Kansas City museum is padlocked, closed for almost a year. They don't understand why". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Martin 404". National Airline History Museum. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  18. ↑ "DC-3". National Airline History Museum. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Constellation". National Airline History Museum. Archived from the original on 25 July 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  20. ↑ Turner, Terry (August 24, 2011). "The National Airline History Museum". siouxcityjournal.com. Sioux City Journal . Retrieved February 1, 2019. One very unique artifact on display in the hangar is the TWA Moonliner. In 1956 TWA became a corporate sponsor for Disneyland's TWA Moonliner attraction in Anaheim, CA. The Moonliner was designed to show what a TWA atomic-powered spaceliner would look like in the far distant future of 1986. Howard Hughes had a 22-foot reproduction of the Moonliner rocket ship known as Moonliner II built and installed on top of the TWA Corporate Headquarters' building in downtown Kansas City. Then when Disney and TWA ended their partnership in 1962 the Moonliner II reproduction was sold and spent time rusting away sitting next to a campground near Interstate 70 between Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis. Then in 1997 a Colombia, Mo. [sic], lawyer who was an avid Disney collector purchased Moonliner II and restored it back to its 1956 condition and it is now on loan to the National Airline History Museum.
  21. ↑ Barton, Eric (17 August 2006). "Incoming". The Pitch. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "L-1011". National Airline History Museum. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  23. ↑ "L-1011 Arrival at Airline History Museum - Photo Gallery". KansasCity.com. 2010-01-30. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
  24. ↑ http://www.airlinehistory.org/media_vault/documents/FlyKC%202011-09.pdf [ dead link ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.