EAA Aviation Museum

Last updated

EAA Aviation Museum
EAAAirAdventureMuseum.jpg
Front entrance
EAA Aviation Museum
Former name
EAA AirVenture Museum
Established1983;40 years ago (1983)
Location Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Coordinates 43°59′03″N088°34′42″W / 43.98417°N 88.57833°W / 43.98417; -88.57833
Type Aviation museum
Collection size~200 aircraft
Owner Experimental Aircraft Association
Nearest car parkOn site (no charge)
Website EAA.org/museum
Eagle Hangar at the EAA Aviation Museum EAAAirAdventureMuseumEagleHangar.jpg
Eagle Hangar at the EAA Aviation Museum
Panoramic shot of the Eagle Hangar's interior EAA Museum Eagle Hangar Panorama.jpg
Panoramic shot of the Eagle Hangar's interior
EAA Air Adventure Museum sign on Interstate 41 EAAAirAdventureMuseumSign.jpg
EAA Air Adventure Museum sign on Interstate 41
Hangar on the ground's Pioneer Airport field Pietenpol Field Hangar.jpg
Hangar on the ground's Pioneer Airport field

The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), [1] is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States, adjacent to Wittman Regional Airport, home of the museum's sponsoring organization, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and the organization's EAA AirVenture Oshkosh event (the world's biggest fly-in and airshow) that takes place in late July/early August.

Contents

With over 200 aircraft, indoors and outdoors, and other exhibits and activities (including occasional aircraft rides nearby), the AirVenture Museum is a key tourist attraction in Oshkosh and is a center of activity throughout the AirVenture fly-in and airshow each summer. The museum is open year-round with the exception of a few holidays.

History

EAA founder Paul Poberezny proposed the idea of the EAA Air Museum-Air Education center in August 1958. [2] In the late 1970s, his son, EAA president Tom Poberezny, led the campaign to build the current updated EAA museum and headquarters, which was officially opened in 1983.

The EAA library has been open to EAA members since 1985.

The museum opened an Education Center in July 2022. [3] The new building includes a Pilot Proficiency Center. [4]

Features and exhibits

The museum's collection displays more than 200 aircraft [5] and 20,000 artifacts, [6] including civilian and military aircraft of historic importance, and aircraft popular with aviation hobbyists—vintage, homebuilt, racing and stunt aircraft.

Some of the more historic and unusual planes include a Curtiss Pusher, Bleriot XI, Curtiss Jenny, Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro, Sikorsky S-38 amphibian flying boat, and the Taylor Aerocar flying car, as well various warbirds and Golden Age aircraft.

Other exhibits include functional replicas of the Wright Flyer and its predecessor, Octave Chanute's hang glider, French and German World War I fighters, Lindbergh's Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" replica (flown in the movie), and a replica of the historic Laird Super Solution 1931 racer.

A large section on Burt Rutan's aircraft includes a portion of his homebuilts, replicas of his globe-circling Rutan Voyager and the first private spacecraft, Space Ship One, crafted by Rutan's own shop.

The museum has a variety of donated aircraft, including the Church Midwing, Funk B, Monnett Moni, and many homebuilt and kitplane aircraft (some foreign)—many built by the original designers. Notable homebuilts on display consist of Van's Aircraft's Van's RV-3, designed by Richard VanGrunsven, Christen Industries' Christen Eagle II, designed by Frank Christensen, and Cirrus Aircraft's first model, the Cirrus VK-30, designed by the Klapmeier brothers.

Pioneer Airport

Pioneer Airport is an old grass airstrip immediately behind the museum.

Rides

Aircraft rides are offered through various EAA programs at the Museum's Pioneer Airport, or at the adjoining Wittman Field, especially during AirVenture Fly-In and Airshow, typically in late summer.

Ford Tri-Motor rides

A 1920s/1930s vintage Ford Tri-Motor airliner sells rides occasionally at adjoining Wittman Field. [7] A particular program is the Fall Colors Flights, short flights to view colorful fall foliage in the area. [8]

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress rides

The EAA's 1940s-vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress World War II bomber, the Aluminum Overcast, sells rides occasionally at adjoining Wittman Field when not on tour. [9]

Helicopter rides

Helicopter rides, typically in Bell 47 ("MASH") helicopters are available occasionally at adjacent Pioneer Airport, or from adjoining Wittman Field.

Children's section

The museum includes a children's section which provides extensive hands-on aviation-related exhibits and activities, most notably, a 1/2 scale F-22 Raptor model, numerous flight simulators, and a "control tower" observation platform overlooking Pioneer Airport. [5]

Location

The EAA Museum is near the northwest corner of the grounds of Wittman Regional Airport, on the southeast side of the interchange connecting Interstate 41 with Wisconsin state highways 44 and 91.

The museum has over 200 aircraft on display and several other exhibits and activities. Below are some of the museum's most notable aircraft.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EAA AirVenture Oshkosh</span> Experimental Aircraft Association annual convention and air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The southern part of the show grounds, as well as Camp Scholler, are located in the town of Nekimi and a base for seaplanes on Lake Winnebago is in Black Wolf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experimental Aircraft Association</span> Aviation organization in Oshkosh, United States

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. It hosts the largest aviation gathering of its kind in the world, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oshkosh, Wisconsin</span> City in Wisconsin, United States

Oshkosh is a city in and the county seat of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burt Rutan</span> American aerospace engineer

Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record-breaking Voyager, which in 1986 was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which in 2006 set the world record for the fastest and longest nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation flight in history. In 2004, Rutan's sub-orbital spaceplane design SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space, winning the Ansari X-Prize that year for achieving the feat twice within a two-week period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warbird</span> Vintage military aircraft operated by non military forces

A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or the South African Air Force Museum Historic Flight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homebuilt aircraft</span> Aircraft constructed by amateurs

Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Poberezny</span> United States aviator, founder of Experimental Aircraft Association

Paul Howard Poberezny was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting homebuilt aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wittman Regional Airport</span> Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south end of the airport is located in the town of Nekimi. It is located adjacent to Pioneer Airport, part of the EAA Aviation Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cirrus VK-30</span> Single-engine pusher-propeller homebuilt aircraft

The Cirrus VK-30 is a single-engine pusher-propeller homebuilt aircraft originally sold as a kit by Cirrus Design, and was the company's first model, introduced in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Wittman</span> American aviator

Sylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman was an American air-racer and aircraft engineer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviat Eagle</span> 1970s American sporting biplane

The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s.

Charlie Hillard was an American aerobatics pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Poberezny</span> American pilot and association executive (1946–2022)

Thomas Paul Poberezny was an American aerobatic world champion aviator, as well as chairman of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In and Convention from 1977 to 2011 and president of EAA from 1989 to 2010, presiding over a time period of expansive growth for the organization and convention. He succeeded his father, Paul Poberezny, who founded them in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wittman Buttercup</span> Type of aircraft

The Wittman W-5 Buttercup is a two place aircraft designed and built by Steve Wittman in 1938. Designated as the Buttercup Model W, the original aircraft is housed in the Experimental Aircraft Association, EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, WI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation in Wisconsin</span>

Aviation in Wisconsin refers to the aviation industry of the American Midwestern state of Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WACO Primary Glider</span> Type of aircraft

The WACO primary glider or simply WACO glider, was an early product of the Waco Aircraft Company. The low cost glider was intended to be flown from low hills or towed by a vehicle.

Sport Aviation is an aviation magazine published since 1953 starting as The Experimenter. The content focuses on experimental homebuilding of aircraft and general aviation topics, including antique, war, and classic aircraft.

Richard E. "Dick" VanGrunsven is an American aircraft designer and kit plane manufacturer. The number of VanGrunsven-designed homebuilt aircraft produced each year in North America exceeds the combined production of all commercial general aviation companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pioneer Airport</span> Airport in Wisconsin, United States

Pioneer Airport is a privately owned airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. The airport is located on the northwest edge of Wittman Regional Airport, with which it co-hosts the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

Project Schoolflight was a youth outreach program of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) which was jointly co-founded in 1955 by EAA founder Paul Poberezny and Robert D. Blacker, the director of the Aviation Industrial Arts program at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, Illinois.

References

  1. ↑ "EAA changes name of its museum". Northwestern Media. February 24, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  2. ↑ Sport Aviation. February 1960.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Welsh, Jonathan (July 13, 2022). "EAA Marks Grand Opening of Its Youth Education Center". Flying. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  4. ↑ Godlewski, Meg (May 31, 2022). "Pilot Proficiency Center Moves to EAA Museum at Oshkosh". Flying. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Visitor Information" topic, EAA AirVenture Museum section, EAA official website
  6. ↑ "Collections" topic in "EAA Museum" section, official EAA website
  7. ↑ Ford Tri-Motor Tour topic, "Flight Experiences" section, EAA official website, as retrieved April 2, 2015
  8. ↑ "Of fall flights, sights, and frights", Wisconsin Traveler Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, October 2009, as retrieved April 2, 2015
  9. ↑ B-17 Aluminum Overcast Tour topic, "Flight Experiences" section, EAA official website, as retrieved April 2, 2015

43°59′16″N88°34′40″W / 43.987813°N 88.577785°W / 43.987813; -88.577785

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.