Hiller Aviation Museum

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Hiller Aviation Museum
Hiller Aviation Museum.jpg
The front of the Hiller Aviation Museum with a Rutan Long-EZ on the roof
USA California location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within California
EstablishedJune 1998 (1998-06)
Location San Carlos, California
Coordinates 37°30′45″N122°15′11″W / 37.5124°N 122.2531°W / 37.5124; -122.2531
Type Aviation museum
Collection size50+ aircraft
Founder Stanley Hiller Jr.
PresidentJon Welte
Website www.hiller.org

The Hiller Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located at the San Carlos Airport in San Carlos, California focused on Northern California aviation history, Hiller Aircraft and helicopter history.

Contents

History

Background

As early as the late 1960s, Stanley Hiller began collecting aircraft at a warehouse in Redwood City, California. [1] [2] By 1986, it displayed 15 aircraft and set a goal of a acquiring a total of 28 of Hiller's designs. [3] Eight years later it had surpassed this and the Hiller Museum of Northern California Aviation Heritage included over 40 aircraft. [4]

Move to San Carlos

However, public access was limited. [2] So, funded by a trust established by Hiller, the museum announced a proposal to acquire a 13,000 sq ft (1,200 m2) building at the San Carlos Airport and expand it to 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m2) facility. [4] [5] A lease for the property was approved in March 1996 and ground was broken in October. [6] [1] The 53,000 sq ft (4,900 m2)Hiller Aviation Museum opened on 5 June 1998. [6] [7]

The Boeing 2707 mockup, which had been on display at the museum since it opened, moved back to Seattle in 2013 where it is undergoing restoration at the Museum of Flight. [8] [9]

Facilities

The Michael King Smith Research Library at the museum has a collection of approximately 5,400 books. [10]

Exhibits

Exhibits at the museum include a flight simulator and displays about the beginnings of flight, women in aviation and weather. [11]

Collection

Hiller XH-44 Hiller XH-44 helicopter, reproduction, view 1 - Hiller Aviation Museum - San Carlos, California - DSC03168.jpg
Hiller XH-44

Aircraft

Ground vehicles

Simulators

Events

The Museum is known for incorporating helicopters to mark holidays, including:

The Museum hosts the Biggest Little Air Show, an airshow consisting of radio-control model aircraft ending with a piloted aerobatic demonstration.

This museum sponsored Vertical Challenge, an annual all-helicopter airshow from 2000-2010, and a final one in 2012.[ citation needed ] In 2011 and 2016 an aviation festival event called Heli-Fest was held instead.[ citation needed ]

Programs

This museum offers two Scouts BSA Merit Badge programs, the Aviation Merit Badge and the Weather Merit Badge. [33]

See also

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References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Larsen, Elaine (21 April 1999). "Flights of Fancy". Pacifica Tribune. p. 1B. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 "History and Mission". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ↑ Goode, Tim (12 November 1986). "Preserving an Era in Aviation". Times Tribune. pp. 1D, 4D. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  4. 1 2 Mitchell, Eve (26 April 1994). "Hiller Museum Tries to Land in San Carlos". San Francisco Examiner. pp. P-1, P-7. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  5. ↑ Murphy, Michael (3 November 1996). "Turnaround Whiz Moves On". The Spokesman-Review. pp. A20, A22. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  6. 1 2 Clifford, James O. (17 March 1996). "Air Museum Dream Becoming Reality". Chico Enterprise-Record. Associated Press. p. 1B. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "Aviation Museum Takes Flight". The Californian. Associated Press. 5 June 1998. p. 3C. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  8. ↑ Spaeth, Andreas (23 October 2023). "Boeing 2707 SST: More Than Just a Mock-Up". Key.aero. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  9. ↑ Gille, John (11 April 2013). "Boeing SST Mockup Coming Home After 40 Years; Will It Become the Centerpiece of a New Sonics Arena?". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  10. ↑ "Library". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Exhibits". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 "Aircraft on Display". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  13. ↑ "Aero L-39C Albatros". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  14. ↑ "Boeing 747-100 Nose Section and Cockpit". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  15. ↑ "Boeing Condor". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "Curtiss "Pusher"". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  17. ↑ "Fokker Dr.1 Triplane". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  18. ↑ "General Atomics MQ-1B Predator". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  19. ↑ "Grumman HU-16-RD "Albatross"". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "Hiller Flying Platform". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  21. ↑ "Hiller XH-44". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  22. ↑ "Hiller XROE-1 Rotorcycle". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  23. ↑ "Aerocycloid". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  24. ↑ "Lockheed YO-3A". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  25. ↑ "Black Diamond". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  26. ↑ "Avitor". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  27. ↑ "Gull Glider". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  28. ↑ "Santa Clara Glider". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  29. ↑ "NASA AD-1". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  30. ↑ "Rutan Defiant 40". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  31. ↑ "Space Ship One". Hiller Aviation Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  32. ↑ Dianda, Mario (31 October 1988). "Trying to Fulfill Her Late Husband's Dream". Times Tribune. pp. A-1, A-5. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  33. ↑ "Hiller Merit Badge Program". Boy Scouts of America, Pacific Skyline Council. Retrieved 23 March 2024.

Bibliography

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