Lone Star Flight Museum

Lone Star Flight Museum

New location of museum at Ellington Field
Location within Texas
Location	Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°36′14″N 95°10′30″W / 29.603833°N 95.175082°W / 29.603833; -95.175082
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Robert L. Waltrip[1]
CEO	Douglas Owens[2]
Curator	Stewart W. Bailey[3]
Website	lonestarflight.org

Lone Star Flight Museum, December 2008, after damage from Hurricane Ike. Pictured here is a North American F-100D Super Sabre.

The largest aircraft owned and operated by the museum is a Boeing B-17G, christened Thunderbird.

Douglas SBD Dauntless

The Lone Star Flight Museum, located in Houston, Texas, is an aerospace museum that displays more than 24 historically significant aircraft,^[4] and many artifacts related to the history of flight. The museum's collection is rare because most of the aircraft are flyable. Located at Ellington Airport, the museum is housed on about 100,000 ft² (10,000 m²) of property, including its own airport ramp. The museum, formerly located in Galveston, moved to Houston to avoid a repeat of the devastation suffered during Hurricane Ike.

History[]

The museum began as a private collection of historic aircraft in 1985. By 1990, that collection had grown enough that its owner decided to place them on public display. The Lone Star Flight Museum, a non-profit organization funded entirely through private donations, was formed for that purpose.

2008 damage and restoration[]

The museum reported heavy damage from Hurricane Ike, stating on September 16, 2008, that the hangars and Hall of Fame had received seven to eight feet of water and the lobby three to four. Damaged aircraft included a TB-58A and F-100 on loan from the US Air Force Museum, Consolidated PBY-5A, Dehavilland DH-82A, Grumman F3F-2, Lockheed PV-2D, and Stinson L-5. Aircraft flown out of harm's way in advance included their B-17, B-25, DC-3, P-47, F6F, F4U, SBD, PT-17, T-6 and the F8F. Most of the airworthy planes were flown out of the museum prior to the hurricane. Those remaining as well as the static displays were largely destroyed or heavily damaged.^[5] The TB-58 went to Little Rock Air Force Base.^[6] The PBY-5A went to the Pima Air & Space Museum.^[7]

Move to Houston[]

Following the destruction of Hurricane Ike, the museum made the decision to move to Ellington International Airport in Houston. It is working with the Collings Foundation and Texas Flying Legends to create a combined aviation museum complex.^[8] In March 2014, the museum received $7.6 million from FEMA.^[9] The museum broke ground at its new location on November 9, 2015.^[10] Initially scheduled to be dedicated on September 1, 2017, the opening was postponed to September 16 due to Hurricane Harvey.^[11][12][13]

TF-51 crash[]

On October 23, 2013 a P-51 (TF-51) Mustang owned by the museum crashed in Halls Lake, just south west of the museum. Both the pilot and a paying passenger from the UK were killed in the crash.^[14]

Airshows[]

The museum's collection often participates in airshows across the country. As of 2005, the museum's aircraft annually log more than 40,000 miles (60,000 km) of cross-country flying to various air demonstrations.

The museum's P-47 Thunderbolt participates in USAF Heritage Flights throughout the year. The USAF Heritage Flight program was established in 1997 to commemorate the Air Force's 50th anniversary. It involves today's state-of-the-art fighters flying in close formation with World War II, Korean and Vietnam era fighters such as the P-51 Mustang and the F-86 Sabre. The flight's mission is to safely and proudly display the evolution of US Air Force airpower and to support the Air Force's recruiting and retention efforts.

The museum's North American B-25 Mitchell also serves closely with the Disabled American Veterans program. The DAV Airshow Outreach Program was developed to increase public awareness of disabled veterans and to serve veterans in communities across the nation. Using two B-25 medium bombers, the program reminds the public of the sacrifices veterans have made.

In 2007, the museum launched its newest program by offering rides in some of its warbirds. The LSFM now operates flights for passengers in the B-17 Flying Fortress, North American B-25 Mitchell, T-6 Texan and the PT-17 Stearman.

The Museum also has a flying Douglas DC-3 in the paint scheme of Continental Airlines. The Museum's DC-3 was produced in 1940 and flew seven years for American Airlines. It was later bought by TransTexas Airways, which would later acquire Continental Airlines. When Gordon Bethune, CEO of Continental Airlines, was inducted into the TAHF in 2004, Continental Airlines donated the aircraft to the Flight Museum.^[15]

Texas Aviation Hall of Fame[]

The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, located within the museum, honors the contributions of residents or natives of Texas to aviation and spaceflight. Inductees include Howard Hughes, Gordon Bethune, Emma Carter Browning, Alan Bean, Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Azellia White and President George H. W. Bush.^[16][17]

Collection[]

P-38L Lightning

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

PBY Catalina

Airworthy[]

• Bell TAH-1P Cobra 76-22599 – It is on loan from the Vietnam War Flight Museum.^[18][19]
• Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 44-85718 Thunderbird^[20][21][22]
• Boeing N2S-3 Kaydet 7718^[23][24][25]
• Boeing N2S-5 Kaydet 38490^[23][26][27]
• Cessna 172E Skyhawk – It has been converted to T-41 configuration.^[28][29]
• Douglas A-1D Skyraider 126882 – It is on loan from the Vietnam War Flight Museum.^[30][31]
• Douglas DC-3 2213^[32][33]
• Douglas A-24B Dauntless 42-54682 – It is painted as an SBD.^[34][35]
• Fairchild PT-19 Cornell^[36][37]
• General Motors TBM Avenger – It was damaged by Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008.^[38]
• Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star 51-6953^[39]
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17^[40]
• North American B-25J Mitchell^[41][42][43] 44-86734
• North American SNJ-5 Texan 85053^[44][45][46]
• Piper L-4 Grasshopper^[47]
• Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 44-90368 Tarheel Hal^[48][49][50]
• Stinson L-5 Sentinel 42-98798^[51][52][53] – It was damaged by Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008.
• Vought F4U-5N Corsair 121881^[54][55][56]

On static display or in restoration[]

• Grumman S-2 Tracker – It was damaged by Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008.^{[citation needed]}
• Lockheed P2V Neptune^{[citation needed]}
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21^{[citation needed]}
• North American F-100D Super Sabre – It was damaged by Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008 and is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

• Ellington Airport
• North American aviation halls of fame

References[]

Further reading[]

Magazine[]

• Kellar, William H. (Spring 2009). "Warbirds Rising: An Update on the Lone Star Flight Museum" (PDF). Houston History. Retrieved 2 July 2018.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lone Star Flight Museum.

• Lone Star Flight Museum

Coordinates: 29°36′13″N 95°10′30″W / 29.60361°N 95.17500°W / 29.60361; -95.17500