Southern Museum of Flight
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  Location in Alabama | |
| Established | 1966 |
|---|---|
| Location | 4343 73rd Street North Birmingham, Alabama 35206 |
| Founder | Mary Alice Beatty |
| Director | Dr. Brian J. Barsanti |
| Website | www |
The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, which presents Alabama Aviation History through collective biography.
Overview[]
Notable aircraft on display include a Wright Flyer, Curtis Pusher, Fokker D-VII, Alexander Eaglerock, F-4 Phantom, F-86 Sabre, AH-1 Cobra, Soviet-built MiGs, Mi-24 Hind, A-12 Blackbird spy plane, the "Lake Murray" B-25, and an array of experimental aircraft. The Lake Murray B-25C Mitchell[1] bomber crashed in South Carolina during a 1943 training exercise. The right engine was torn off during the crash but the crew was able to escape unharmed before she sank to a depth of 150 feet (46m). The aircraft became a dive site for local technical divers until she was raised from the depths of the lake in September 2005.[2] Dr. Bob Seigler who spearheaded the project, John Hodge and Dr. Bill Vartorella, formed the Lake Murray B-25 Rescue Project to salvage the aircraft from the bottom of Lake Murray.[3] After recovery the remains of the aircraft were moved to the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama for conservation and museum display.[4] A video crew, including maritime video experts from Nautilus Productions, documented the recovery for the Mega Movers series on the History Channel.[5]
Featured on display is a diorama exhibit honoring Alabama's famed Tuskegee Airmen, as well as the Korean War Jets Exhibit and Vietnam War Helicopters Exhibit.
The museum plans to reopen at the Grand River Technology Park in 2021 or 2022.[6]
Selected aircraft on display[]
- Aero Commander 680
- Aeronca K
- Aeronca Sedan on floats
- Bede BD-4
- Bede BD-5B
- Beagle B.206
- Beechcraft Starship
- Cessna 337B Skymaster
- Cumulus 2F Glider
- Curtiss Model D replica
- Davis DA-2A
- Douglas B-26 Invader
- Fairchild PT-19
- Fokker D.VII
- Grumman F-14 Tomcat
- Heath Super Parasol
- Huff-Daland crop duster
- Hughes OH-6 Cayuse
- Laister-Kauffman 10A
- Lockheed A-12
- Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star
- McDonnell F-4 Phantom II
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
- Monnett Sonerai II-LT
- North American B-25C Mitchell
- North American F-86 Sabre
- North American T-6G Texan
- Pazmany PL-4A
- Piel Emeraude
- Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser
- Republic F-84F Thunderstreak
- Republic RC-3 Seabee
- Rotec Rally
- Rutan VariViggen
- Sport Fury
- Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair II FT
- Stinson 10A
- Stinson SR-5
- Stolp Starduster
- Vultee BT-13B Valiant
- Wright Flyer replica
References[]
- ^ "Podcast: Southern Museum of Flight". AL.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "Lake Murray's Mitchell". Air & Space Magazine, Smithsonian.
- ^ "B-25 Mitchell Bomber Salvaged from Lake Murray". Lake Murray's B-25.
- ^ "Lake Murray B-25 Exhibit". Southern Museum of Flight. Archived from the original on 2002-04-08.
- ^ "Rick Allen (XIX)". IMDB.
- ^ Bonnett, Dona (28 June 2019). "Southern Museum of Flight on track for 2021-22 opening". St. Clair News-Aegis. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- Barsanti, B. J. Interview with James T. Griffin (20 Jan 2013).
- Stevenson, E. W. "The History of the Southern Museum of Flight", SMF Trustee Manual, 15 May 2004.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southern Museum of Flight. |
- Southern Museum of Flight website
- Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame website
- Lake Murray's B-25
- Lake Murray's Mitchell
- Podcast: Southern Museum of Flight
- B-25 Recovery and Preservation Project Rubicon Foundation
Coordinates: 33°33′49″N 86°44′17″W / 33.56348°N 86.73806°W
- Aerospace museums in Alabama
- Museums in Birmingham, Alabama
- Museums established in 1966
- 1966 establishments in Alabama