Virginia Aviation Museum

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Virginia Aviation Museum
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird 01.jpg
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Established1986 (1986)
DissolvedJune 30, 2016 (2016-06-30)
Location5701 Huntsman Road, Sandston, Virginia
TypeAviation Museum
DirectorEdward Andrews
WebsiteVirginia Aviation Museum

Coordinates: 37°31′1″N 77°20′2.8″W / 37.51694°N 77.334111°W / 37.51694; -77.334111The Virginia Aviation Museum was an aviation museum in unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia, adjacent to Richmond International Airport (formerly "Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field"). Erected in 1986, the museum housed a collection of some thirty-four airframes, both owned and on-loan, ranging from reproductions of Wright Brothers kite gliders to the still state-of-the-art SR-71 Blackbird.[1] It is a subsidiary of the Science Museum of Virginia. The current building, known as the Martha C. West Building, was originally planned to be a temporary storage facility until the actual museum building finished construction.

The museum closed June 30, 2016. The SR-71 was moved to the Science Museum of Virginia where it is on display.[2] The remainder of the collection will be relocated and preserved, though a new location has yet be determined.

Exhibits and artifacts[]

(arranged chronologically by date of original manufacture)

WWI and Golden Age of Aviation[]

  • SPAD S.VII, B9913, built 1917 by Mann Egerton, United Kingdom - one of 19 that went to Rockwell Field Pursuit Gunnery School, San Diego, California in 1918 (later NAS North Island).
  • Standard E-1, no registration or serial, built 1918, rescued from barn near Dayton, Ohio in 1950s and restored.
  • Curtiss JN-4D, Signal Corps 2975, c/n 450, built 1918, on loan from Ken Hyde, Warrenton, Virginia.
  • Pitcairn PA-5 Mailwing, NC3835, c/n 9, built 1927 - in Eastern Air Transport markings, on loan from the Science Museum of Virginia.[3]
  • Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, NX237, c/n 187, built 1928 as a CH-300 Pacemaker, salvaged from a glacier in 1976 and converted to CH-400 and marked as "Columbia", the original of which was destroyed in a hangar fire.
  • Travel Air 2000, NC6282, c/n 721, built 1927.
  • Fairchild FC-2W2, NX8006, c/n 140, built 1928, "Stars And Stripes" - Richard Evelyn Byrd's Arctic exploration aircraft, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.[4]
  • Heath Super Parasol, N1926, c/n 31919, built 1928, donated by Dr. E. C. Garber, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
  • Pietenpol Air Camper and Sky Scout, N9040N, c/n 410, Ford-powered homebuilt, 1928, built and donated by Charles F. Duff.
  • Brunner-Winkle Bird BK, c/n 2025, built 1929, on loan from Dolph Overton.
  • Curtiss-Robertson J-1D Robin, NC532N, c/n 733, built 1929, restored by Francis Clore.
  • Fleet Model 1, NC766V, c/n 347, built August 1930 - marked as USAAC YPT-6.[5]
  • Aeronca C-2N Razor Back, N11417, c/n 151, originally built 1932 as C-1 Clipped Wing Cadet, converted 1932 to C-2N; rebuilt 1962.
  • Taylor E-2 Cub, NC12628, c/n 33, built 1932.
  • Aeronca C-3 NC14640, c/n 426, built 1935, donated by Kenneth Brugh, Greensboro, North Carolina.
  • Waco YOC, NC17740, c/n 4279, built 1935, on loan from the - once owned by Hollywood artist Walter Matthew Jeffries who designed the Starship Enterprise.
  • Curtiss-Wright A-14D Speedwing, NC12329, built 1936, on loan from Allen H. Watkins.
The Vultee V-1A Special at the museum

Modern[]

See also[]

  • List of aerospace museums
  • Virginia Air and Space Center

References[]

Data from the display placards in the museum.

  1. ^ "HISTORIC AIRCRAFT" (PDF). Virginia Aviation Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. ^ Ramsey, John (January 26, 2016). "SR-71 pilot to speak at Science Museum". Richmond Times-Dispatch. BH Media Group, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. ^ "N-number Database Search Result, N3835". www.landings.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  4. ^ "N-number Database Search Result, N8006". www.landings.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  5. ^ "N-number Database Search Result, N766V". www.landings.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
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