With all of the attempts to get the COVID-19 Pandemic under control there have been many types of facilities closed or forced into some kind of restrictions in an effort to protect the public. One area that has had a particularly large impact on me is aircraft museums. There are quite a few in the Northwest within easy RV-8 range that I had in the past visited semi-regularly.
In the current climate there are some that are surviving, hopefully a couple that are thriving, and at least one that faces a very uncertain future.
This all lead me to to wax nostalgic for places I have been, but may not be able to go again in the near future. This in turn lead me to want to put all of the places I have been and all of the pictures I have of those places in one place, not only to help me be able to bring back fond memories, but to share with others places that may be of interest. If the worst should happen, it might be a repository of what once was.
I don't know of a particularly good way to organize the various museums, so I am going to go with distance from my home base of Arlington, WA (KAWO).
FLYING HERITAGE COLLECTION
Paine Field - Everett, WA
The first stop on our journey literally comes before we leave (well kind of). The Flying Heritage Collection started out here at Arlington. The collection was housed in several hangars on the airport for a few years until the facility at Paine Field was ready to move into.
The Flying Heritage Collection is truly a gem among museums. It boasts a relatively large collection of exquisitely restored airplanes.
This is one of the sadder tales as the people that run the museum don't know when, or if, it will ever open again. From their website "The current global situation is making it difficult for us to serve our mission and we will spend the months ahead reassessing if, how, and when to reopen."
Museum web site: http://flyingheritage.org/
The pictures that I have can be found at the link below. We had our office Christmas party here a few years ago and that's where most of the pictures came from. The most recent pictures are first with the oldest, taken at Arlington, are last.
https://steverush.smugmug.com/Flying-Heritage-Collection/
HISTORIC FLIGHT FOUNDATION
Paine Field - Everett, WA
The other museum at Paine Field is John Sessions' Historic Flight Foundation. They have a nice collection and also have a good number of civil aircraft as well as some warbirds.
I have only been to the museum itself once and didn't go inside, but they used to host an annual vintage airplane weekend in the summer and the pictures below are largely their aircraft, but also some from other collections as well as private owners.
I would have liked to get more involved with this museum particularly as they have some pretty good flight opportunities, but they opened a new facility in Spokane a few years ago and have been slowly moving the collection over there. All of the event notices that I get in email are for Spokane. I don't know if they will keep anything at Paine Field long term or not.
Museum web site: http://historicflight.org/hf/
What pictures I have are here: https://steverush.smugmug.com/Paine-Field-Vintage-Weekend-2011/
THE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT RESTORATION CENTER AND RESERVE COLLECTION
Paine Field - Everett, WA
Also located at Paine Field is the Restoration Center for The Museum of Flight in Seattle. I have only been through there once. I have a friend who was a docent at the Museum of Flight at the time and he arranged a tour. At the time, they still had 727 serial number 1 that was being prepared for its last flight down to the museum. They also have a de Havilland Comet that they have been working on for many years. It was set up for tours inside. Very different from what you see today.
Museum web site: https://www.museumofflight.org/Explore-The-Museum/Aircraft-Restoration
My photos: https://steverush.smugmug.com/Museum-of-Flight-Restoration-Center/
HERITAGE FLIGHT MUSEUM
Skagit Regional Airport - Mt. Vernon, WA
This museum moved from Bellingham a few years ago. I haven't been there to see exactly what they have, though they have had a few events at the airport. One thing they have is the P-51 Val-Halla. The museum was founded by astronaut Bill Anders.
Museum web site: https://heritageflight.org/
NORTH CASCADES VINTAGE AIRCRAFT MUSEUM
Concrete Municipal Airport - Concrete, WA
Sadly the North Cascades Vintage Aircraft Museum no longer exists. As so often happens when the founder of a museum dies there just doesn't seem to be anyone willing and/or able to step in and keep things going. Not that they didn't try.
One of the saddest parts of this story is that the museum used to host the Concrete Vintage Fly-in, formerly the Concrete Good Old Fashioned Fly in. In the days that I first started going, some time in the early 2000's, there were antiques from all over the West Coast that would fly in for the event. It happened two weeks after Arlington and was probably the most fun fly-in in the area. It was a small, laid back, personal affair without any uptight controllers and, best of all, no announcer.
The collection was mostly sold off and I have seen some of the airplanes at other venues. One being the next museum on the list and another being the WAAM discussed further below.
Jim Jenkins, brought in to run the collection, at least for a while, was working on a replica of the Hall Bulldog. I saw it in the back under construction, but the last time I saw it it was cocooned in plastic, maybe never to be finished.
Of course, one of the other reasons I like this outfit is that the first year we had the RV-12 finished I took it to the Concrete Fly-in and it won Grand Champion Experimental. Of course this is an antique outfit and there weren't that many experimentals, but hey, I'll take it. I didn't know I has won, heck, I didn't even know I had entered. About 9 months later I got a package in the mail with a plaque and a letter congratulating me.
The next year I won Champion, though I did check the "Judge Me' box at registration. Same thing, about 9 months later I got a package in the mail.
The photos linked below are of both the collection and airplanes that showed up for the various events.
https://steverush.smugmug.com/North-Cascades-Vintage-Aircraft-Museum/
PORT TOWNSEND AERO MUSEUM
Jefferson County International Airport - Pt. Townsend, WA
This is the museum that got me started on this. We went there last weekend thinking to go through the museum but it was closed indefinitely. I hope it does reopen as I don't have any real good pictures of it. It is a smaller museum that has mostly civil aircraft, they do have a PT-22, and the aircraft are all in great shape. They do restoration work on the side to generate funds for the museum.
Mt photos: https://steverush.smugmug.com/Pt-Townsend-Aero-Museum/
Museum web Site: https://ptaeromuseum.com/
OLYMPIC FLIGHT MUSEUM
Olympia Regional Airport - Olympia, WA
The Olympic Flight Museum is another small museum located not far away. According to their web site they are also closed for the duration. They usually put on a pretty big event for Father's Day weekend. In years past they have had participation from the Commemorative Air Force and other local museums.
The day we stopped by there was no one else there and we got to spend a good bit of time with the people working there. It was an interesting and informative time, but they only have a few aircraft on display and there is nowhere nearby to eat, so it doesn't lend itself as a destination.
Museum web site: https://olympicflightmuseum.com/
THE MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
Boeing Field - Seattle, WA
I have been to the Museum of Flight a number of times and, as mentioned above, I had a friend who was a docent and that got me into other areas. It is a fine museum and I haven't been there since they opened the newest display area, where the restored #1 727 is displayed. I would go more frequently, but I really don't like flying into Boeing Field (not that I have ever done it) and I won't drive to Seattle for anything.
Sadly I don't really have any pictures for all the times I went. They too are currently closed.
Museum web site: https://www.museumofflight.org/
EVERGREEN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
McMinnville, OR
Probably most famously known as the home of the Spruce Goose, the Evergreen Air and Space Museum is actually quite a great destination in its own right, which is good since it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It is a fun and easy flight from Arlington. In the old days they had a pretty good cafeteria in the Space Museum building, but that hasn't been open for a few years and at best they seem to only have light snacks. This is troublesome as there is nowhere nearby to get something to eat.
Though they are not on the airport, they are right across the street. There is a shuttle to the airport (at least there was pre-COVID) as they really don't want people walking across the street. It is a major thoroughfare and the only way to get to the coast from I-5.
I usually try to go at least once a year, and it is about that time again, so I hope I make it. The museums in Oregon seem to be open as opposed to those in Western Washington.
Museum web site: https://www.evergreenmuseum.org/
My pictures: https://steverush.smugmug.com/Evergreen-Air-and-Space-Museum/
Video from the last trip we took there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nfgmHFmcfE&t=41s
TILLAMOOK AIR MUSEUM
Tillamook Airport - Tillamook, OR
The most interesting thing about the Tillamook Air Museum is that it is housed in an old WWII blimp hangar. Just looking around in the hanger in interesting enough, even more so when you notice that it is all wood.
Up until a few years ago the major part of the aircraft on display were from the Erickson Collection. It was (is) a fine collection of airplanes and that coupled with the fact that museum had a decent cafe and was a really fun flight flight made it a favorite destination for a number of years. We used to go a couple of times a year.
More recently though, the Erickson Collection has moved to Madras, OR and the cafe at the museum hasn't been open for a couple of years. It is still a fun flight, but not a lot to do when you get there. Again, there isn't any place to eat anywhere near by. The museum is still open and the Port of Tillamook is trying to make a go of it, but it just isn't all that exciting a destination any more.
That said, if you are in the area, it is worth the trip just to see the hangar itself. There used to be many of these up and down the west coast during the war, but only a few remain. There were originally 2 at Tillamook, but one of them burned down.
Museum web site: http://www.tillamookair.com/
My pictures (from when the Erickson Collection was still there): https://steverush.smugmug.com/Tillamook-Air-Museum/
ERICKSON COLLECTION
Madras Municipal Airport - Madras, OR
As mentioned above, the Erickson Collection moved from Tillamook to Madras. They had many reasons for doing so and I'm sure, to them, they were good reasons. It is not so great for me as Madras is significantly farther away than Tillamook and is on the hot side of the mountains.
They have a nice facility to house the collection and the one benefit of the new location is that they fly the collection more often than they did in Tillamook.
At least as of the last time we were there they did not have a place to eat in or near the museum, so that always necessitates a food/fuel stop making it pretty much a whole day event. I don't really have any pictures of the new facility and hope to correct that in the not too distant future.
Museum web site: http://www.ericksoncollection.com/
WESTERN ANTIQUE AEROPLANE AND AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM (WAAAM)
Ken Jernstedt Airfield - Hood River, OR
This is another excellent museum and it has more than just airplanes, there are cars, and even steam engines. The collection is highly fluid as not everything on display is owned by the museum, so it is different every time we go. They recently opened another building to house more items. Also in the summertime they have fly days each month where they roll things out and fly them. They also have a fly-in in September. I haven't been because, frankly, it is just too hat there in September.
The WAAM is not on the way to anywhere, unless you are driving from Idaho to Washington or Oregon, but it is well worth the trip. There isn't any place to eat at the museum, though I hear there is a burger joint across the street from the airport.
Museum web site: https://www.waaamuseum.org/
My pictures: https://steverush.smugmug.com/Western-Antique-Airplane-and-Automobile-Museum/
Video of our last trip (7/20/19): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPC8T17L9PY
The one big thing I learned from this exercise is that, in general, I don't take enough pictures of the places I go. I'll have to try to rectify that in the future.
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