Jump to content

Hoosier Air Museum

Coordinates: 41°18′15″N 85°03′33″W / 41.3041°N 85.0593°W / 41.3041; -85.0593
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hoosier Air Museum
Hoosier Air Museum is located in Indiana
Hoosier Air Museum
Location within Indiana
EstablishedOctober 2000 (2000-10)
Dissolved3 December 2019 (2019-12-03)
LocationAuburn, Indiana
Coordinates41°18′15″N 85°03′33″W / 41.3041°N 85.0593°W / 41.3041; -85.0593
TypeAviation museum
FounderNiles Walton[1]
Websitehoosierairmuseum.org (Archived)

The Hoosier Air Museum was an aviation museum located at the DeKalb County Airport in Auburn, Indiana.

History

[edit]

Background

[edit]

The Hoosier Warbirds were founded by a group of aviation enthusiasts who met in October 1991 following the publication of a classified advertisement in a local newspaper.[2]

Establishment

[edit]

The group raised money to build a hangar, which opened in October 2000.[3] It acquired a Cadillac Fleetwood and an AH-1 in 2002.[4]

The museum acquired two airplanes, four engines and an exhibit about the 434th Fighter Squadron from the Wings of Freedom Museum in Huntington, Indiana in 2006.[5][a]

Closure

[edit]

Due to a lack of volunteers and difficulty accessing the site, the museum closed on 3 December 2019. Most of its exhibits were donated to Kruse Plaza, which opened the Hoosier Air Experience. However, the museum's WR-3 was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 2020.[1][6][7]

Facilities

[edit]

The museum was composed of a 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) hangar and a 6,375 sq ft (592.3 m2) event hall.[8] The latter included a library.[9]

Exhibits

[edit]

The museum included exhibits about the Tuskegee Airmen, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the Flying Tigers the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, memorabilia belonging to Robin Olds and a control tower cab.[8][10][11]

Collection

[edit]

References

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ The founder of that museum, James Shuttleworth, had been killed in the crash of a P-51 in 2003 and the museum closed since then.[5]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Kurtz, Dave (13 September 2009). "Hoosier Air Museum is Moving". The Star. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Who We Are". Hoosier Warbirds, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 July 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  3. ^ Allison, Don (4 October 2001). "Warbird Museum's History and Prospects Outlined to Kiwanians". Bryan Times. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  4. ^ Prentice, Sheryl (2 August 2002). "Cadillac, Cobra Helicopter Added to Hoosier Air Museum". KPCNews.com. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b Kurtz, Dave (28 February 2006). "Hoosier Air Museum Acquires New Exhibits". KPCNews.com. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Hoosier Air Experience". Kruse Plaza. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  7. ^ Kurtz, Dave (13 February 2020). "Local Museum Donates Plane to Smithsonian". The Star. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b "About Us". Hoosier Air Museum. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Library: Books, Videos, Model Planes". Hoosier Air Museum. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  10. ^ Kobiela, Jenny (2 July 2007). "Memorabilia of Late Air Ace on Display at Auburn Museum". KPCNews.com. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  11. ^ Kurtz, Dave (3 December 2019). "Air Museum's Moving Day". The State. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Aircraft on Display". Hoosier Air Museum. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
[edit]